Serious question, has anyone else switched from manual tool touch off to a probe for setting work offsets?

I ran a job with 40 parts on our old VMC and spent maybe 15 minutes total just touching off tools by hand. The next day, I used the machine's probe for the same job and it took maybe 2 minutes to set all the tools. What finally sold me was seeing the probe repeat within a tenth every single time, where my hand was always a little shaky. How many of you guys have made that switch and what was your reason?

3 comments

3 Comments

theawest29d ago

Ever try a probe for setting tools?

the_henry29d agoMost Upvoted

Got a probe for checking depth on my router table. It's more for measuring than setting tools, helps you get exact depths without guesswork. The real tool for setting is a dial indicator or a good setup block. Probes are cool but they're a different piece of kit for a different job.

jesse_nguyen21d agoProlific Poster

Probes are a game changer for repeat work like that. @theawest is right to ask because once you see that tenth repeat, it's hard to go back to shaky hands. The time you save adds up fast over a whole batch of parts.

-1