Types of Calipers

[dknguyen]

Do you guys prefer digital, dial, or vernier calipers? I have to buy a pair and they all pretty much cost the same (or at least, you can find any one kind for the same cost). THe most accurate I really need to get is for drilling PCB holes and measuring component leads for footprints (but with SMD now, maybe not even that). Everything else is fine down to the mm. Not sure about durability and reliability...

 

[gerty]

I like dial calipers, as you get older it gets harder to see the lines on a vernier. Digital is alright also , just seems to be a little more fragile than dial.

 

[dknguyen]

Ive heard both ways. Tooth skipping seems to be the biggest thing for dials- not so much the zeroing but how you get a "missing code" type deal that you might not notice. But I'm not sure I trust that capacitance-method mumbo jumbo of digitals either.

I had a vernier when I was 12, but never figured out how to useit. Now that we have the internet I learned, but Verniers seem to cost as much as dials...and even cheap digital ones now.

 

[3v0]

I have been using one of the Chinese digital calipers to do what you are talking about for a few years now. This one has the data port although I have yet to find a use for it.

It is my guess that anything you can buy will work well enough for electronics and case fab sort of things. I would go for metal over plastic.

 

[dknguyen]

I have been using one of the Chinese digital calipers to do what you are talking about for a few years now. This one has the data port although I have yet to find a use for it.

It is my guess that anything you can buy will work well enough for electronics and case fab sort of things. I would go for metal over plastic.

THere's this ESD-safe fiberglass dial caliper I'm looking at. And I'm trying to resist not buying it, just because it's ESD safe I suppose steel is ESD safe too lol.

 

[HiTech]

I too have oriental dial and digital calpiers. They work just fine for my needs (I'm not a trade machinist!!) When it comes to inexpensive calipers all you can expect from them is REPEATABILITY... and not so much reference accuracy. The same goes for tire pressure guages. Unless you spend the big bucks for K&E or Starrett and similar pro-brands that are precision instruments with traceable specifications, most "affordable" measuring instruments can only offer repeatability. You can test an inexpensive caliper by using a leaf type "feeler" or thickness guage. Pick a leaf and note it's thickness. Now measure it with the calipers about 10 times, noting consistency or inconsistency. If you happened to choose a .020" guage and had a Starrett caliper, it should measure exactly .020". If it measures improperly, I'd suspect poor quality control of the thickness guage before I'd blame the Starrett!!

As for construction material of choice-- metal! Metal doesn't warp or flex and these affordable brands already have enough inaccuracies built in to them!

 

[JimB]

I have two cheapie digital calipers, I keep one in my electronics work area and the other in my garage (machine shop).

For the price they are good enough for what I want, quick and easy to use and will do a metric/imperial conversion at the press of a button.

I dont pretend that they are as good as M&W, Mitutoyo, Starret or WHY, but they are fit for (my) purpose.

JimB

 

[rjvh]

i have a vanier caliper and to be honest ones you work with them a not to long time you will read them as quick as a digital one

the only advantige i can see in a digital one is, they might be switchable from metric to imperial reading (not all digital ones are)

Robert-Jan

 

[zevon8]

I have a 4" Mitutoyo dial caliper that has server me well for over 20 years, but I will admit a $20 digital the shop has gets alot of action also.

The real draw of the digital is that it can do inch/metric conversion, but best is doing math.. adding, subtracting is very handy. When doing layouts this is very very handy.

 

[Bob Scott]

I couldn't pass up buying the digital micrometer for $20. The only complaint: You can't use it without a battery. If you seldom use it, chances are the watch-type battery will be dead when you need it.

I also bought a $5.00 replacement for my broken plastic vernier caliper. It does not have near the accuracy of the old $1.69 plastic one. It has minor plastic flash.

 

[3v0]

I couldn't pass up buying the digital micrometer for $20. The only complaint: You can't use it without a battery. If you seldom use it, chances are the watch-type battery will be dead when you need it.

I also bought a $5.00 replacement for my broken plastic vernier caliper. It does not have near the accuracy of the old $1.69 plastic one. It has minor plastic flash.

The cheap digital I have came with a spare battery. The two lasted about 3 years total. The first on ran about 2 years and the second about half that. I would not buy spares.

 

[HiTech]

I find it very interesting in that:

.... if a machinist used a cheapo caliper on a $10,000 plastics mold in need of repair or alterations... he's asking for problems and potentially great loss of materials and costs.

.... if an electronic technician successfully troubleshooted and repaired a 911 Call Center transmitter or an expensive mainframe to a very large network, and all he had handy was a $2.99 digital multimeter from Harbor Freight Tools, he'd likely receive a bonus in his paycheck and a letter of commendation for his employee folder.

 

[Mikebits]

I have a Starrett 6" dial caliper. I also have a Mitutoyo. Both work well. I like a caliper with good hard steel, as you can also use them to scribe yor marks. I have used digital, but I find them to be a pain, I don't know why, but I prefer the dial caliper. Don't waste your money on a cheap caliper, get a good one, even if it hurts.

 

[3v0]

I have a Starrett 6" dial caliper. I also have a Mitutoyo. Both work well. I like a caliper with good hard steel, as you can also use them to scribe yor marks. I have used digital, but I find them to be a pain, I don't know why, but I prefer the dial caliper. Don't waste your money on a cheap caliper, get a good one, even if it hurts.

What you need depends on what you use them for?

If you only use them for electronic projects buying an expensive one would be a waste.

EDIT: I would be a lot more concerned if I were doing machine or engine work.

 

[Mikebits]

I have found the caliper to be one of the most indespinsible tools in my collection. I use it to measure everything from a resistor lead to a (I dunno, insert something large here).
The more you build little projects, the more you will find it necessary to dimension things. Next to my DVM, I think the caliper is one of my most useful devices.
This is just my opinion--and there are many others--but I think the caliper is an invaluable tool. Purchase a good one and you will wonder how you worked without it. IMHO

 

[Sceadwian]

Verniers not so bad but dial has it beat for speed and feedback.
I'm still undecided, but leaning towards a dial caliper rather than digital, because of the instant feedback, your eyes can see a direct relation to the distance the caliper is moving while you feel the tension you're putting on it with your fingers, gives you that much more information to work with.

 

[bryan1]

I've got 2 pair of dial calipers 1- 200mm one and 1-8" one. My dad got them for my 21st birthday and after 23 years they are still going strong. Mind you they are Mitotoyo one's and I use them for engineering.

If you go for dial calipers make sure you buy a decent brand.

Cheers Bryan

 

[jpanhalt]

I'm still undecided, but leaning towards a dial caliper rather than digital, because of the instant feedback, your eyes can see a direct relation to the distance the caliper is moving while you feel the tension you're putting on it with your fingers, gives you that much more information to work with.

Most of this has been said above, but just to add my 2 cents.

I have both (Helios--dial, Fowler/Sylvac--digital) and like both. The greatest downside of the dial is when you get chips on the gear rack. A good dial caliper can be bought with the gear shielded.

I like the digital as it is a little easier to read out of position (as when the object is chucked in a lathe) and the sliding action has a bit less drag. Thus, you can get a better feel for the pressure you are putting on the measuring faces and for making depth measurements. It is also great if you are doing a lot of measurements. I find it a little easier to read the last digit (although it is probably not that reproducible anyway). Finally, the digital allows easy conversion from inch to metric and can make offset measurements like a DRO.

As for accuracy, I periodically check them against each other, and they stay pretty close. The dial caliper is 30 yrs old and the digital is only about 10 yrs old.

If I were to get just one, I would get the best quality digital I could afford.

John