Most disappointing tool I ever bought

[herdsman]

I have the wixey angle setting device which is very accurate and the device for measuring the distance from the fence to the blade on my contractors saw and that too is accurate. Perhaps you have just been unlucky?

 

[ike]

Tony,

Given the level of expertise you claim, I'm surprised you haven't had it apart to find out what's wrong with it (surely it must be due to a fault, given others saisfaction with theirs). Could as simple as a speck of dust or other contaminant.

Ike

 

[Mike.C]

Alan Ward wrote

Hi Tony,

Did you purchase the unit via us (Allendale Electronics Ltd), as I have no record of any customers contacting us regarding accuracy issues on this unit,

Please drop me an e-mail at [email protected] and I will get an engineer to reply to you.

Thanks

Alan Ward

Tony did you get yours from Allendale electronics because as he has taken the time to post on here offering help if you did, then it would be nice to let us know whether it came from them or not and if so has the engineer contacted you?

In fact I am surprised that no one has thanked Alan for posting the message and trying to help, or even acknowledge his post

Thanks Alan

Cheers

Mike

 

[ike]

Curious, so I took the Mitutoyo apart. Looks like an inductive sensor that utilises the vernier principle to increase resolution. If the Wixey is same then that rules out simple dirt/dust oil contamination. Can you positively rule out the adjustment mechanism of the machine as the culprit?



Ike

 

[Alan Ward]

Tony did you get yours from Allendale electronics because as he has taken the time to post on here offering help if you did, then it would be nice to let us know whether it came from them or not and if so has the engineer contacted you?

In fact I am surprised that no one has thanked Alan for posting the message and trying to help, or even acknowledge his post

Thanks Alan

Cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike!!!!! I was starting to feel my post of being lost!

I would be grateful if you could advise where the unit was purchased from as the problem described has not come up before and I would like to get to the bottom of what is causing, any photos of the install you can post or e-mail through to me would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Alan Ward

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tony,

Did you purchase the unit via us (Allendale Electronics Ltd), as I have no record of any customers contacting us regarding accuracy issues on this unit,

Please drop me an e-mail at [email protected] and I will get an engineer to reply to you.

Thanks

Alan Ward

Hi Allen

Sorry, I missed your post.

I bought the device from Allendale and the receipt has a tax date of 24/09/2007

I emailed the company after a couple of weeks detailing my concerns but heard nothing back. I was busy at work around this time, got no time in the workshop, and simply forgot all about it.

Later I found the device in a drawer and tried it again with similar results, by this point, I had owned it for 5 months or so, and simply chalked it up to experience as I said earlier.


I understand that you have no record of my email? not unheard of for emails to go astray or not arrive.


The device was mounted as shown here

 

[Anonymous]

Curious, so I took the Mitutoyo apart. Looks like an inductive sensor that utilises the vernier principle to increase resolution. If the Wixey is same then that rules out simple dirt/dust oil contamination. Can you positively rule out the adjustment mechanism of the machine as the culprit?

Ike

Interesting Ike

As you say, I have considerable expertise in instrumentation and measurement, however that does not include the inner workings, chipsets and software of digital verniers and I already have an Axminster vernier that fitted straight back onto the machine and works perfectly - however the Axi does not tell me the thickness of the actual wood after the cut though, which is why i bought the Wixey, as this should.

 

[Alan Ward]

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your reply, I have forwarded onto one our engineers and to Barry Wixey to see what light we can shed onto your issues you are having, I hope to have an answer in the next couple of days.

Thanks

Alan Ward

 

[Alan Ward]

I have been advsied for you to check...


1. A faulty readout can have 4 possible symptoms. A. The readout is stuck on 0.0. B. The readout scrolls random numbers uncontrollably. C. The readout is blank. D. The readout produces a consistent error that is always a multiple of 5.08mm ( 5.08, 10.16….etc) A very small error like .7mm has never been found to be caused by a faulty readout.



2. If the bottom part of the frame is not level or slightly above the planers table you will get a calibration error. This error will be consistent regardless of the thickness of board you are planning.


3. If the readout is binding on the scale, the scale will lift with the readout as the cutter head is raised up and down. This is the most common cause of small errors. We suggest in the instructions that you should be able to lift the scale and it should freely drop back down to rest on the frame under the force of the spring. If this is not happening then the brackets will need re adjusted and possibly bent a little to keep the readout from binding.



Other than these 3 things, loose screws on the brackets are the only other thing to check.


Coudl you please check the above and advise

Alan Ward

 

[jonny boy]

Tony, I wasn't comparing Mitutoyo to Wixey in any way, shape or form, just meerly stating that you basically get what you pay for i'm afraid. E.G, Mitutoyo instruments are expensive which is why they are guaranteed to work well, Wixey are cheaper and not put together with the same quality components. And by the way to all the technical one's out there, these instruments work by a principle called "Murray fringes" which works by bouncing light from pre determined widths of black spaces. Work that one out then!

jonathan.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Alan, will check this weekend

however, as previously stated the error is not an offset or linear

1. A faulty readout can have 4 possible symptoms. A. The readout is stuck on 0.0. B. The readout scrolls random numbers uncontrollably. C. The readout is blank. D. The readout produces a consistent error that is always a multiple of 5.08mm ( 5.08, 10.16….etc) A very small error like .7mm has never been found to be caused by a faulty readout.

Not the readout which would have been easy to identify. The readigs are fine for some thicknesses, but out on others by varying amounts. The error varies during use too - by this I mean that if I plane a board down and the thickness is about right on the scale at the start, after a few runs, it becomes less accurate as the wood is removed and these errors acumulate until it is perhaps half a mm out

2. If the bottom part of the frame is not level or slightly above the planers table you will get a calibration error. This error will be consistent regardless of the thickness of board you are planning.

Error is not a calibration error (offset) as mentioned in original post as it is not consistent.

3. If the readout is binding on the scale, the scale will lift with the readout as the cutter head is raised up and down. This is the most common cause of small errors. We suggest in the instructions that you should be able to lift the scale and it should freely drop back down to rest on the frame under the force of the spring. If this is not happening then the brackets will need re adjusted and possibly bent a little to keep the readout from binding.

It does move freely up and down on the spring and i checked this in line with the manual. Will check again in case it is sticking anywhere etc.

Other than these 3 things, loose screws on the brackets are the only other thing to check.

Will check this.