dial indicator holder for milling machine

thingiverse

UPDATE!!!: added v3 of the short arm that holds the dial indicator. v2 is still there but there was 2 spots that was really thin around the dial indicator so v3 fixes this issue by adding some material around that area an also should make it easier to get a nut to seat into place that clamps the indicator in place compared to v2. the part that attaches to the mill fits a 40mm rounds shaft, my machine is a r8 an it fits with very little adjustment from the lock nut. if this is to small for you machine let me know an i'll upload one for whatever size you need, just let me know what size you need it to fit an i'll try to get one made that will fit it. i have one that will fit a cat40 and anything that is 60mm in diameter not sure what it would fit but just let me know if u need something other that whats uploaded. 40mm i just got a wen 33013 a couple weeks ago an have been loving it so far. ive spent most of my time just getting used to the machine an figuring out how to set my parts up for cuts but i figured it was time i do something that would let me start checking my work with more than just my eye or a set of caliper. the dial indicator i have is really cheap so its probably not the best thing to start with but i got the mill about 2 weeks ago an a 7x14 lathe about 2 months ago so most of my spare money has been going to buying tooling an other stuff for the lathe an mill so i went cheap on some stuff to start with, so when it came time to get a stand or some kinda arm to attach the dial indicator to my machine i didnt want to spend money if i could avoid it so i found one i liked on amazon that was way more than i would have been willing to spend an it had some photos an diagrams an i took that and about an hours or so in tinkercad an with v2 i think i got it, or at least for my setup. hopefully someone else will be able to use it. one thing i did use threaded inserts but had to drill the holes out for the insert to fit without blocking the holes but as is a m4 bolt may or may not grab in the plastic its self, that will depend on how well calibrated your printer is. the better the less likely it will grab but u can always use nuts on the other side even tho i didnt make a place for them to sit on the model since i had planned on using the threaded inserts but it will still work cause thats how i test fit everything together at first b4 i added the threaded inserts. m4x20 bolts if u use inserts m4x25 or bigger if u plan to use nuts instead. if i get enough time i may go back an make a version that does have a place for the nuts but tile then this should do work for anyone who wants to try it. the part of my mill that i made this to fit is 40mm round but the way its made it should be able to fit alittle bigger or smaller but not sure how far u can go with that. let me know how you like it an what might need some changing. im new to all this machining stuff so i have no clue what im doing an just trying to figure it out as i go so this might not be the best thing for what i end up using or needing as this was just something that i could use to attach the dial indicator to my mill cause i have nothing else, i may go back also and add another end that attaches the dial indicator from the back mount instead of having it mount through a hole, if you need it to fit something like a cat40 i actually have the files that will let that happen, its quite a bit bigger than the one that fits mine so i didnt include it in the files but if any can use that just msg me an i'll add that to the files also. if i do add or make changes i'll have update section in the summary at the top as i update or change things.