Dropped $200 on a digital edge finder and it’s collecting dust

I saw all these guys online raving about a digital edge finder for setting zero on the workpiece. Figured it would speed things up on my Haas mill compared to the old wiggle method. Spent about $200 on the thing and honestly, it’s more trouble than it’s worth. You have to clean the tip every time or it gives bad readings, and the battery dies faster than I expected. I ended up going back to my mechanical edge finder that cost me thirty bucks and never fails. Has anyone else had better luck with these digital ones or am I just doing something wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

jennifer_jenkins22d ago

@emma_dixon70 hit the nail on the head about the cleaning routine... I had the same problem with mine at first. You really do have to treat it like a delicate instrument, not just a faster way to find an edge. I run a little air hose over the tip before every use and that cleared up most of my false readings. As for the battery thing, that's been my biggest gripe too. I started pulling the battery out at the end of the day if I'm not doing a production run the next morning, and it stretches the life out way longer. It's a pain but it beats having it die mid job. Honestly I still keep my mechanical edge finder in the drawer for quick one off parts. The digital one shines on repeat setups where you're doing the same part over and over, but for a quick job the old way is just simpler.

emma_dixon7022d ago

My 200 bucks went to a Tormach digital edge finder and honestly it changed my whole setup routine. I had to work through some cleanup habits but once I got a routine down with a little alcohol wipe after every part it stopped giving false readings. The battery thing is real though, I just pop it out when I know I won't use it for a few days. It's definitely not a plug and play tool but if you treat it like a precision instrument instead of a speed hack it really does cut down setup time on repeat jobs.

logan_young2921d ago

You mention treating it like a "precision instrument instead of a speed hack" and I get that mindset but I honestly think that proves the point against it. If I have to baby something that much just to get basic edge finding done it's not a precision instrument it's a finicky gadget that adds extra steps. I tried one for a couple weeks and all that cleaning and battery management just ate into any time savings for me. My mechanical edge finder has never given a false reading and never needs a wipe down or battery swap, it just works every time. For repeat jobs I can see the appeal but honestly I can touch off just as fast with a mechanical finder once you have the muscle memory down. Feels like the digital ones fix a problem that wasn't really there for most of us.