Wildhorse probe

[Cemlhh]

With the wildhorse probe your able to take the shafts and tip off and use it as a touch plate. Question is can you have two of the probes setup on the same input? One for using as a probe and one as a fixed touch plate, for measuring tools? I thought that if you only used one set of wires and just have a connector and you can unplug one probe and plug the other one in. Would it work? Thanks

[DaveCVI]

Hi,
You can do this is you want - but I would not recommend it for a couple of reasons.
1) If you only have one and are thinking about switching wires etc, you will want to be able to mount & measure the TLO for the probe tool. That's pretty hard to do when the probe tool is stuck to the table upside down to act as the touch plate...

2) The above may lead you to think about having two probes, one to use as probe and one to use as touch plate. Don't go that route either. In that case you would be trying to measure TLO for the probe with two spring loaded devices pushing against each other. You will never be able to tell which device causes the probe event and you will get variation in the measurement from this setup and that variation will show up as cutting errors in the part. (been there, tried that)

I recommend a simple rigid touch plate from a piece of printed circuit board. Simple, repeatable, about as low cost as you can get and well proven by MSM users.

Dave

[Cemlhh]

Thanks for the reply. do you know where I can find info on making a touch plate? I am not a electrical, person and don't really have time to become one with so much other work to do. Thanks for your help and your software is really going to help save me a lot of time, Ones I get it all working.

[DaveCVI]

Touch plates are about as simple a device as you can get - just a conductive surface and a Wire. See figures 95 & 97 in section 6 of the MSM users manual. The PCB (printed circuit board) can be found via Radio Shack or Jameco electronics etc. It's just copper on fiberglass and can be cut to desired size easily.

What may be a bit more of a challenge is connecting the wild horse probe (active high output) and the touch plate (active low) to the single BoB pin - that is also covered in Section 6 of the MSM user manual.

Dave

[Cemlhh]

Thanks I will give it a try.