New Inventors ABC TV - how does the thickness gauge work?

D

Dennis

Guest
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball
bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

How does it work?
 
Dennis <user@example.net> wrote:

On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball
bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

How does it work?
Click to expand...
On the program, they actually said that the rare earth magnet is the
ball bearing, and did not say what sort of magnet the tip was.

In any event, I guess that somehow they are measuring the force on the
magnet in the tip.

Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au
 
Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure
wood thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic
ball bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

How does it work?
Click to expand...
**Buggered if I know. The link is useless. I watched it last night and
thought an explanation would be forthcoming. Presumably, it uses some kind
of magnetometer. Perhaps a strain gauge?

Yeah, a strain gauge I reckon.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au
 
On 14/07/2011 5:18 AM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure
wood thickness to<0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic
ball bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

How does it work?

**Buggered if I know. The link is useless. I watched it last night and
thought an explanation would be forthcoming. Presumably, it uses some kind
of magnetometer. Perhaps a strain gauge?

Yeah, a strain gauge I reckon.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the link is useless - especially as it is titled "how it works".
 
On 14/07/2011 4:41 AM, Andy Wood wrote:
Dennis<user@example.net> wrote:

On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to<0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball
bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

How does it work?



On the program, they actually said that the rare earth magnet is the
ball bearing, and did not say what sort of magnet the tip was.

In any event, I guess that somehow they are measuring the force on the
magnet in the tip.

Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au
Click to expand...

Ok if the ball is a magnet then maybe a strain gauge as you/trevor are
suggesting. I was thinking of a hall sensor or similar but the field
will change as the magnetic ball rolls.
 
Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball
bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/
Click to expand...
I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a re-invention of this:
<http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Violin/Hacklinger_Thickness_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=43728>

Inventors huh? This thing has been around for yonks, and adding a digital
readout isn't an invention, just simple application of existing technology.

If they had any sense, they'd build one to measure body filler in cars under
the paint. A lot more money in that than in lutherie.

Clifford Heath.
 
On 15/07/2011 7:27 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure
wood thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic
ball bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a re-invention of this:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Violin/Hacklinger_Thickness_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=43728


Inventors huh? This thing has been around for yonks, and adding a digital
readout isn't an invention, just simple application of existing technology.

If they had any sense, they'd build one to measure body filler in cars
under
the paint. A lot more money in that than in lutherie.

Clifford Heath.
Click to expand...

Yep, very similar - just a different means of displaying the thickness.
Hall effect sensor?


One of the other "inventions" that won the episode was a pressure mat
intended for security applications based on an optical fiber - standing
on the mat attenuates the light passed through the fibre. An old idea as
well but it still won the show.

The up side of the episode was that neither that annoying Indian
Professor woman or that James Moody tryhard were on the panel. I can't
complain too much as I still watch it.....
 
Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> wrote:

Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball
bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a re-invention of this:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Violin/Hacklinger_Thickness_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=43728

Inventors huh? This thing has been around for yonks, and adding a digital
readout isn't an invention, just simple application of existing technology.
Click to expand...
Interesting. So it is not a completely new idea, but I think it is a
bit more than just digital vs analog readouts.

If I understand how the Hacklinger works, you have to watch the gauge
carefully as you slowly increase the lifting force, and make a note of
the reading when the upper magnet detaches from the bottom of the tube
it is in (it can't move very far, so the lower magnet does not drop
off).

Being able to get a continuous reading is a big improvement.
Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au
 
they already have built one that measures bog in car bodies , at my
brothers work a inspector that comes around to check cars has one.'



"Clifford Heath" <no.spam@please.net> wrote in message
news:4e1f7b44$0$13391$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar magnet
in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball bearing
on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a re-invention of this:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Violin/Hacklinger_Thickness_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=43728

Inventors huh? This thing has been around for yonks, and adding a digital
readout isn't an invention, just simple application of existing
technology.

If they had any sense, they'd build one to measure body filler in cars
under
the paint. A lot more money in that than in lutherie.

Clifford Heath.
Click to expand...
 
"Clifford Heath" <no.spam@please.net> wrote in message news:4e1f7b44$0$13391$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a
magnetic ball bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a re-invention of this:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Violin/Hacklinger_Thickness_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=43728

Inventors huh? This thing has been around for yonks, and adding a digital
readout isn't an invention, just simple application of existing technology.

If they had any sense, they'd build one to measure body filler in cars under
the paint. A lot more money in that than in lutherie.

Clifford Heath.
Click to expand...
And a far better method - the radiation thickness gauge - has been around
for at least 50 years. You use a suitable source of radiation that passes through
the material to a detector. Simple and it works through all materials - try
using a magnetic sensor with ferromagnetics.
Why is measuring scraps of wood worthy of a prize in the year 2011 anyway ?
Seems the ABC is lost in the past.
 
In article <4e1f7b44$0$13391$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>,
Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> wrote:

Dennis wrote:
On New Inventors tonight was a tool for use by luthiers to measure wood
thickness to <0.1mm accuracy.

The arrangement is: A digital display on top, rare earth or simlar
magnet in the base (against the wood being measured) and a magnetic ball
bearing on the far side of the wood being measured.


http://instrumentool.com/tech-summary/

I didn't see the show, but it sounds like a re-invention of this:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Violin/Hacklinger_Thickne
ss_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=43728

Inventors huh? This thing has been around for yonks, and adding a digital
readout isn't an invention, just simple application of existing technology.

If they had any sense, they'd build one to measure body filler in cars under
the paint. A lot more money in that than in lutherie.

Clifford Heath.
Click to expand...
MMmmm I think nature already invented one of those - its called a magnet

David
 
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