Simple 55mm Dial Gauge holder for 42/45mm spindle CNC's (eg 1610)

thingiverse

Dial gauges with a 55mm body and an 8mm offset from the pin on their back plate are quite common. My unbranded, low-cost dial gauge fits right into that category. This design is meant to let me attach my dial gauge to my CNC machine so I can level PCB's before cutting tracks. I tried to make it as straightforward as possible. The design has some flexibility and clearance to allow the dial gauge pin to fit through the lower hole when closed, then slip into the spindle clamp. It gets secured firmly in place with a triangular key piece from above. It works better than I thought it would, and is much simpler than any other design I've seen. The SCAD file for this design has plenty of comments and parameters; you can use it as a starting point to create designs for different sizes of gauge, spindle, or lock screw/button placement. If you own an X-Carve 1610, please be aware that I use underbody bed mounts on my machine to get extra clearance. However, I think the clamp should still fit into an unmodified 1610 with its Z axis at the top of its travel. I printed this design in PLA, and the flexible points will allow the gauge to slide in without any issues. Just be careful not to overflex them.