It used to be that calipers were not a common item to have in an electronics lab. However, smaller parts, the widespread use of 3D printers and machining tools, and — frankly — cheap im…
  • HelixDab2
    3·
    3 months ago

    We didn’t realize that when you see CE on the back of your calipers, it might mean “conformité européenne” to reflect standards compliance, or China Export which means… well, probably nothing other than it came from China.

    As long as you limit the calipers you buy to well-known brands, you should be fine. Mitutoyo and Starrett are the best, but even Fowler should be fine. Also, best case scenario with calipers is +/-.0005".

      • BearOfaTime
        22·
        3 months ago

        All depends on the use-case and having a calibrated standard to verify.

        I’d never use them for truly close tolerances, but they’re great for day-to-day stuff, especially since at that price, I can have them in every tool box

    • scrion@lemmy.world
      1·
      3 months ago

      Depends on where you buy them. There are a lot of fake Mitutoyo calipers on e. g. eBay, and not everyone might be aware of that.

      And let’s face it, 5 tenths is way beyond what people need at home, 95% of people don’t have any equipment that would even allow them to control any process to that degree of accuracy.

      Also, shout out for Shars as another budget option.

      • HelixDab2
        2·
        3 months ago

        .0005" is best case, with the best calipers. If you have spectacularly shitty ones, your accuracy might be more like +/- .005", or ten thou.

        I use calipers for reloading; rifle cases need to be trimmed because brass flows under pressure, and you def. have a minimum and a maximum tolerance.

        • scrion@lemmy.world
          1·
          3 months ago

          Plus handling errors, of course.

          But yeah, a $170 Mitutoyo caliper will also not display anything beyond five tenths, so that’s definitely a hard limit.