Dial indicator.
How can a change in probe height become a pointer reading?
Displacement · Mechanism
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How it works.
Three blocks ride on a sliding carriage beneath the probe. The model finds the block surface under the probe, moves the plunger toward that height and maps the displacement to pointer rotation. The blocks are 18, 14 and 10 model units high; one pointer turn represents 20 model units.
Find a stable reading
Select Block 1 below the scene. Wait for the probe and pointer to settle, then note the model-unit reading.
Compare the three blocks
Select Block 1, Block 2 and Block 3 in turn. Compare the 18, 14 and 10 model-unit levels with the pointer angles.
Watch the transition
Move the horizontal slider across a block boundary and follow the probe as it settles. Distinguish this animated transition from the final geometric reading, then use Reset to return to the start.
Take this figure with you.
Files are included with full library access.
- Interactive HTML
- Source files
- Readme & license
About this model
- The original readout uses px as model units. These are not millimetres, instrument resolution or a claim of measurement accuracy; the decorative dial marking is not a calibration.
- Probe settling is animated with a simplified spring-and-damping calculation. Internal gears, contact force and measurement uncertainty are not modelled.
Use Block 1, Block 2 and Block 3 below the scene to select a block, or use the horizontal slider to move the carriage. Reset restores the starting position. You can also focus the scene and use the arrow keys.
Version 1.0.0