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Technological development in metrology follows one clear course: measurement technology gets more versatile and easy to use over time. Dial indicators may only be able to measure at increments set during their manufacturing, but experienced employees trust in their repeatability, simplicity and accuracy. Digital indicators may require more training to fully leverage, but they have grown increasingly flexible with regards to resolution and units since their introduction. The L. S. Starrett Company aims to bring indicator versatility and usability to new heights with its programmable, touchscreen-driven .

Flexible Measurements

The W4900 shares much of its DNA with digital indicators, but its touchscreen interface simplifies navigation compared to button-driven indicators. Michael Ingman, director of research and development at Starrett, says that while these button-driven models are powerful, operating them requires you “to really know the user manual, kind of poke your way around in that to figure out how to do a preset or something along those lines.” The touchscreen menu instead enables users to navigate to options which are spelled out in plain text.

In addition to programming in a preset, swapping between interfaces — digital view vs. dial view, inches vs. millimeters, continuous vs. balanced views, or different resolutions — only takes a few taps on the screen. Users can set limits this way as well, enabling the indicator to provide notifications when measurements approach maximum tolerances. For working at odd angles, users can also set the display to rotate.

Starrett promises that the touchscreen setup makes each of these changes quick, the indicators also include the ability to save setting configurations as profiles, which users can switch between from one job to the next. “It’s a big time saver,” Ingman says. “If you wanted to go back to something that you had done and somebody went in and made some changes to how the tool is operating, you can go right back to your old profile and load it up in a few seconds.”

Ingman says that this ability to set profiles should improve repeatability and cut down on the overall number of similar indicators a shop would need both in a quality control lab and on the shop floor. “You don’t have to take a part out of the fixturing and put in a different tool,” he says. “You can just change from one profile to another.”

Designed With Connectivity in Mind

Starrett bundles these indicators with its DataSure 4.0 data collection software. In addition to quick data collection through a built-in transmitter, the software can track each indicator’s unique MAC address, turning the screen on the selected indicator blue when it is being tracked. This feature can assist shops using multiple W4900s simultaneously for a custom inspection setup, as well as those with different programs saved to different indicators.

Starrett also positions DataSure as a way to simplify users’ inspection tasks. The radios on the tools can transmit data up to 30 feet away, whether that is to a wireless gateway or the DataSure app on an employee’s phone. Just as the indicator turns blue when being tracked, the screen also turns green to acknowledge when data points are successfully sent and received, or yellow when data is sent but never received. This visual feedback helps inspection staff prevent errors by avoiding the loss of data from drops in connection.

Like the W4900, Starrett positions DataSure as a technology that improves the user experience when performing inspection work. Longer ranges for measurement data transmission improve flexibility on where inspection work can take place, just as the ability to change resolutions and screens on the W4900 expands the range of applications where inspection personnel can use the indicator. Starrett builds the indicator to an IP67 rating to ensure proper function in difficult environments and includes a radio within its housing to ensure recording of measurement data in any of these environments. The DataSure app can simultaneously record data from multiple indicators and precision gages, and the flexibility of the W4900 helps consolidate the number of indicators necessary on the shop floor. In this way, the technologies support one another, each improving the other’s versatility and simplifying the inspection process.