Tool Titan Carbon Fiber Composites Digital Caliper (Princess Auto)

[Perry]

Just a small rant that might be of interest to some of you.


I've had one of these for a while and I am impressed at the quality and how accurate it is for the ~$10 sale price when I picked it up.

The plastic(Carbon Fiber Composite) works for me as I measure a lot of items I prefer not to scratch. There is no need for precise measurements, but this unit can do it.


I was at P.A. today and noticed the Titan Carbon Fiber Composites Digital Calipers were on sale and grabbed another one.


I'm home checking it out now and it is not the same. It looks the same.....but.......


First off . you can see light thru the jaws when they are closed. Next I noticed the new unit "autos on" the minute you slide it. The old unit needs to be manually turned on. After waiting some time the new unit has an auto off feature. I don't believe the old unit autos off. Well that is not exactly true. If you wait long enough, I'm sure it will eventually turn off. (Please don't boo me.)


The action of the slide feels "sloppy" for lack of a better word. Not loose, just not as good as the original old unit. In my opinion the older model was a better unit even though it did not have the auto off feature. When you are shopping in China they have a large number of products that appear exactly the same. There is a large range of quality in those products even thought they look exactly the same. There is also a large range in the prices. I wonder if the P.A. buyer knows that this unit appears to be an inferior product?

It would be nice to figure out how to identify the older model while it is still packaged.

 

[Perry]

One good thing that I never picked up on. The new unit does not need to be zero'd each time you turn it on.

Reference Clough42 at 11:00/20:59

 

[Darren]

If $10 plastic calipers are good within 5 or 10 thou, you're probably doing ok

 

[Tom Kitta]

One good thing that I never picked up on. The new unit does not need to be zero'd each time you turn it on.

Reference Clough42 at 11:00/20:59

That video is inaccurate. Autor uses some strange old model of cheap calipers. I have like 6 or 8 cheap calipers of different makes and not even ONE has the problem with zero.

I also have B&S calipers (old ones, very old) and somewhat newer Mitutoyo's - there is indeed little difference in performance. I think for me the more expensive stuff is a bit more "stiff".

 

[Perry]

Tom , the original plastic caliper I have from Titan needs to be zero'd each time you turn it on. Older version software I'm guessing, but still physically a much better unit.

I've spent the whole evening on this black hole. Reading, watching you tube videos and playing with some of my stuff. I've learned a lot. What is interesting I have an older set of Mastercraft and a newer set of Mastercraft. The older set is also a far better set. (Both Mastercraft have the auto on/off and do not need to be zero'd.)



On a side note there was someone on here that was planning to use a cheap caliper as part of a DRO and mentioned that they would not be able to read all the data on one common display. I can not find the thread. If they are reading this, watch this you tube video. The circuit board inside these cheap calipers have a data line that you could use to read your measurement to a microcontroller and then display everything, where ever you would like. He's using it for a project but his video will give you the basic idea.

 

[Canadium]

I find mine are never used because the battery is always dead. The Mitutoyo's are supposed to be noteworthy because they don't drain the battery but there are so many similar looking fakes on the market I'm staying away from those too. My go to for most everything is an inexpensive Accusize dial caliper.

 

[Darren]

I have an iGaging quill scale on my mill. It doesn't have auto off. Drives me nuts. If my calipers didn't have auto off they'd be dead all the time and I'd be back to squinting at a vernier scale.

 

[Perry]

@Darren, off topic here......your image for your profile brings back memories for me when I was a kid growing up. I remember that truck sitting on a car lot in my small home town. Just looking it up now, I didn't realize it was the fast machine for it's time.

 

[Darren]

The 78 and 79 Dodge Lil Red Express Truck was the fastest north American production vehicle. I bought mine in 1990 when I was 16. Still have it.

 

[Perry]

The 78 and 79 Dodge Lil Red Express Truck was the fastest north American production vehicle. I bought mine in 1990 when I was 16. Still have it.

Faster then the Vette at the time. Crazy. I'm guessing I'm about 5 years older then you. I would have been in Grade 8. Walked by it every day on the way to school.

 

[Darren]

Mine had no trouble beating warmed over 5.0 mustangs. After I swapped to 4:10 gears, and built a hot 360 I made a fool out of quite a few. It was fun till the cops had enough and I couldn't afford the tickets.

 

[Perry]

I couldn't afford the tickets.

