New, to me, Dial Indicator.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Had a new toy delivered today

It’s not “just” a dial indicator it’s a TESA Compac 556 with a resolution of 1 µm (0.001mm). This puts it in the relm of comparator gauges like the Mercer Mikrokator and Mahr Millimess.
It has one big advantage though, a measurement range of 5mm compared to the 50 µm of the comparator gauges. It does apply more force than the comparators but that is not too much of an issue for most applications. These list at around £400, I paid somewhat less 🙂 . It came from a dealer I normally buy electronic equipment from. It’s working perfectly and is smooth as silk.

Robert.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Very nice too, Robert !

MichaelG.

[StevePParticipant @stevepye68246]

Hi Robert

That was good buy and a good investment.

I own a few compac dial indicators,  both finger and plunger type,

they are beautifully  engineered pieces of equipment.

Steve

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

Very nice 👍

Does the hand return slowly? I have a Compac dial that returns to Zero very slowly. I don’t know if that is normal or not?

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

It’s not very slow to return but it does not slam to the stop either.
Maybe yours has some contamination in the lower guide. It should not be oiled. One way to clean it is to have a container of mild solvent like IPA just deep enough come about half way the stem with the plunger depressed and gently pump the plunger keeping the unit upright. Take it out, wipe down and leave it upright somewhere warm to dry out.

Robert.

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

I have a Sylvac DTI, I turn = 1mm, from memory, 3mm total movement. 200 divisions, an accuracy of 1/2 a micron, supposedly.  Far too accurate and delicate for workshop use.  It could show the clearance in the spindle bearings of an ML7 lathe, that caused unnecessary worry for the owner, the machine worked just fine.   Using it to set up for a machining operation with it was a waste of time, it indicated errors in the machine rather than the setup I was trying to achieve.

Although a lovely thing to own, outside a metrology lab, it’s use is very limited.  Last time I used it was to check the accuracy of a new machine.  Frighteningly inaccurate according to this clock, The reality was the the machine was fine, except for one alignment, but that’s another story!

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