I just use a wibbly wobbly one

Bob

I have one but haven't used it much as yet. After marking out the block of the Sealion I'm building I then marked a datum in a corner to see how I measured up against the laser.

It's more accurate than I can see with a rule but of course the the overall accuracy of the part depends on how accurate I placed the datum in the first place. Also the dot defuses on any reflective surface so I'm thinking I might under coat with a light spray of grey primer and see how that goes.

They aren't cheap so I'm hoping it pays in accuracy.

Not a lot of help I guess but there may be other's who have found better ways of utilising them than me.

Spot on Tony, my thoughts are the same, not that I'm against new technology but I think I would have serious doubts about the ability of these tools to give the best results against the old tried and tested methods, plus the alternatives are considerably less expensive.

Having said that I have no experience of using one so it will be interesting to here the views of others who have.

Edited By JohnF on 26/02/2015 21:05:38

Edited By JohnF on 26/02/2015 21:05:57

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I have one from Machine DRO

I think it's a great bit of kit. (although unfortunately not cheap) I not only use it in the mill but they are also very handy for putting in the lathe tailstock when helping to center a scribed line or punch mark on work in a 4 jaw chuck.

I would advise getting one that has a polariser fitted as these can be rotated to adjust the size of the dot and and intensity. They also effect the best viewing angle.

I use one in this video **LINK** (about 11 mins in) This video is filmed on an iphone and the focus is not pukka. This seems to show the laser dot much, much larger than it is in reality to the eye.

In short. If anything were to happen to it. ( god forbid . ) I would replace it.!

Nick

Edited By Nick_G on 26/02/2015 21:30:46

The method I use in my milling machine for finding an edge seems (to me) to be more accurate then the one thou mentioned by Tony, but this thread has now got me wondering….

I put a 4.000mm diameter rod in the ER collet and tighten the nut with fingers only. My ER set is not super precision and with the speed at about 50RPM I can easily see it has run-out (maybe about 0.05mm). Using a light I view the gap between the rod and the edge of the job as I move the work closer. When the rod first touches the job the light passing through the gap varies as it rotates. By closing the gap very slowly Its possible to detect the point where the light (and the gap) is reduced to zero. Half the rod diameter then tells me the datum position. The light happens to be an IKEA Jansjo LED on a flexi mount so its easy to position at the opposite I am viewing from.

Because the collet is not dead tight, when the rod is in alternating contact it can 'give' slightly so it is not rubbing hard against the work. The rod I use is a precision ground and polished shaft out of a VCR motor and after two years use is unmarked. The 4.000 diameter I mentioned is real and reflects the manufacturing tolerance that some of the VCR components are made to.

This method seems to work for me but I would be interested any comment or criticism of it. I have no real feel for what level of accuracy I get but it seems very consistent.

Ian P

Michael

I was seduced by the idea of the Laser Edge Finder with Polariser years ago, but after buying it I realised that it still relied on the mark one eyeball for accuracy and is not really suitable for edge finding. If you are working to reasonable tolerances you would be better off with a wobbler pin or fag paper and use the laser for woodworking.

Russ

Edited By Crocadillopig on 26/02/2015 23:31:04

Quite fancy one of these TBH. This is actually a relatively good price for them although it excludes VAT. You dial the work in towards the spindle until the gauge reads zero and at that point the spindle is exactly in line with the edge of the work. Works in all 3 axes, so pretty handy for CNC work. Knowing me I'd leave it in and turn the spindle to full speed or fast jog it into the vise……

I use a std edge finder. Once I'd finally figured out how to use it, I find it is deadly accurate and I can't imagine how you could visually position a laser spot to anything remotely like the same accuracy.

As for those wiggler wobbler things, I can't imagine anything more annoying. Who invented them?

Murray

I have one of those laser edge finders, and am still not convinced as to how accurate it is.

I also have a Haimer 3D taster which is absolutely superb but too bulky and awkward to use on a regular basis.

And I am always worrying that I might drop it or something.

On my Alexander Miller and the Boley (BCA) jig borer I use these most of the time.

The one on the right is my 'everyday' edge finder and is no more than a 1/2" OD ball race loctited to the end of the collet adapter for the Boley, the one I use on the Alexander is even simpler and is just a plain bar with a bearing on the end which is then held in the machine collet.

In use you simply run the job gently up to the bearing with the spindle running, and when the outer race stops spinning you know you have just touched the job with it. Then use the DRO in the usual way taking into account the 1/4" radius of the bearing.

It is such a simple tool to make and use, to the point I rarely need anything else for most jobs these days.

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 27/02/2015 14:52:26

Edited By Phil P on 27/02/2015 14:57:35

Dooball Boost made a video about this. Why aye, bonnie lad.

Phil – if you can't make good use of the Heimer, perhaps you might consider selling me it at a knock down price?

Merry

Edited By Muzzer on 27/02/2015 16:03:02

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Michael,

Given your background; I'm rather surprised you even considered a laser edge-finder.

The bearing device described by Phil P looks one of the 'best value' I have seen.

MichaelG.

I've got one of them thar Haimer thingmabobs:

Very nice piece of kit, I never use anything else on the CNC mill, and quite a lot on the manual vertical mill. However, I do keep a supply of blue fag papers to hand. I use them regularly on all the manual machines. I also use the disappearing light method when the mood takes me.

I've got a wiggler set somewhere, but have never used it. I don't have a conventional edge finder, and don't miss it. I've never considered a laser edge finder, although I have played with one for a client. They wanted to use it for aligning RF tags during calibration, so ±0.5mm was fine.

Andrew