Fast micrometers

[daleyd]

Agreed.
Not even the scale so much as the whole design of the caliper with the sliding joint, and long arms.
Has the Op considered a Faro arm or CMM ?

Yeah, they do what they do I guess, and that’s the trade off between speed and accuracy. For a lot of applications they are ok, and when not then you break out the mic!

And if you want a bit of both you have to break out the wallet!

 

[oldbikedavey]

I enjoy using my mechanical Mitutoyo Micrometers when shimming motorcycles, I find it focuses the mind personally and never in doubt about the measurement accuracy.

Without doubt, we are nothing.....

 

[fizzy]

I’m still struggling to see where, other than a production environment you would need such accuracy AND speed over a range of measurements. While it obviously must happen, as people have suggested above, the chances of it actually being an issue must be pretty small for the average Joe in the shed. Obviously knocking out and accurately measuring quantities of parts are where they come into their own.

Given that a cheap (presumably knock off) set wasn’t any good, and proper mitutoyo are eye wateringly expensive then it’s probably a good bet that it’s not that easy to produce a decent set to produce accurate and repeatable results, whereas even a cheap standard mic should give decent readings.

They weren't a knock off. More like had a knock! The speedmike has a very limited market. It seems that whilst most people welcome modern gadgets into their daily lives they don't seem to with micrometers.

 

[daleyd]

They weren't a knock off. More like had a knock! The speedmike has a very limited market. It seems that whilst most people welcome modern gadgets into their daily lives they don't seem to with micrometers.

Once again though, for the vast majority of people there’s a massive disconnect between the extra cost and any “benefit”. It’s not like they are a comparable cost but much better - they are hugely more expensive than a standard mic and only of much benefit if you are doing lots of parts.

When even pro machinists are questioning their usefulness then it suggests that they are a solution to an uncommon problem. Fine if you have the cash to splash but for most an unnecessary extravagance.

 

[fizzy]

Once again though, for the vast majority of people there’s a massive disconnect between the extra cost and any “benefit”. It’s not like they are a comparable cost but much better - they are hugely more expensive than a standard mic and only of much benefit if you are doing lots of parts.

When even pro machinists are questioning their usefulness then it suggests that they are a solution to an uncommon problem. Fine if you have the cash to splash but for most an unnecessary extravagance.

I agree I would never pay the full price Mitutoyo charge for one no matter how good it is. But there are plenty of very good budget Mike's around these days.
I was unlucky with the one I found on Ebay but got a full refund. Not a knockoff as they are obviously expensive yo manufacture or have too limited an audience.
I will see what the lever type from Ali express is like. £84 not too bad if its any good. I bet its the same one Moor and Wright rebadge and sell for £250.

 

[daleyd]

I agree I would never pay the full price Mitutoyo charge for one no matter how good it is. But there are plenty of very good budget Mike's around these days.
I was unlucky with the one I found on Ebay but got a full refund. Not a knockoff as they are obviously expensive yo manufacture or have too limited an audience.
I will see what the lever type from Ali express is like. £84 not too bad if its any good. I bet its the same one Moor and Wright rebadge and sell for £250.

I wouldn’t be so sure - there’s loads of very very good fakes on eBay. You may well have just had a bad one of course…

I’d also say the fact if it was damaged and had a knock (despite no visible damage I presume?) highlights that they are maybe a bit fragile, another reason to stick with your common or garden mic.

Things usually take off because they are measurably better or cheaper than what went before. As far as I can see, despite offering “some” advantages in “some” situations they are neither? Or they would be all over the place

 

[Misterg]

It's not the time factor it's the tedious twirling of such a fine pitched thread.

What you need is a Cadar Microstat

Fast, repeatable to 1µm, and accurate to about 2µm over the 25mm range. Practically indestructible.

Oh, and obsolete, I think

We used to use them for production measurements and they put up with massive abuse. The only issue was the NiCad batteries.

They use something like this now, (but shorter travel & Mitutoyo)

 

[Brad93]

That isn't new technology.

Moore and wright done something called a

"Micro 2000"

What a tool, read in microns 20 years ago+

It was rechargeable. Incredibly repeatable with great "feel" due to the hydraulic dampening.

I had one and sold it, shame but their real application is in QC rooms.

 

[Brad93]

 

[Brad93]

What you need is a Cadar Microstat

View attachment 444336

Fast, repeatable to 1µm, and accurate to about 2µm over the 25mm range. Practically indestructible.

Oh, and obsolete, I think

We used to use them for production measurements and they put up with massive abuse. The only issue was the NiCad batteries.

They use something like this now, (but shorter travel & Mitutoyo)

View attachment 444337

beat me to it

 

[Misterg]

beat me to it

That's the one - Moore & Wright split the team that made them off in the mid 1980s and they became Cadar.

What was incredible is that they would stand up to production line use - out on the shop floor, many different operators, a measurement every few minutes 24/7 - and *still* read accurately (we were working to tolerances of +5/-10µm sometimes).

 

[Screwdriver]

Mics are so cheap, why not get three for each range, leave one wound all the way in, one all the way out and one in the middle.

You lazy git.

 

[fizzy]

That isn't new technology.

Moore and wright done something called a

"Micro 2000"

What a tool, read in microns 20 years ago+

It was rechargeable. Incredibly repeatable with great "feel" due to the hydraulic dampening.

I had one and sold it, shame but their real application is in QC rooms.

Not been much progress really. Often it's a case of 1 step forward 2 steps back.

 

[Munkul]

I think you're trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist.

The cost of a quick, accurate mic is not proportional to the benefit in speed, for most people.

If they want speed, they use a digital caliper. If you want accuracy, then speed isn't as important.

Plenty of top end machine shops use digital calipers for lower accuracy items.

I have also learned the hard way that over-toleranced parts cost more to make as they take a lot more time and care.
Be real about what you're needing to do.

 

[fizzy]

I think you're trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist.

The cost of a quick, accurate mic is not proportional to the benefit in speed, for most people.

If they want speed, they use a digital caliper. If you want accuracy, then speed isn't as important.

Plenty of top end machine shops use digital calipers for lower accuracy items.

I have also learned the hard way that over-toleranced parts cost more to make as they take a lot more time and care.
Be real about what you're needing to do.

I am just a hobby user. I am rather ocd and always try to get perfection in what I do. I take great delight in getting things as accurate as I can but I find twiddling my DML digital micrometer to be boringly slow. It is really accurate but I avoid using it because it has such a fine pitch thread. I have several manual micrometers which don't seem as slow but then again don't read as fine.
I could never make money out of my hobby as I work far too slowly but I get great enjoyment from it.

 

[fizzy]

Look at about 7:36 - it shows the hydraulic damping - and yes as the chap says it is super cool. so simple but works amazingly well.