Some tools are basically universally indispensable when it comes to manufacturing and more specifically metrology tools. Maybe for a future article, I will get into a bigger list of what to buy when you’re starting out. Whether you are an engineer designing parts, a machine operator on the shop floor, or a QA inspector, I think you would be hard-pressed to find somebody who doesn’t use calipers or “vernier calipers” on at least a weekly basis.
I call these two my boot-strapper options but let me be very clear here. That is only because of price. There is no sacrifice of quality or accuracy that I have seen with these tools, and I use both of them regularly.
The Renegade Boot-strapper Option
These 6″ digital calipers from Mitutoyo are hard to beat. And mean that both literally and figuratively. We have at least 10 of this particular set scattered around the building at work and they get used. Hard.
Both inch and metric measurements, down to .0005″/.01mm resolution. Slight qualifier here – the tenth thousandths place for inches is rounded to 5 or 0, so it’s truly three-place accuracy with a small window for rounding errors.
The calipers can measure I.D., O.D., and Depth among others. It also has a preset option for measuring deviation from reference. (Don’t tell the guy that calibrates mine, but the jaws are hard and sharp enough to mark lengths on stock material as well. The thumbscrew on top of the slide lets you lock these in place on a measurement.)
The Rogue Boot-strapper Option
Maybe 6″ calipers are not quite large enough to handle the kind of work you roll into day-in and day-out. That’s cool too. Every machinist, and every business tends to find their bandwidth eventually. Some range of sizes and operations that makes up the majority of their work. There’s no reason you can’t expand on that in the future, this is just what I’ve seen from experience.
Anyway, these are exactly the same as above only with a 0-8″ measuring range for those parts that need a little extra TLC. Even with the increase in price, they are still well below $200 and are totally worth it.
Without a doubt, I would not hesitate to recommend either of these tools to any machinist, novice or advanced, as a good all-around set of digital calipers. Are there nicer ones on the market? Sure, but they are also much more expensive.
These are easy to use. They feel good in your hands; not like a cheap piece of junk set that costs you $20. I also like the Mitutoyo tools because they come in a hard plastic case for storage. For the price and quality, it’s hard to find a reason not to buy them unless you absolutely do not need them. Even then, you probably do and just don’t know it yet.
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Steve Ritter
Mechanical Design Engineer and Project Manager with close to 15 years in a manufacturing setting. I have experience with many CAD software packages over the years (Autodesk (all), Solidworks, Pro/Engineer, UniGraphics), CNC and manual machine operation, CNC programming, and Electro-mechanical prototyping and system design.
