# My alternative to Mitutoyo calipers



## martik777

6" iGaging Digital Electronic Caliper Precision 3 Way Reading Large LCD EZ Cal B  | eBay
					

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 6" iGaging Digital Electronic Caliper Precision 3 Way Reading Large LCD EZ Cal B at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



					www.ebay.com
				









I got 2 of these a year or so ago, have performed flawlessly in daily use, never had to re-zero. No comparison to the cheap generic brand.


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## alloy

Based on your recommendation I just bought a pair.


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## Dabbler

That's the model I use in my shop.  I have 2 pair.


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## royesses

I have 3 of them along with the Mitutoyo's. Very good quality and great value.

Roy


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## Mitch Alsup

Will the digital readout still work after 30-40 years of use like my analog dial version?


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## Dabbler

Mitch, I paid 16$ for the one and $25 for the other.  if/when they die, I'll replace them.  THey go from a lifelong investment to a consumable, is all.  They both are more accurate than my Mitutoyo vernier - but that one I'll neve need batteries for.  It is a personal choice.


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## alloy

I'd just ordered from the kink you posted and I've already got a notice it shipped with a tracking number.


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## Winegrower

It's not clear to me that the iGaging has "absolute" capability, so you don't have to reset zero after every on/off cycle.   Can you verify that it does or doesn't?    This is a big convenience and why so far I prefer the Mitutoyo.

Thanks.


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## higgite

Mitch Alsup said:


> Will the digital readout still work after 30-40 years of use like my analog dial version?


You'll have to ask my grandson in another 20-30 years.

Tom


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## alloy

I found these for a little more and they are absolute and IP54 rated. 






						6" Digital Caliper ABSOLUTE ORIGIN Digital IP54 Ex
					

iGaging's Origin Digital Caliper uses SUPER HIGH ACCURACY ABSOLUTE memory technology. It keeps track of its origin position once set. Whenever the digital caliper turned on, the easy-view large LCD displays the actual sensor position ready to start measur




					www.igagingstore.com


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## wildo

Winegrower said:


> It's not clear to me that the iGaging has "absolute" capability, so you don't have to reset zero after every on/off cycle.   Can you verify that it does or doesn't?    This is a big convenience and why so far I prefer the Mitutoyo.
> 
> Thanks.




I have this iGaging caliper, which I *think* is the same as what the OP linked:





						iGaging IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper 0-6" Display Inch/Metric/Fractions Stainless Steel Body: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
					

iGaging IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper 0-6" Display Inch/Metric/Fractions Stainless Steel Body: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific



					www.amazon.com
				




It is not billed as absolute, but it does seem to work like absolute. When I turn the caliper off, move the slide, and turn it back on- it does display the new value. That said, I always bring it to zero and hit the zero button anyway. Don't know if that's just a newbie bad habit or what, but it's shocking that the OP says he's never had to rezero. That seems skeptical to me, and would defeat one of the selling points for digital calipers, in that you can zero on some measurement and measure from that point. Anyway, they are nice calipers, but I fully plan on trying out the Shars Aventors next.




__





						Aventor 6" IP67 Electronic Caliper
					

Shars Tool




					www.shars.com


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## RJSakowski

How about battery life on the iGaging calipers?


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## porthos

i bought a iGanging ball mics for measuring  wall thickness of rifle brass. they read from   exact to +- .007 in the same spot. sent them back. no more iGanging for me.


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## mikey

This is a serious question. Have you iGuaging owners checked the accuracy of these calipers initially and over time?


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## ConValSam

RJSakowski said:


> How about battery life on the iGaging calipers?


I have had a 6in absolute origin pair for 3+ years and yet to replace the battery.  And I leave them on often.  Too often.



mikey said:


> Have you iGuaging owners checked the accuracy of these calipers initially and over time?


When making rough measurements I often grab my calipers first then a micrometer for the final check: the calipers always read the same or within a couple tenths.  I can't say I have checked or calibrated to a gage block, but I recently worked with some ground 3/4" drill stock and the reading matched.


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## alloy

I found this video on the Adventor calipers. I just  may buy a set of them also.  Both my 15 year old mitutoyo ones are on their last legs.  They have served me well.


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## royesses

The Igaging calipers I have say they are absolute and they are. They also sell non absolute models.

Roy


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## mikey

ConValSam said:


> When making rough measurements I often grab my calipers first then a micrometer for the final check: the calipers always read the same or within a couple tenths.  I can't say I have checked or calibrated to a gage block, but I recently worked with some ground 3/4" drill stock and the reading matched.



Thank you. Calipers are my most used measuring tool so they need to be accurate and reliable within their range. Mits are sort of the defacto standard for these things but even they need to be validated at least annually. I was just wondering if someone with one of the older Chinese models had calibrated or had them calibrated over time.


