Customizable lathe dial indicator ring
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DESCRIPTION:
This is a fully customizable parametric dial ring for a lathe, designed in OpenSCAD.
It converts linear carriage movement into a readable circular scale using engraved ticks and numbers.
Alltough the code is not written by myself but by several LMM's, I did spend quite some time to get this to my likings, spending even more time to get it customizable and with clear descriptions for your use.
To save you this time I uploaded the file for your own personal use.
The model can be used either as a full replacement dial or as an outer sleeve that fits over an existing imperial dial, helping reduce print time and material usage.
The scale is based on a user-defined movement per full revolution (default set for a 10 TPI leadscrew = 2.54 mm per turn), but can be adjusted to suit any machine or measurement system by modifying the parameters.
FEATURES:
Fully parametric (diameter, thickness, scale, ticks, text, etc.)
Supports fine step resolution with decimal precision
Customizable tick marks and numbering
Configurable text size and positioning
Can be used as a standalone dial or overlay ring
Designed for readability of small engraved details
CALIBRATION NOTE:
The scale is calculated as:
mm_per_step = movement_per_turn_mm / steps_per_revolution
With the default settings:
movement_per_turn_mm = 2.54 mm
steps_per_revolution = 25
=> mm_per_step = 2.54 / 25 = 0.1016 mm per step
This means each step is NOT exactly 0.1 mm, but slightly larger.
Over one full revolution, the total movement equals 2.54 mm exactly.
The values shown on the dial are derived from this calculation
and rounded for readability.
PRINT SETTINGS I USED:
Material: dark color matte PLA (matte for readability)
Layer height: 0.12 - 0.16 mm
Nozzle: 0.4 mm
Walls: 3 perimeters
Infill: 10–15% gyroid
Print outer walls slowly (~30 mm/s)
Use 100% cooling for sharp text and details
EDIT: I also added a reverse dial after realising a right turning handwheel should count up and not down :)
You also have the option to use 0.01 ticks when the OD diameter allows it.
LICENSE:
Non-commercial use only. Attribution required for remixes or derivatives.