Dial Indicator-Mechanical Comparator

A dial indicator is a simple and widely used tool in engineering to
measure the difference between the dimensions of a workpiece and a

master (standard) piece. Here's a breakdown of its key components
and working:
Key Components:
Body and Dial: The main part of the indicator, featuring a circular
graduated dial that displays measurements.
Contact Point: The part that touches the workpiece. It's connected to
the internal mechanism and is interchangeable, allowing for different
types of measurements.
Indicating Hand: This hand moves across the dial to show the
measurement, indicating how much the workpiece's size differs from
the master piece.
Bezel and Bezel Clamp: The bezel is the outer ring of the dial, which
can be rotated to set the dial to zero. The bezel clamp locks this
setting in place.
Spindle and Plunger: The spindle moves in response to contact with
the workpiece, translating this movement into a readable
measurement on the dial.
Working Mechanism:
Setup: The dial indicator is first set to zero using a master piece.
Measurement: The master is removed, and the workpiece is placed
under the contact point. The dial shows how much the workpiece
differs in size from the master.
Types of Dials:
Continuous Dial: Graduated from zero to the end of the range, useful
for measuring dimensions with a single tolerance direction.
Balanced Dial: Has graduations on both sides of zero, useful for
measurements that allow for deviation in either direction.
Working Mechanism Details:
1. Plunger and Spindle:
• The plunger is the part that physically comes into contact with
the workpiece. It's usually attached to the spindle, and together,
they act as the primary sensing elements of the dial indicator.
• When the plunger touches the workpiece, it moves vertically.
This movement is tiny and needs to be magnified to be readable
on the dial.
2. Rack and Pinion Mechanism:
• Attached to the plunger is a rack—a straight, toothed
component that meshes with a pinion gear (referred to as Gear
A in the mechanism).
• As the plunger moves, it drives the rack, which in turn rotates
Gear A. The linear motion of the plunger is thus converted into
rotational motion.
3. Gear Train:
• Gear A is connected to a larger Gear B on the same spindle.
The rotation of Gear A causes Gear B to rotate as well, but since
Gear B is larger, it rotates more slowly but with greater torque.
• Gear B drives Gear C, which is connected to Gear D. Gear D
then meshes with Gear E.
• Finally, Gear E is connected to Gear F, which is mounted on
the same spindle as the indicator pointer (the hand on the dial).
The sequence of gears (A through F) amplifies the initial small
movement of the plunger so that the pointer moves across the entire
scale of the dial. This amplification is crucial for the precision of the
dial indicator.
4. Magnification Calculation:
• The magnification achieved by this gear train is calculated by
the ratio of the number of teeth on the gears. For example, the
magnification can be expressed as
TDTE×TBTC\frac{T_D}{T_E} \times \frac{T_B}{T_C}TETD
×TCTB, where TDT_DTD, TET_ETE, TBT_BTB, and
TCT_CTC are the number of teeth on gears D, E, B, and C,
respectively.
• This means that a small movement of the plunger results in a
much larger movement of the pointer, making it easier to read
minute differences in measurements.
5. Spring Mechanisms:
• Coil Spring: The plunger movement is opposed by a coil
spring, which applies a consistent pressure, ensuring that the
measurement is accurate and that the plunger returns to its
original position after each measurement.
• Hair Spring: A hair spring is attached to the gear train. It keeps
all the gears loaded against the direction of movement,
eliminating any backlash (slack in the gear train that can cause
errors due to slight gear misalignments or wear). This ensures
that the gear movement is smooth and consistent.
6. Pointer Movement:
• The final gear (Gear F) drives the pointer on the dial. The length
of the pointer also contributes to the magnification—longer
pointers move more for a given amount of gear rotation, making
the scale easier to read.
• As the gears rotate, the pointer moves across the scale on the
dial, indicating the measurement.
7. Avoiding Errors:
• To avoid measurement errors, the dial indicator has been
designed to minimize friction and backlash within the gear train.
Precision-cut gears and the use of jewelled bearings (extremely
smooth and low-friction) ensure that the movement is precise.
.
Types of Contact Points:
Standard Point: Most commonly used, good for general-purpose
measurements.
Tapered and Button Points: Used for measuring surfaces that are
difficult to access with a standard point.
Flat Point: Good for measuring cylindrical surfaces.
Applications:
Dial indicators are often used with stands in metrology labs to check
the roundness of components. They are also built into other measuring
devices like bore gauges, depth gauges, and vibrometers.
Guidelines for Use:

Handle the indicator carefully to avoid damaging the slender spindle.
Avoid sudden impacts or dropping the instrument.
Regularly clean the dial indicator to prevent dust or oil from
damaging the internal mechanism.
Periodic calibration is essential to maintain accuracy.
Advantages: A mechanical comparator ensures positive contact,
which is suitable in a particular application and it also ensures
controlled measuring force. Those mechanical comparators, which
operate using rack and pinion offer long measuring range. Normally,
they have a linear scale. Therefore, they do not need any external
agency as a power source such as electricity or compressed air. These
instruments are robust and compact in design, easy to handle and less
costly as compared to other amplifying devices.
Limitations :Due to more moving parts, increasing friction increases

inertia and any slackness in moving parts reduces accuracy. If any
backlash exists, it gets magnified. These instruments are sensitive to
vibrations

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A dial indicator is a simple and widely used tool in engineering to

measure the difference between the dimensions of a workpiece and a

Guidelines for Use:

Limitations :Due to more moving parts, increasing friction increases

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