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## martik777

I regularly check the accuracy on mine, no issues. I trust them like a manual micrometer.  What I meant by never having to re-zero is that they never lose their setting like the cheap ones that seem to skip 200 thou every other day.


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## martik777

mikey said:


> Thank you. Calipers are my most used measuring tool so they need to be accurate and reliable within their range. Mits are sort of the defacto standard for these things but even they need to be validated at least annually. I was just wondering if someone with one of the older Chinese models had calibrated or had them calibrated over time.



Just throw them out. When you get the igaging you will never use them again


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## wildo

I don't know if this will be useful or not. I recognize lots of holes here. I should have used a mic to validate, and I should be using gage blocks. Eh. This is what I have...


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## mikey

martik777 said:


> Just throw them out. When you get the igaging you will never use them again



Nah, that won't happen.


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## ttabbal

They sure look nicer than my HF calipers I keep meaning to replace.


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## toploader

Looks neat.  I really enjoy using dial and vernier calipers though.


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## alloy

I just bought a pair of these.  Will be an interesting comparison between igaging and the shars one.









						SHARS Aventor 8" /200mm DPS IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper DIN862 .0005" NEW M]  | eBay
					

"This caliper is hands down better than other premium import calipers. The industrial version of the Aventor caliper has a high quality apperance and silky, smooth slide-action. Aventor SPC Data Interface Kit.



					www.ebay.com


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## nnam

Reading this post just made me buy this:



			https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017KUC6XQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
		


I don't know about reliability, but compared to the iGage, the features appears to be the same.  It has stainless steel body and lower price as an incentive.

Furthermore, there are a lot of good rating.

I almost bought the following since it's cheaper, looks and features almost exactly the same, just different name, but the reviews and rating are lower, so for a few bucks, I decided to go with the above:






						Amazon.com: UBANTE Quality Electronic Digital Caliper Inch/Metric/Fractions Conversion 0-6 Inch/150 mm Stainless Steel Body Orange/Black Extra Large LCD Screen Auto Off Featured Measuring Tool: Home Improvement
					

Buy UBANTE Quality Electronic Digital Caliper Inch/Metric/Fractions Conversion 0-6 Inch/150 mm Stainless Steel Body Orange/Black Extra Large LCD Screen Auto Off Featured Measuring Tool: Digital Calipers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com
				




For many years, I used a cheapo around $10 harbor freight, and it worked great for me, to my surprise.  Sometimes the numbers jumped around showing some very interesting hidden features, and I took out/put back the batteries and it works again.

The plastic slide dial broke off and I still used it.  But it's not very convenient.  I didn't do much high precision things and as a result, high precision wasn't a big concern, and I thought a mic would do that anyway.

I do hope for auto shutoff to save battery and in accidentally turn on.  

I also happen to have a manual caliper part of some lot purchase I bought.  It's stainless Helio brand, made by Germany.  It got stuck alot.  So I cleaned up the "gear", and it worked better.  That part is something I don't like, the gear makes it easy to be contaminated.

The bad part is that 2 of the 3 very tiny screws fell off of the screen.  Maybe I need to visit a watch repair shop for this.
The funny thing is that if I put the screen back "evenly", it would get stuck.  So it's at an angle.  I would need to fix it before putting the two screws back on.  But buying the digital above, I wonder if I ever will fix this.  It's great that I don't need battery for it.  So maybe it's a good backup.


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## nnam

I ended up return the above caliper due to low quality


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## martik777

nnam said:


> Reading this post just made me buy this:
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017KUC6XQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1




That one uses the smaller LR44 battery, the ez-view uses the large CR2032


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## NCjeeper

alloy said:


> I found these for a little more and they are absolute and IP54 rated.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 6" Digital Caliper ABSOLUTE ORIGIN Digital IP54 Ex
> 
> 
> iGaging's Origin Digital Caliper uses SUPER HIGH ACCURACY ABSOLUTE memory technology. It keeps track of its origin position once set. Whenever the digital caliper turned on, the easy-view large LCD displays the actual sensor position ready to start measur
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.igagingstore.com


I have two of those. a 4" and a 6". Been using them for years now and no issues.


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## matthewsx

NCjeeper said:


> I have two of those. a 4" and a 6". Been using them for years now and no issues.



That's the one I ended up buying it seems to be pretty good quality for the money. Maybe when I get better I will need a $200 caliper but for now I'll save my money towards better machine tools that might justify high end measuring tools.

John


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## alloy

I got both the Igaging and the Shars Aventor calipers in now.

I can also confirm the Igaging caliper is absolute, so is the Shars.

