Laser edge finder

[dave6]

Has anyone used or have one of these laser edge finders and if so how do you like it and what are its limitations?

http://www.lasercenteredgefinder.com/

[JFettig]

littlemachineshop.com has them, I don't think they would work well, I have not used one but thats just what I see from them. Your using your naked eye to calibrate something so fine. If I only needed that level of calibration I'd just chuck up a drill bit and eyeball it.

Like I said, I havent personally used one.


Jon

[InspirationTool]

I splurged and ordered one... I'll compare with a regular edge finder and post results. I'm hoping it makes things easier with my 16 TPI leadscrews on my mini mill.

-Jeff

[mxpro32]

The lasercenter edge finder is the invention of my old Industrial technology operations management teacher at csu fresno. He was always pulling it out in class and telling us about it. Not sure how well it actually works though.

[ServoGuy]

Got one.
Love it...
That thing is super handy.
Can't tell you how accurate it is, works fine for my needs, ~ +/- 2.5mils. it seems you get the best performance the closer you are to the edge. After 5 months of use it's still holding strong.

[dave6]

When you say closer to the edge do you mean in the Z axis? Do you use the polarizer attachment also? If so is it worth it?

[ServoGuy]

Originally Posted by dave6 When you say closer to the edge do you mean in the Z axis? Do you use the polarizer attachment also? If so is it worth it?

Yep, I was meaning the Z-axis...
They did not offer the polarizer back when I bought it, sounds like a nice feature though...

[pumpkinbiter]

At the risk of sounding like a sceptic, I don't see how that
could be accurate. Your basically guessing where the center of
the dot is. Not a problem if you just need to find the edge of
some raw material but what happens when you need something
accurate? Has anybody had the opurtunity to try it on something
accurate?

[InspirationTool]

I haven't used mine much. I've found that it is hard to judge on the edge of a vise. I also dropped it and that increased the spot diameter greatly.

Interestingly, it seemed to work GREAT for finding a pin prick. Something about the way the light reflected off the indention, but it seemed like I got a strong change in appearance when I got right over it.

I need to see if I can take mine apart to fix it.

-Jeff

[gtschance]

I use one on my mini mill. I bought mine from LMS with the polarizer (which can be adjusted for dot size simply by rotating the lens). The calibration procedure is extremely simple. Assuming your mill is nicely trammed. Chuck the laser into a end mill holder or collet or drill chuck (my laser shank is 0.5 in diameter). Turn on the beam. Rotate the spindle (by hand) and adjust the setscrews until the spot stays in one location as small as possible. Here it is preferable to adjust at maximum distance from the table so the angular displacement is as exagerated as possible. When the spot no longer moves in a circle, you are done. While I have checked the alignment many times, I have not had to fool with it since I first adjusted it.

I find dimming some of my lighting makes it possible to see edge alignment on my mill vise easily. Centering on a dot or cross scribe is a piece of cake. Measuring using a combination of my dial indicators, dial test indicators and dial calipers allowed me to define what I should look for when I am at edge. Based on what I can tell so far (only been a couple of months), I am getting very consistent results and it exceeds my own abilities to repeat. I am confident that I am getting within a several mils which has been good enough for my work as hobby.

Your mileage may vary.

George