Can You Make a Glass Touch probe Stylus?

Yes you can make a glass touch probe stylus.
These worked a treat and at around 50pence/cents each why wouldn't you?
Make them from readily available bits some from the scrap binium.
No drawing's you simply do not need them!
Cheers

[@HM-Projects]

Agree, brilliant design. Thanks for sharing.

[@CazualHaze]

My pleasure!

[@peirossmallhomemachineshop5364]

I ve just been through all your videos on this probe and frankly that si a great engineering sharing.I don’t own cnc mill, but I append this project to my todo list. Thanks for sharing.

[@CazualHaze]

Glad you liked it.
Cheers

[@gordoncouger9648]

That is a really clever idea. I always used tape to contain broken glass. Hot melt Ferrule Cement would glue the ball & bolt in quickly and come apart in hurry too. The parts would be ready to use as soon as they cooled off.

[@CazualHaze]

Thanks Gordon,
Hot snot might work well with this idea. Probably best to use the industrial versions though. When I have used it there's a slight compliance to it that might make the probe inaccurate or the ball to fall off.
Funny but not helpful!
Cheers

[@fna-wrightengineering]

Absolutely brilliant! Simple, effective, elegant solution. The heat-shrink to contain the fragments is a clever touch.
I've been designing touch probes for my lathe, mill, and for my Rhodes shaper, and have been trying to come up with a frangible probe that didn't cost $£40... So this couldn't have come at a better time.

[@CazualHaze]

@FnA-Wright Engineering
Thanks for the comment pretty pleased with the results on this. The heat shrink is the key to keeping the bits off the mill.
Cheers

[@poppabear9279]

I love your confidence in threading and your ability to use that lathe like a master machinist.
Also, you should try making the probes out of glass solid rod, smaller diameter. Perhaps 2mm glass rod, 4mm ball.
I want a ceramic with a very small ball for inner probing other devices.

[@CazualHaze]

Thanks Poppabear, I did not use solid glass because the ball will sit in the middle of a tube but its tricky to get it centred on a solid shaft. I too will get a 'proper probe' when I am happy the touch probe is reliable.

[@TheDigitalHombre]

Thanks for this excellent video! Another solution might have been to make an undercut behind the threaded portion, to weaken the material and not further damage the sensor. This way no glass in the machine.

[@CazualHaze]

@TheDigitalHombre I completely agree. I however decided that there would be a high chance of me slightly bending the probe which would lead to inaccuracies. If I did add a wasted section I would also harden it. If you pushed it into the work being brittle it would break without bending.
Just a thought!
Cheers

[@mattharrington4887]

Great idea with the heat shrink....

[@CazualHaze]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@deanharris7149]

Not sure it matters but, what about leaving the shrink tube off but filling the glass tube with clear silicon? The silicon they make for shower glass comes in an easy dispense squeeze tube and should allow great control filling the volume. Also I’m wondering if the silicon will stop the glass from flying about when broken.
In any case, love your channel.

[@CazualHaze]

Hi Dean,
I did think about filling the tubes but the glass will still shatter off the outside (I think). Might be worth a go to see what it does.
Thanks for the positive comment, I appreciate it!
Cheers

[@Arckivio]

I'd use clear tape rather than heat shrink. Apart from being thinner around the tube, some of the glass will stay stuck to it!

[@CazualHaze]

That sounds like a great idea. Heat shrink is quite thick.
When i have broken all the ones I have I will give it a go.
Cheers

[@trhosking]

Instead of heat shrink, I wonder if filling the tube with silicone sealant would contain the glass fragments.

[@CazualHaze]

Thanks Tim I will give it a try when I have broken all the ones I made, should not take too long!!
Cheers

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Maybe filling the glass tubes with glue would cut down on the mess when you crash it in the "Z" axis.

[@CazualHaze]

Yep a good idea I was trying to make the probe weak in the z axis as it is the strongest axis for the glass. Having said that the power of the machine easlily overcomes the glass strength. So I think glue would be an idea worth a try.
Cheers

[@CazualHaze]

ARW Great channel by the way!

[@ipsofattso4919]

use putruded carbon fibre tube from a model / hobby shop.

[@CazualHaze]

Great suggestion!
Cheers

[@JanBinnendijk]

I like the idea of using glass tubes, however.. it is a pity my probe is "infinitely smaller" Standard i use 2 mm Ruby Styli, and my probe measures 25 mm in diameter (the body)
But.. the ones i used at work had Ceramic Styli, which behave the same as the glass ones you made... i tip my hat to you..

[@CazualHaze]

Thanks @JanBinnendijk
I have been contemplating a new version of my probe with remote capability ( no wires) but it will have to wait for now. I think I can do better with a bit more care in the design.
Thanks for the comment.
Cheers

[@JanBinnendijk]

@@CazualHaze I'm thinking of a redesign of my probe as well, but remote capability?.. in a 25 mm housing there is no room for even a battery.. :)
what i'd like is a magnetic stylus attachment so i can automatically change styli.. but i'd have to build a CMM First..

[@CazualHaze]

@JanBinnendijk Agreed there is not room however there are some damn small microcontrollers out there now. If you get bored try searching for a Seeed Xaio cheap and enough gpio for a probe! magnet sounds interesting but you may pick up swarf that could cause problems.
Cheers

[@kurtbilinski1723]

I cringed watching you break the glass tubing. As a kid I had a chemistry set and was pushing a glass tube like that into a rubber stopper, when it went "click." It had broken and I drove it into the side of my finger. 55 years later, that part of my finger is still numb.

[@CazualHaze]

Man I am sorry to hear that. Believe me it was not something I did lightly.
Thanks for the comment take care.