What are Dial Indicators?

Dial indicators, which are also known by many as probe indicators or also as dial gauges, are instruments that are used to measure accurately very small and diminutive liner distances. Dial indicators are very frequently used for mechanical and industrial processes. They are named as such because the results of the measurements are magnified. This magnification of display on the indicators is by means of a dial and that is why the name dial indicators have been given to these instruments. There are different models of which a one is the test indicator or dial test indicator. This is type that is mainly used in and for machine setups. The dial test indicators measure displacement at an angle perpendicular to the indicator’s axis while the normal indicators measure linear displacement on that same axis.

Dial indicators can also be used for checking variation of tolerance levels when a machine part is being inspected. They can also be used to measure how much deflection there is in a ring or a beam under normal lab conditions. Dial indicators are thus able to be used in lots of different situations wherein one would need to measure a particularly small object. The dial indicators can typically measure from .0015 to around 12 inches.

There are quite a few different variables that dial indicators may have or can be classified into. The traditional ones were analogue while there are naturally a lot of digital ones in the market nowadays. This doesn’t mean that the measurements are done digitally-just the value readouts. However, even though there are a lot of digital dial indicators in the market, a lot of people still prefer and use the traditional analogue ones. Different indicators also have different dial sizes, different range of travel, different number or times of dial revolutions and of course- different accuracies. Other variations that you may find in dial indicators could be the dial styles- whether they are continuous or balanced; revolution counters that indicate the number of turns or revolutions of the main needle and also there are different graduation styles- positive numbers and negative numbers; clockwise versus anti-clockwise.

There are numerous applications that dial indicators have nowadays. Toolmakers and mold makers use dial indicators to make precision tools; physicists use them frequently for accurate measurements of different objects in their experiments; metal engineers use them to centre the work pieces of lathes. They are also used in checking for run outs whenever a new disk needs to be fitted into a vehicle in making. A disc can easily get ruined if it has run out or if the specified tolerance level has been exceeded. Dial indicators are also used in quality control processes and environments to measure the accuracy of the products being made at different production stages and they are also used in workshop floors to calibrate or set up a machine before it is put on a production run. One can only imagine how hard it would be for a lot of people nowadays with these indicators to help measure the tiniest of objects.