Digital or dial indicator on height gauge

[tonyfoale]

metric_taper started a thread http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/s...-holding-60204 over on "Tools in progress" to which I added some pix. DIYer asked if I was going to make a separate post. I wasn't planning it but then I had a job for it this afternoon and made a video whilst measuring.
So for completeness here are the original photos and the video.


This shows a simple rectangular piece to bolt to the lug on the back of the digital/dial gauge. This get clamped in place of the scriber piece of a vernier height gauge.


A dial gauge fitted ready for use.


Here is another way to hold an indicator, useful when there is no lug as with this linear encoder.

And now the video. Note the error, at one point I call out 10.2mm which should be 1.02mm.

[DIYer]

Thanks tonyfoale! We've added your Dial Indicator Holding Lug to our Measuring and Marking category,
as well as to your builder page: tonyfoale's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Dial Indicator Holding Lug by tonyfoale

tags: dial indicator, holder

[DIYer]

Thanks tonyfoale! We've added your Linear Encoder Holder to our Measuring and Marking category,
as well as to your builder page: tonyfoale's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Linear Encoder Holder by tonyfoale

tags: measurement, holder

[metric_taper]

Thank you, your video of making depth measurements, will be handy. I don't know how many times I've had to figure out relative measurements. Doing this, they can be drawn to an absolute coordinate system, with must faster capture time.
Most of the job of making a repair part is measuring the sample. This technique had not occurred to me.

I see a cable with 4 wires coming out of the indicator. Did you have any luck with an oscilloscope figuring out how to decode the data and clock?
Steve

[tonyfoale]

Thank you, your video of making depth measurements, will be handy. I don't know how many times I've had to figure out relative measurements. Doing this, they can be drawn to an absolute coordinate system, with must faster capture time.
Most of the job of making a repair part is measuring the sample. This technique had not occurred to me.

Steve,
The zero setting is the thing that I like most about digital measuring instruments.

I see a cable with 4 wires coming out of the indicator. Did you have any luck with an oscilloscope figuring out how to decode the data and clock?

Yes. Firstly I tried with an analogue CRO but that just didn't show enough detail. So then I tried my Picoscope which is a box between what you are measuring and a PC. In effect a digital scope with the extra processing power of a PC. The Picoscope is a great tool and is much cheaper than a quality standalone scope. With that it was easy enough to interpret the coding. As you know I am waiting for a plug in cable to arrive so that I can easily plug into digital calipers then I can avoid having to solder on a breakout cable.
I'll make a post here when I have sorted out the decoding of my calipers. I'll post the decoding software code here as well.

[metric_taper]

Steve,
The zero setting is the thing that I like most about digital measuring instruments.



Yes. Firstly I tried with an analogue CRO but that just didn't show enough detail. So then I tried my Picoscope which is a box between what you are measuring and a PC. In effect a digital scope with the extra processing power of a PC. The Picoscope is a great tool and is much cheaper than a quality standalone scope. With that it was easy enough to interpret the coding. As you know I am waiting for a plug in cable to arrive so that I can easily plug into digital calipers then I can avoid having to solder on a breakout cable.
I'll make a post here when I have sorted out the decoding of my calipers. I'll post the decoding software code here as well.

Tony: I found this on eBay
Win-2 RS232 USB Interface Cables for Electronic Calipers & Scales

I don't see the seller saying which version of win it runs on. It's a RS232 adapter. The end connector looks to be 4 pin, but who knows what it fits. I've tried a google search for WIN-2, with model number RS232, no luck.

Then this:
SPC/USB data cable for 100-700 iGaging absolute calipers, DRO | eBay


This looks like the best, but again unknown instrument protocol, and win version supported. It has a foot switch to trigger a measurement.
Interface Kit For Digital Measuring Caliper Electronic | eBay

[tonyfoale]

Steve,

Your searches turned up more than mine. This is all I found and is what I bought. I don't seem to very good at composing good search phrases.

Data Cable for Chinese Digital Calipers and Linear Scales Custom DRO Project NEW | eBay

However, I'd be wary of buying any of those others without more detail on which data formats they work with. I think that the igaging will only be compatible with igaging stuff. In addition since I got the cable I have found that not only does the data format vary from instrument to instrument but so does the socket detail. The cable I got had been moulded a tad too large so it needed a bit of shaving to fit the calipers and digital indicator with "supposedly" a matching socket, but it was too narrow for two other calipers that I tried it on. They have 4 contacts with the same spacing but without a touch of super-glue and tiny pieces of plastic you couldn't guarantee that the plug and socket contacts would stay aligned.
i have a couple of applications for which I need to get measurements into a PC which is what had prompted my interest in this. To be realistic I don't need to pass data from all my calipers etc. to a PC and now that I have a nice linear encoder the incentive to play around has largely evaporated. Getting the encoder data into my software is very easy
This afternoon I got my cam profile measuring thingy up and running with the new encoder and I couldn't be happier with how well it works. Generally measured cam data needs considerable filtering which loses real data not just noise. This need is driven because cam analysis needs getting the first 3 derivatives of the displacement and each differentiation step enhances the noise. With my new setup, the results only need 1/4 of the number of filtering passes that I had to do with manually derived data.
Anyway when I get a moment I'll make a proper post about the system.

[metric_taper]

Steve,

Your searches turned up more than mine. This is all I found and is what I bought. I don't seem to very good at composing good search phrases.

Data Cable for Chinese Digital Calipers and Linear Scales Custom DRO Project NEW | eBay

However, I'd be wary of buying any of those others without more detail on which data formats they work with. I think that the igaging will only be compatible with igaging stuff. In addition since I got the cable I have found that not only does the data format vary from instrument to instrument but so does the socket detail. The cable I got had been moulded a tad too large so it needed a bit of shaving to fit the calipers and digital indicator with "supposedly" a matching socket, but it was too narrow for two other calipers that I tried it on. They have 4 contacts with the same spacing but without a touch of super-glue and tiny pieces of plastic you couldn't guarantee that the plug and socket contacts would stay aligned.
i have a couple of applications for which I need to get measurements into a PC which is what had prompted my interest in this. To be realistic I don't need to pass data from all my calipers etc. to a PC and now that I have a nice linear encoder the incentive to play around has largely evaporated. Getting the encoder data into my software is very easy
This afternoon I got my cam profile measuring thingy up and running with the new encoder and I couldn't be happier with how well it works. Generally measured cam data needs considerable filtering which loses real data not just noise. This need is driven because cam analysis needs getting the first 3 derivatives of the displacement and each differentiation step enhances the noise. With my new setup, the results only need 1/4 of the number of filtering passes that I had to do with manually derived data.
Anyway when I get a moment I'll make a proper post about the system.

I got lucky with the first search, as the eBay suggestions came up with the other examples.
I'm in 100% agreement with compatibility. It's too bad this is not a standard (like RS232), then you could trust an off the shelf data reader. And the iGaging gave me the exact same opinion, once I saw another add for the reader with the caliper.

[tonyfoale]

Here is a Don Bailey video which seems relevant to the original theme.

[metric_taper]

Here is a Don Bailey video which seems relevant to the original theme.

I've watch several of Surburban tools videos, lots of surface plate information to a newbie (that's me), as well surface grinder techniques.

Thanks for posting this link, I had not seen it.