DIAL INDICATORS & DIGITAL GAUGE INDICATORS

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Machining, fabricating, and manufacturing, a dial indicator is used to accurately measure small distances and angles, and amplify them to make them  more obvious. The name comes from the concept of indicating , to the user that which their naked eye cannot discern; such as the presence, or exact quantity, of some small distance (for example, a small height difference between two flat surfaces, a slight lack of concentricity between two cylinders, or other small physical deviations).

Dial indicators have a clock display, in which a needle points to graduations in a circular array around the dial. Such dial indicators, of which there are several types, therefore are often called dial indicators or commonly dial clocks or dial gauge.

Also probe indicator, pointer, test indicator , dial test indicator, drop indicator, plunger indicator, and others.The dial indicator has a plunger to show the travel/movement on the clock face as required. Dial Test Indicators (pick clocks, DTI,finger clock etc are the smaller dials faces with a lever stylus , rather than a plunger .                                           See DIAL TEST INDICATORS page

Non-dial types of indicators include mechanical devices with cantilevered pointers and also digital electronic gauges with digital displays.

Commonly a dial indicator & magnetic base (see MAGNET BASES Page) are used together to set up work concentric in a 4 jaw lathe chuck or to check spindle runout, and to set up a vive on a milling table accurately. Many uses are from the dial indicator, hence a dial indicator is essential from an apprentice to a tradesan in their toolbox.

Indicators may be used to check the variation in tolerance during the inspection process of a machined  part, measure the deflection of a beam or ring under laboratory conditions, as well as many other situations where a small measurement needs to be registered or indicated. Dial indicators typically measure ranges from 0.25mm to 300mm (0.015in to 12.0in), with graduations of 0.001mm to 0.01mm (metric) or 0.00005in to 0.001in .

Many different contact points can be used on the dial indicator to get into various spaces or surfaces.

A co axial dial indicator can be used to simplify setup on bores in a mill or borer. The face stays facing the operator, as the various dial indicator stylus indicates around the bore at slow RPM, the machinist can move the table accordingly to reduce the needle movement to zero. Easier than using a DTI & magnetic base.

 
Miller’s Tooling can offer a Micron dial indicator 0 – 12.7mm travel x 0.002mm increments.

Economical  Waterproof dial indicators are proving popular to keep coolant from entering the dial indicator.

 Snap Dial thickness gauges are used as a comparator for thickness of surfaces.