Wanhao Dial Gauge Holder

thingiverse

This is a custom design for an XYZ dial gauge/indicator holder that I created after trying various alternatives. Those included one that clipped onto the extruder motor and another that hung on the X linear rails, but neither were reliable or provided accurate readings over the entire bed. Therefore, I took inspiration from a design I liked for an XYZ dial gauge holder and adapted it to work with the Wanhao/Monoprice Maker Select/Cocoon 3D printer. The gauge holder requires a 1/4-20 x 1-inch bolt or M6 x 25mm bolt to secure the dial gauge in place. The dial gauge I purchased from Harbor Freight appears to be standard, so any Chinese-made dial gauge should work as well. I am pleased with how this design turned out, featuring a nice snap action that holds the gauge firmly in place and provides repeatable readings. However, users need to be aware of one potential issue: if they push or pull down on the holder without enabling the motors first, it may cause the Z-axis to move down. To avoid this problem, simply re-home the Z-axis after moving the dial gauge. This dial gauge holder was designed so that the gauge reads about half its travel when the Z-axis is homed, which means mine reads .570 inches of travel from the build plate when the Z-axis is home. This positioning puts most gauges in an optimal "sweet spot" for accuracy while still allowing for additions such as a glass build plate or using the lower setting on the Z-axis home switch. Print Settings: Printer: Wanhao Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: .3 Infill: 25% Notes: This print can be done without supports, but it does require some minor clean-up of the dial gauge holder "slot". I successfully printed this design in both ABS and PLA. Although both worked fine, the small amount of shrinkage combined with the flexibility of ABS resulted in a more repeatable reading than PLA.