Lathe dial indicator holder - is 3d print good enough?

[drogus]

I want to make myself a dial indicator holder. Something like this build from Clough42 channel:

I'm lazy and short of time, so I was wondering about 3D printing it. I use Multifix tool posts on both my lathes, so I either 3D print the whole holder or I print a smaller piece that holds a dial indicator, but is supposed to be used with an existing multifix holder. The latter will probably live longer at a cost of using an existing tool holder for it.

What I'm wondering about is - do you think there would be any accuracy problems with a 3d printed holder? There will be no pressure from usage alone, no coolant while measuring either. Plastic will obviously move much more than metal, but the stress from using it is probably too small to affect the reading. I also don't think heat expansion would affect it much. Anything I missed or I'm wrong about? Anything else to take into account?

 

[Donkey Hotey]

3D print is not only strong enough but, you can incorporate features that would otherwise be difficult using other methods. Print away. I used 20% infill on the two indicator holders I made and they are way more stiff than any universal indicator holder I would have otherwise used.

 

[rimcanyon]

The first question I would have is why? i.e. you can use any standard tool holder to hold a dial indicator, so why bother?

 

[guythatbrews]

I'm lazy and short of time,

Sorry, but I'm gonna pee on your parade. Your first statement is a good reason not to do this.

Anything I missed or I'm wrong about? Anything else to take into account?

This holder is cumbersome and inflexible. It can't be used on ID's or anything with a short projection from the chuck or collet. It can't be used in the 12 o'clock position so it's less convenient for use with an adjust true type chuck. It can only be used on a QCTP of the same size.

Get a test indicator and a noga style mag base. Total flexibilty and great for anywhere you can mag it down.



If you have a turret mill, and are jonesing to 3d print something, make one of these.



I don't have one, and will likely never get one, and you can use a test indicator to do the same thing. But this will speed things up when tramming the head.

 

[drogus]

The first question I would have is why? i.e. you can use any standard tool holder to hold a dial indicator, so why bother?

How do you hold a dial indicator in a lathe tool holder without any other fixture?

 

[???]

How do you hold a dial indicator in a lathe tool holder without any other fixture?

Magnetic base like a Noga.

Use one on the lathe every day on the side of a tool, on the tailstock, on the bed, sometimes on the chuck. Stick it on tool holders in the mill to indicate jobs, vices, dial in the head , set angles in conjunction with the readout. Best 400 NZ I ever spent. I even did a tool change with one by mistake. Mag base means I can stick it on my racking at just the right height to poke me in the eye on my way past.

 

[drogus]

Sorry, but I'm gonna pee on your parade. Your first statement is a good reason not to do this.

This holder is cumbersome and inflexible. It can't be used on ID's or anything with a short projection from the chuck or collet. It can't be used in the 12 o'clock position so it's less convenient for use with an adjust true type chuck. It can only be used on a QCTP of the same size.

Get a test indicator and a noga style mag base. Total flexibilty and great for anywhere you can mag it down.

I have a Mitutoyo mag base of this style and while I agree it's more versatile, I wanted to have a dedicated tool specifically for a single task I do relatively frequently - dialing in a piece in a four jaw chuck (or in the future maybe in the 6 jaw when I finally get one with an adjustment). When using the mag base I usually have to move the carriage anyway, cause putting it on bed ways is usually awkward, so I do it on top of the cross slide or the compound slide. So if I have to move the carriage anyway and then fiddle with the indicator holder arm I think just slapping a tool holder on the multifix tool post would be quicker.

Regarding the lazy/short on time - I 3d print stuff all the time and creating a holder like that would be probably 10-15 minutes in fusion 360, that's why I was willing to try it out and see if I like using it.

 

[drogus]

Magnetic base like a Noga.
View attachment 420877
Use one on the lathe every day on the side of a tool, on the tailstock, on the bed, sometimes on the chuck. Stick it on tool holders in the mill to indicate jobs, vices, dial in the head , set angles in conjunction with the readout. Best 400 NZ I ever spent. I even did a tool change with one by mistake. Mag base means I can stick it on my racking at just the right height to poke me in the eye on my way past.

Oh, ok, I thought you mean to mount it directly on the tool holder somehow. Yeah, I have a mag stand, I just think something I can slap on the multifix tool post would be quicker to set up

 

[???]

Oh, ok, I thought you mean to mount it directly on the tool holder somehow. Yeah, I have a mag stand, I just think something I can slap on the multifix tool post would be quicker to set up

Have you got the small mag base like the Noga. Big ones I reserve for holding things in place and Noga copies generally have weak magnets that fall off and destroy your super expensive Tesa gauges.

 

[drogus]

Have you got the small mag base like the Noga. Big ones I reserve for holding things in place and Noga copies generally have weak magnets that fall off and destroy your super expensive Tesa gauges.

