Hi,

I'm searching for a tool that measure the distance from the mill or the zero position.
Do you guys know where I can find this?

Thanks
Tom
Belgium

What about usning one of the inexpensive DRO scales? They are like a digital caliper without the jaws and come in various lenghts up to 48".

Hi,

Do you have a link where I can find more information about it?
Do you mean something like this? http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2010

Ok, but what if you use a 1mm mill and it breacks during milling?
How do you perfect position the Z axis?

Tom

Ok, but what if you use a 1mm mill and it breacks during milling?
How do you perfect position the Z axis?
Tom

I know of two tricks. Here's the cheap way:

Measure the thickness of a piece of paper and put it on the table or a reference surface (i.e. the top of the workpiece). Then jog the new end mill down while sliding the paper back and forth. Jog slowly, of course. When the end mill just barely "grabs" the paper, but you can still slide it out, you know that you are exactly a paper's thickness away from the table or reference surface. If your paper is .005" thick, you know you are at a Z height of 0.005" and can reset your Z origin accordngly.

Here's the slick way:

Use a touch probe. Same basic idea, but instead of paper, you use a touch probe that you can buy. It is just a metal disc insulated from the table by plastic on the bottom of the disc. You clip a wire to the spindle, and then jog the end mill down until it just makes electrical contact with the metal disc, closing the circuit and lighting up a light. This is more accurate (since the disc is a very consistant height), but of course, the probe is more expensive than paper.

Tompie...are you just checking to see if your router moved the distance it was commanded to move?

Hi guys,

No I don't want to check the distance.
The only thing I want to do is when I would start 3D milling and the mill would break, or something goes wrong or when I need to put a smaller mill in it that I can start at exact the same place!!!

Sorry for my bad English

Tom