Pro tip: watch how injection molders hold their calipers at trade shows

I went to the Midwest Tool Expo in Cleveland last week and spent some time at the CNC demos. What caught my eye was how the old timers would hold their calipers with two fingers, not the whole hand. They said it stops you from pressing too hard and getting false readings. I tried it on my Haas when I got back and my tolerance checks went from +-0.003 to +-0.001 on average. Has anyone else noticed little hand tricks like this that make a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_logan18d ago

I noticed the exact same thing at a mold show in Chicago back in 2016. A guy running a vertical mill showed me he holds his mic with his pinky resting on the table to keep it steady, and it cut my repeatability errors by about 40%. His trick was using the knurled part of the thimble to spin it slow until you hear that tiny click, not just cranking it down tight. Another old timer told me to check calibration on a known pin every morning because shop temp swings can throw off your readings by 0.0005 easy. Little stuff like that adds up fast.

rowanbennett18d ago

40% improvement seems high. I'd guess half that was just being more careful.