DML caliper

Have any of you bought a DML digital calliper like this one? Is it any good.

https://digitalmicrometers.co.uk/collections/calipers/products/dc04150

I’ve got sick of my cheap Lidl calliper keep eating batteries every time I go to use it but it’s finally conked out completely now so needs replacement. I’ve got a nice 20+ year old Mitutoyo that lives indoors but I want something less expensive for use in the shed. I don’t mind spending up to £25.00.

Edited By Vic on 12/03/2018 13:56:59

Vic, I was in the same situation as yourself, fed up with cheap calipers eating batteries, I bought a Moore and Wright 6” calliper from Machine - DRO, advert at top of this page. It cost me £23 pounds odd and I am well pleased with the quality, it doesn’t eat batteries and it has a quality feel to it when using it. They are currently on offer again from DRO and well worth consideration, however at that price you won’t get Mitutoyo quality.

Dave W

I bet you are using LR44 batteries rather than SR44s? Cost slightly more but last longer - the battery voltage is slightly higher and it sags less as it ages. That's what is supposed to be fitted in these things.

Murray

+1 for Samsaranda's recommendation. MW110-15DBL are fine for all but the highest-precision work, and will take years of hard use.

MW110-15DBL use a larger 2032 battery, which lasts me about a year.

I can vouch that the 'budget' M&W calipers from Machine DRO are very good for the price.

Neil

No, actually I’ve been using SR44 that I bought from Machine DRO.

I bought a "Baty" brand 8 inch caliper for considerably more and have been disappointed as it went wrong after little use, was repaired by the supplier, and is showing signs of going wrong with the same symptoms (spuriously adding 0.1 inch to its reading) again. It was supposed to replace a "Trojan" branded caliper that I got from Greenwood Tools at a show several years ago that has given good service and has a quality feel but started to get a little dodgy - I've never had the same confidence in the Baty one.

For what it's worth, the item to which you link is very similar to the Trojan branded one, and if it's the same I would recommend it. If you do get one, let us know what you think and I might get one too!

BTW the Greenwood Tool man when I bought it said that it was actually made by Mitutoyo.

Arceurotrade do a range of digital calipers I have used the most of the range from 4" to the biggest which went into a UKAS test lab after being calibrated and was used on a regular basis. I have no links to them other than as a satisfied customer. They don't eat batteries even with the cheap ones in them.

Manythanks for Arc recommendation, I'm not too good with all the XX/64ths but I like the idea of fractions, especially when working with old drawings.

Brian

+1

Matt

For what it's worth, I believe that the OFF button on most digital calipers merely turns off the display, so current (albeit a very small amount) is constantly being drawn from the batteries - probably best removing them if not in regular use.

Rob

Thanks for your comments folks. I really like the look of the iGaging Caliper I’ve seen in several reviews but whilst it’s only $35 in the states it translates to £48 over here. I’ll have a look at the M&W.

Vic, I have Mitutoyo but as general purpose I have one of these, found it excellent value but not in the same street as Mitutoyo.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/150-mm-Digital-Vernier-Calipers-CE-with-Large-Screen-ALL-STAINLESS-STEEL-6/311552632560?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

Some time back I purchased a Moore & Wright calliper and found it frustrating because it had an auto off feature, excellent idea but it closed down in far too short a time, a matter of around 60 secs? so every time you wanted to use it you had to switch it on.

John

I did a test on caliper current consumption for an MEW article:

Current Consumption

I have a sensitive ammeter capable of measuring down to 0.1uA, so partly insulating the batteries with a slip of paper I was able to take current readings for each caliper. I was initially surprised to see the M&W was by far the greediest taking 3.5uA, with the Mitutoyo not far behind with 3.0uA (actually, its reading consistently swapped between 2.8 and 3.3). The Machine -DRO caliper used a tiny 0.3uA, Proops 1.7uA and the Aldi 0.6uA. I should add that the plastic calipers use a whopping 5.7uA!

With this sort of device the active current consumption is very much related to the ‘clock rate’ or how fast the processor inside is working. I suspect that the two high-end calipers both work rather faster than the cheaper units.

But, the popular wisdom is that inexpensive calipers eat batteries compared to the better units, and what of Mitutoyo’s claim of a 3 ½ year battery life? There had to be more going on so I decided to take a second set of readings with the displays switched off. The difference was immediately apparent. Both the Mitutoyo and M&W calipers gave readings of 0.0uA – in other words their consumption when switched off was less than I could measure. The Machine DRO flickered between 0.0 and 0.1, so I estimate a consumption of a creditable 0.1uA. In contrast, the cheap Proops unit still used 0.4uA when switched off and the Workzone (Aldi) one 0.3uA.

These currents are very low, indeed it suggests the Aldi unit should have a battery life of about five years. In practice, however, most people’s experience is that cheap calipers will last up to a year on a new battery, usually failing rapidly in the cold winter.

The measured figures bear out the observation made elsewhere that high quality calipers do use much less current when switched off

Another observation is that the Moore and Wright and Workzone calipers both switch off automatically – in fact my only real criticism of the M&W calipers is that they switch off a bit quickly, although they remember their setting. The others don’t switch off, or at least don’t do so in less than about 20 minutes. Whether you have cheap calipers or high end ones, it IS worth switching off the display to extend battery life.