Spent $80 on a digital caliper and it caught a tool offset error on the third job

I picked up a Mitutoyo caliper last week after trying to get by with a cheap plastic one for months. Has anyone else had a cheap measuring tool cost them a part before?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_patel11d ago

The drift on cheap ones is exactly like you said fine at first then it wanders after a few measurements. You can check for knockoffs by comparing the font and logo to pictures on the Mitutoyo site the fakes always have slightly off spacing or blurry text. Best trick is to buy from a known industrial supplier instead of Amazon even if it costs a few bucks more.

young.michael11d ago

Swallow that $80 and don't look back, you just saved yourself way more in scrap and rework. Cheap calipers are fine for measuring drawer pulls or whatever, but on a machine that's ripping through material at 200 IPM, that .005" drift will ruin your day fast. I learned this the hard way after a $12 caliper let me set a tool offset wrong and I blew through a block of 6061 that was already hours into a setup. Mitutoyo is the way to go, just make sure you're not grabbing a knockoff from some random seller on Amazon (learned that one too). Keep that new caliper clean and don't drop it, they're tough but the crystal can crack if you're clumsy like me.

simonk9811d ago

You just saved yourself way more in scrap and rework" is the part that hits hard. That .005" drift, does it show up right away or does it creep after you've been using it for a while? I ask cause I think i got a bad batch of cheap ones where they'd be fine for the first 10 measurements then start wandering. Also, how do you spot the knockoffs on Amazon without opening the box?