Speed costs money....one way or another. Such a unique looking vehicle. Always stuck out in my mind. It sat under an overhang by the dealership in the shade. It was new. It was shinny and RED. You couldn't walk by it and not notice it.

 

[PaulL]

My cheap digitals calipers are gone. I can't trust them - when the battery gets low they start to lie, without telling me the battery is low.
I got a decent vernier (Fowler 52-058-016 Stainless Steel Fine Adjustment Vernier Caliper) and it's just been a joy - I don't need to pull out the micrometer as often and read down to better than tenths of a millimeter with ease.
The only annoying part is peering under the edge of my glasses to make out the marks.
I'm tempted to get a good digital, but the price tag keeps scaring me away.

 

[Perry]

I find mine are never used because the battery is always dead. The Mitutoyo's are supposed to be noteworthy because they don't drain the battery but there are so many similar looking fakes on the market I'm staying away from those too. My go to for most everything is an inexpensive Accusize dial caliper.

Make sure you are using the SR44 (387) batteries. Makes a big difference compared to the LR44.

"The SR44 drops below 1.5 Volts after about 95% usage. So you only get about 50% of the 150 mA hours from an LR44. The SR44 start at a slightly higher voltage, and their flat discharge curve makes them far superior for low power, long operational life applications, like a caliper."
From http://www.fliptronics.com/tip0006.html

 

[Perry]

My cheap digitals calipers are gone. I can't trust them - when the battery gets low they start to lie, without telling me the battery is low.
I got a decent vernier (Fowler 52-058-016 Stainless Steel Fine Adjustment Vernier Caliper) and it's just been a joy - I don't need to pull out the micrometer as often and read down to better than tenths of a millimeter with ease.
The only annoying part is peering under the edge of my glasses to make out the marks.
I'm tempted to get a good digital, but the price tag keeps scaring me away.

Try another cheap set. Look for the auto off function on them. Use the SR44 batteries. This plastic Titan is still on it's first battery and it must be 4-5 years old now. (Light use )

There are a few Youtube videos out there comparing the cheap ones to the expensive ones. The accuracy for the cheap products is pretty good.

 

[PaulL]

Try another cheap set. Look for the auto off function on them. Use the SR44 batteries. This plastic Titan is still on it's first battery and it must be 4-5 years old now. (Light use )

There are a few Youtube videos out there comparing the cheap ones to the expensive ones. The accuracy for the cheap products is pretty good.

I had no problems with accuracy until the batteries got low, then they'd start losing 5mm now and then. If they refused to work in that circumstance it would have been fine! But having to second guess them? Gah.
Both sets also started falling apart very quickly - the battery cover pops off randomly after the first battery change which didn't endear me either :-(

 

[Darren]

The best cheap, general purpose calipers that I use are Napa Ultrapro. They used to be on sale for $20 often. I have 3 or 4. Very good. Pretty accurate. I trust them to 0.0015.

 

[Perry]

I had no problems with accuracy until the batteries got low, then they'd start losing 5mm now and then. If they refused to work in that circumstance it would have been fine! But having to second guess them? Gah.
Both sets also started falling apart very quickly - the battery cover pops off randomly after the first battery change which didn't endear me either :-(

Just reading the full article in that link I quoted above. Near the end they talk about the different calipers and current usage. If the caliper remembers the zero when off, it is actually on all the time. Hence more battery usage. The first original Titan plastic caliper I have does not remember the zero. It is actually turning itself off when you select off. (Not just the display) This might explain why the battery is lasting so long on that unit. I'm going to take a guess the battery life on the new Titan I picked up today will not be as good. (but...it will remember the last position when turned off.)

Here is the link again....
http://www.fliptronics.com/tip0006.html

 

[Perry]

Another thing to be careful of when buying...... there is a difference between resolution and accuracy.

The expensive sets will tell you they have a resolution of 0.0005" but if you read the specs the accuracy is +/- 0.001". So they are saying it can display 0.0005" but is accurate to +/- 0.001".
Always look at the specifications. The Mitutoyo specs are pretty clear.

 

[6.5 Fan]

I love my old Mitutoyo digital calipers. No auto on/off or zero they are the first measuring tool i reach for. The PA ones i have are accurate enough for the loading bench but they will eat up batteries when turned off. Out in the big shop my older Mitutoyo verniers are the measuring stick of choice, the lines do seem to be getting smaller though.