A spindle-mounted locating tool. The common edge finder has a spring-held tip that wobbles when spinning at about 1,000 rpm, runs true when touched to an edge, then kicks sideways; at that moment the spindle center is exactly half the tip diameter from the edge. A wiggler set adds needle and ball points for picking up scribed lines and center punch marks.
Pick up the edges with the wiggler, add a hundred thou for the tip radius, and zero the DRO there.
Run it slow and feed it gently; spin an edge finder at full rpm and it stops being a tool and starts being a projectile.
Also heard as
- edge finder
- wobbler
Related terms
Touch off
To set a tool's position by bringing it to a known surface and recording that point in the control.
Work offset
The stored distance from machine zero to the part zero, so a CNC program runs from the right place.
Dykem
Shop name, from a trade name, for blue layout fluid painted on metal so scribed lines show up bright.
Indicate
To align a vise, part or bore to the machine axes using a dial or test indicator.