Hi,
I would like to rig up a low tech, cheap handwheel counter for my manual milling machine. I'm picturing a three or four digit counter that looks like an odometer and can be reset with the push of a button. With each turn of the handwheel something on the handwheel hits the counter and increases it by one. I don't know what these parts would actually be called or where they could be purchased. Any ideas?
Thanks, Peter
On 8 Dec 2003 14:36:16 -0800, Peter Michaux put forth the notion that...
Just a trip-action counter? Try eBay first, then McMaster-Carr:
Page 1381 in the dead-tree edition
On 8 Dec 2003 14:36:16 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Peter Michaux) brought forth from the murky depths:
I've seen the little chromed manual counters available on Ebay for several dollars. Ticket takers use them to count heads of cattle going into places like fairs. Rig one up with a long paddle and install a too-long roll pin in the handwheel to actuate it. That would be 1-way only.
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A lot of surplus dealers sell these, as someone mentioned. You might try searching for totalizing mechanical digital counters, or even digital counters. It seems that the last time I was looking for digital counters, I encountered several dealers offering these.
They can have different types if actuation, some have a shaft that clicks over to the next digit when its partially rotated, like a micro-switch lever. These can be cam actuated. For industrial applications, these might have a 10k or higher count. They're not tiny, so having space to mount them could present a problem. You might find a 3 digit counter of this type, but I've mostly seen higher counts.
Another type has a revolution counter that looks like an odometer (driven by a small belt or friction wheel) which would need to be set up for the diameter of the handwheel for a 1:1 count. The last one I saw was on a downrigger for fishing at a specific depth. It was small, about 2" x 1 x 1 and 3 digits.
That Shack electronics store used to have a digital LCD totalizing counter module that could count switch closures. These were small (about the size of a D-cell's L x W dimensions) and used a single AA battery for power. Two momentary switches for count and reset would be required, and another for on/off. It had a total of 99,999 count, I think.
We've got answers.. From a recent Letterman show.. We don't know what it does, but it's very compact.
WB ..............
I checked Ebay last night and found several "hand counter" listings starting at $0.99 each. Cheap enough for ya? ;)
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