No, only a regular size. I guess I might try a smaller version, thanks for the tip!

 

[???]

No, only a regular size. I guess I might try a smaller version, thanks for the tip!

Spend the money and get the original. I've had mine since 2001 and the only thing that's gone wrong is the sticker fell off and I have to occasionally tighten the screws on the front around the lever. Don't get the permanent magnet version without the switch, everything sticks to it and it's really difficult to clean. Don't try doing tool changes with it, not recommended

 

[guythatbrews]

A few more comments drawing from my experience.

I wanted to have a dedicated tool specifically for a single task I do relatively frequently - dialing in a piece in a four jaw chuck (or in the future maybe in the 6 jaw when I finally get one with an adjustment).

So you put the chuck key socket at 9 oclock where the indicator is and take a reading? Then move the key socket to 12 oclock to put the wrench in and adjust? Then move back to 9 oclock and take another reading?

It is awkward to tighten the key at 9 oclock, but if you move to 12 you are off the idicator, and have no movement feedback. I really can't see the efficacy.

Many thousands of chuck indications on my end and I see no advantage to a dedicated QCTP holder. If you've got to change the tool to use the indicator attachment, and manipulate the cross slide and carriage too, why not just use a mag base? For light duty work I just leave the mag base on the carriage and swing the indicator out of rhe way. It's quicker!

BTW, I only use the noga style articulated mag bases. The stiff arm style aggravates me to no end! And I seldom use a drop indicator on lathe work. IMO they are too bulky and ger in the way.

Regarding the lazy/short on time - I 3d print stuff all the time and creating a holder like that would be probably 10-15 minutes in fusion 360, that's why I was willing to try it out and see if I like using it.

Wow! You are fast! It would take me more than 10 or 15 minutes just to measure the holder and get the BC for the indicator back. That's before I even thought about the model!

 

[Donkey Hotey]

The first question I would have is why? i.e. you can use any standard tool holder to hold a dial indicator, so why bother?

Okay, I'll be the dissenting opinion here. I designed and printed this for my tool post and it's been handy as hell. I have adjustable indicator holders and used them for many years. One is nearby with an indicator loaded and it hasn't been used on the lathe since I made this.

This lives on the machine with all the other dedicated lathe tools. It helps that I had those two indicators sitting in a drawer from a past project and they were unused. One for measuring run-out on the radius, one for measuring against a face.


You can see that the holder was designed to put the indicator at tool height and approximately tool-length distance. This means I don't have to do much movement to get the indicator in there. If a tool will fit, so will the indicator. I also designed this holder for my specific indicators to get them as close to one-another as possible. I had a previous design that staggered the indicators to tighten up this distance and didn't like it as much.

 

[michiganbuck]

Pretty neat, I like to avoid magnetic holders when I can to avoid geting places on my machines magnitized.
Neat the way the mill ran around the part.

OT;
Does anyone make a mini mill lIke that has a horozonta attchement. One more stable then a router type , that would be Ok for aluminum.
That might hold a 2" wide set of mill saws.
Looks like the OPs mill might be 14k bare and 24K with the cabnit.

Agree one can just stand up a vice and put a bearing at the out end of a tool arbor.

 

[drogus]

Wow! You are fast! It would take me more than 10 or 15 minutes just to measure the holder and get the BC for the indicator back. That's before I even thought about the model!

Just to clarify - 10-15 minutes would be for a super simple thing, like a bar you put into the tool holder + a mounting place for a dial indicator (I have one with a mounting thingy on the back). Definitely nothing fancy!

I started wondering if I'm not bullshitting so I quickly slapped sth together (about 10 minutes). I had a dial indicator model downloaded already for another project. So yeah, super basic if just for checking it out

 

[Donkey Hotey]

Just a design suggestion: keep in mind that the top of the tool slot on your block is approximately the tangent point you want for the indicator tip. Your current model has the indicator too high to hit that spot.

 

[drogus]

Yeah, good point, I'm out of town, so I don't have access to my workshop, so I was more checking how long does it take to get something close If I wanted to really print it I would have spend 10 more minutes on doing some measurements I guess. And now that I heard someone who like this style I might just do that when I'm back. I will be printing quite a lot of stuff on my resin 3d printer and on the resin 3d printer the only thing that affects the print time is the number of layers, so I often throw in some extra models when I have some extra space.

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

I used to have a low opinion of 3D printed parts, but the new printers and filaments are really good. I don't see any problem making an indicator holder if you design it right. "Right" means designing for plastic, not metal, and putting the beef where you need it.

 

[Bill D]

When I adjusted my table saw top I made an indicator holder from a hunk of wooden 2x4. C-clamped to the miter gauge and an indicator bolted to the end. Plenty rigid enough as long as I did not touch the indicator but only the metal it was clamped to. Note: I did not care about accuracy or the actual reading. I just used it to adjust things to zero motion.
BilLD