Here is a pic of my caliper collection.   From the bottom up is a china 6" Mitutoyo, my 20 plus year old 8" Mitutoyo, the Igaging 6", and the Shars 8". Not shown is my 12" china Mitutoyo and my 24" Mitutoyo vernier caliper.

My impressions is the 6" China Mitutoyo is a cheap knock off.  Most of the time now after about 6 months owning it when you go to measure something the display turns off and when you turn it back on it's in metric mode and I don't trust it. The 12" is different, I half way trust it. The Igaging is a decent caliper for home use. Seems to repeat well and is accurate to my ability to measure them.  I'll have to build trust in these.

The Shars is really nice quality and when I picked them up my impression was that I trusted them immediately to give me accurate measurements.  The china Mitutoyo doesn't get me that feeling.   I know saying they feel good or bad is different way to describe the difference, it's just my first impression of them. The Shars also comes with an inspection certificate.

The Igaging has a fractions setting.  It turned .380 into 49/128ths.  Not very useful to a machinist used to decimals.

My choice out of all of them is the Shars.  Has a good feel in my hand, I trust it and  and I like the design. Yes it's more than the Igaging is, but much less that a new genuine Mitutoyo is.


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## martik777

I don't see the point of ABSOLUTE ORIGIN, the ez-view always retains its zero setting. It also comes with an inspection certificate.


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

I have 2 pairs of Japan made Mitutoyo  calipers. The older of the 2 being 16 years old. Great calipers. For work I recommended the Shars. We have 8 sets. They are fantastic for the money. I would buy the Shars. I don't think there is a better caliper out there for the money.


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## Christianstark

Getting some tooling together for my new lathe and mill, which should be here late summer. The 6" Mitutoyo is around $125 currently for a real AOS one. Should I pull the trigger there, or go with iGaging AO? You have had yours for a few years now? Thoughts on saving money or buying and crying once?


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## alloy

I bought one of the igauging  calipers and it's pretty good. Only problem I have with it is the battery cover falls off all the time.


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## mksj

I have been using the Igaging Absolute 6" caliper for 6+ years and have checked it periodical with a precision standard with no change. It has held up with no issues and has been very durable. My recollection and also how my Absolute works is that if you are working and zero it say to look at +/- deviation from that zero point, when it is shut off and then turned back on the it goes back to "0" from the origin (calipers fully closed). A nice feature if you accidentally press the zero button and forget to re-zero on power up. I also have an authentic 8" Mitutoyo Absolute digital caliper, and they both compare accuracy and repeatability. I also like the the Igaging Absolute is a bit more durable and hefty then some of the cheaper ones I have had. I probably replace the battery every 2-3 years.  I had cheaper calipers before these, they failed to maintain zero during use, batter doors broke and ate batteries. I hated using them and didn't trust the readings, cost me more in reading errors and wasted parts then they were worth.

I also have the Igaging Absolute Micrometers in 2, 3 and 4" as they were much more affordable then my 1' Mitutoyo Absolute mic., but the feel and usability on the Mitutoyo is better. Both give the same results on standards.


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## tonydi

I have both the iGauging and Mitutoyo calipers and there are things I like about both and things I dislike. 

I wish the Mitutoyo's turned themselves off after a period of time like the iGauging ones do.  But my biggest gripe with the iGauging is that they slide way too easily.  I've adjusted the grub screw and it's either too tight to move or if you back off a teeny tiny bit, it's too loose; there's no Goldilocks setting. 

This makes it super difficult to get a reading when you have to have the calipers in an odd orientation because I just know it's going to move as I take them away from the workpiece.  So if I'm working on something that puts me in that situation, I grab the Mitutoyo calipers because they're perfect.


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## mikey

tonydi said:


> I wish the Mitutoyo's turned themselves off after a period of time like the iGauging ones do.



My Mitutoyo 500-752-20 calipers have auto shut-off. I think they are near perfect to use and very accurate, too.


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## martik777

I've had a pair of the igaging EZ-Cal for many years - no issues. I don't see any reason to pay extra for the AO version


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## Dabbler

I have 2 6" igauging ex-cal, and a very old non-absolute 8" Mitotoyo.  I love them all, and recently I purchased an absolute Mitotoyo 6".  I see little practical difference in use or finish.  

The Igauging ones are great when I want fractions, as my brain is not 100% any more, and i get less error this way. Particularly when measuring the stub of an end mill to get the right R8 collet.  I now have end mills in almost every imperial size, so that's handy.

Then why spend the 200$ (to me, here in Kanuckistan) for the Mit?  Using it is a dream.  even though the igauging ones are perfectly adequate, and I paid 16$ for one, and 29$ for the other, the Mit just has the few little refinements that make it a joy in the hand.  

- you know, the Marie Condo thing - does it bring joy?


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