Dial Indicator - Digital or Analog

[nicer20]

Always wanted to have a dial indicator around the shop for various alignments. Bought this digital indicator on Amazon on Prime day but I am thinking of returning it. Main reason is I feel the response time is too slow. I believe an analog indicator might be much more responsive.

Of course, I won't get features like inches/mm mode switching or data capture. But I think both of these features are probably not much use for my hobbyist workshop application.

Do you guys think I am correct in assuming that a mechanical/analog indicator is much more responsive and useful? Or are there reasons for going digital?

[LCHIEN]

Well, I have both kinds. The digital one is the HF brand, similar to what you show.

The digital is nice, more convenient to read, but it seems like I am often changing the battery. Its plenty responsive for dynamic positioniong with the cranks on my router table or table saw. Its overkill for static measurements of a non moving object..

The analog one is always ready. The complication is you have to read two dials one for 0-0.100 inches and the other for .1 inch increments to 1.00 in 2 rotations
When you use an offset you can set the zero with the bezel, but the .1" counter may not be zero so you have to be careful not to make a mistake. I often have to start at the zero point and count the revolutions of the fast hand to make sure I don't offset by .1" accidentally. The digital one is much less error prone for user reading errors.

mm conversion is a plus of the digital but like you point out, I never use it. Right now, my digital one is flashing, wanting a new battery.

Here are two of them on my DIY height stands over a 0.500" square stock.

One is reading 0.5025 and the other 0.505 but the counter may not be totally flat.

I find them invaluable for setting router bit and table saw cutting height... as they are spring loaded they will follow the bit as I adjust the crank up or down. One key is the flat contact point. which allows you to follow a point on the blade or bit. You don't have to set and measure and correct and measure iteratively, you just go right to the setting.

The flat contacts are a bit hard to find - they are specially designed for the stems on these indicators and have a 4-48 screw stud. Amazon has some now but they are $10 apiece.

Ashok, ask me and I will send you a height gage stand and flat contact by mail. The stand will fit either analog of digital as they have a standard 3/8" bushing diameter. It's one of the more useful DIY jigs I have made. Very carefully made to keep everything square and flat.


download and Look at the attached video clip of it in use.

In use you want to set the height of the gauge in the holder so that the zero stop of the measuring tip is just below the bottom of the feet so that when the unit is on a flat surface the spring is depressed just a small amount, we're talking .020" or so. Set it on a flat surface or with the contact on the throat plate and press "ZERO" (or set the Bezel to zero). When you lift it up it should be free to go slightly negative.

[nicer20]

That's absolutely awesome. Reading your detailed insights looks like I will keep the digital gauge then. Thanks for sharing. I am sending you a PM regarding the stand & flat.

[LCHIEN]

In summary the response time is not an issue.
The issues to me are ease of reading and less error prone in favor of the digital vs. having to replace batteries often in favor of the analog.
I prefer the digital and keep a pack of 10 LR44-type button cells (I buy in bulk from amazon). in the measurement tool drawer to power the calipers and other measuring stuff.

[nicer20]

Sounds good. One more digital gauge in the measurement tool drawer then.

Yes indeed the digital ones are pretty much taking over the analog instruments. Ease of reading, ability to convert between units, absolute vs. relative measurements (i.e. ability to zero at an arbitrary position) are some of the factors in favor of digital ones. Costs are no longer a major difference.

(I still miss that indicator flick in my old multimeter when checking a capacitor - oh well actually I don't. My digital MM reads the capacitor value too )

[LCHIEN]

I've made my share of height gages

This one a copy of the One Way gauge:


copy of the One Way gauge:


This one for setting the jointer blades:


This one for items up to four inches high:


plus the ones shown in this thread



and some homemade flat contacts



Before I found some commercial contacts, I only had the round tip ones that come with the gauges. They have a not really widely found 4-48 UNF fine thread. I cut some disks using a 1/2" plug cutter from the old CDs (very flat) and then used the dial gauge in my holder which I knew was quite perpendicluar to drop the point squarely onto the disk with a dab of superglue. If your dial indicator is not perpendicular to the flat contact you get an edge error of 4 thou per degree on a half inch dia. disk.

[capncarl]

Analog vrs Digital, I agree with LCHIEN, digital has its accuracy, but when tuning the rip fence or checking something in a lathe nothing beats watching the needle on an analog indicator wave back and forth. Much easier to me than some numbers changing.

[LCHIEN]

Surprised to find things have changed a little in dial indicators since I last bought one many years ago.

Used to be all of them were built to what they called AGD standard, not even sure what AGD stands for but the specifications were standardized. (OK, comes from 1940, stands for American Gauge Design), Now ANSI/ASME.

These indicators have a dial face from 2"-2 3/8". All AGD indicators have a 3/8" shank and a 4-48 UNF thread on the contact point. AGD Dial Indicators - Gaging.com

Now I see that many of them for sale are metric (DIN standards) and have a different shank or stem diameter ( 8 mm, a metric size but is sometimes quoted as 5/16" which is 7.94 mm). And have M2.5 threaded contact point attachment How do you tell? How do I measure thread diameter?

• Using a micrometer or calipers, if the diameter over the threads is .112" then you have a 4-48 thread. If the diameter is .098" then you have the metric M2.5 thread (2.5 mm). Measure carefully since these two dimensions are fairly close together.

So when getting them and the attachments you now have to look carefully at which dimensional standards (AGD/ANSI/ASME or DIN/Metric) it was made to.

https://store.gaging.com/agd-indicat...s%20have%20a%2 0dial,thread%20on%20the%20contact%20point.

https://www.design-engineering.com/features/international-standards-1004026577/

Most of the low cost gages and points I see on Amazon are DIN standard, not AGD. Honestly that's not a problem, once you get it mounted and install the contact point you need, and have the right scale (Inches for me) it really doesn't make any difference.

[LCHIEN]

Plug and redrill for DIN gage