- Joined
- Jul 28, 2017
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- 2,391
Something I've become curious about recently is the relative accuracy of two different kinds of edge finder when it comes to working against a very slick material like teflon or UHMW polyethylene.
I have three different types of edge finders. One uses an LED touch sensor scheme so it's not useful for plastics. The other two are based on slightly different designs. One uses a snap-in ball in a collet like this one. The other uses a spring-loaded scheme like this. The former relies on friction between the tip and the work to kick the stem out, while the other uses a different approach that should be less affected by the type of material it's in contact with..
While machining some UHMW polyethylene, which is quite slick, I wondered if the two approaches might produce different results, since (perhaps) the snap-in ball scheme relies on friction between the tip and work for its action. A quick experiment showed that the two produced very similar results, but they weren't EXACTLY the same, while they individually were pretty consistent. I tend to think that the spring-loaded approach is going to be less dependent on the type of material.....but I don't know that for certain. I note that the "wiggler center/edge finder" is made by Starrett; but, on the other hand, Starrett makes the other style as well.
Are the different styles interchangeable? Is one generally better than the other?
I have three different types of edge finders. One uses an LED touch sensor scheme so it's not useful for plastics. The other two are based on slightly different designs. One uses a snap-in ball in a collet like this one. The other uses a spring-loaded scheme like this. The former relies on friction between the tip and the work to kick the stem out, while the other uses a different approach that should be less affected by the type of material it's in contact with..
While machining some UHMW polyethylene, which is quite slick, I wondered if the two approaches might produce different results, since (perhaps) the snap-in ball scheme relies on friction between the tip and work for its action. A quick experiment showed that the two produced very similar results, but they weren't EXACTLY the same, while they individually were pretty consistent. I tend to think that the spring-loaded approach is going to be less dependent on the type of material.....but I don't know that for certain. I note that the "wiggler center/edge finder" is made by Starrett; but, on the other hand, Starrett makes the other style as well.
Are the different styles interchangeable? Is one generally better than the other?