Review on Bridgeport Mounting 🔧 Brackets by Mitutoyo - 053906B by Andrew Dickens

Wow. Actual Mitutoyo readings are typical Mitu quality (5 stars) but, OMFG, the mounting hardware is TERRIBLE (-500 stars). You will most likely find the following: 1) On the back of the readhead is a sticker with a serial number - the very precision mounting surface that you literally have to use for the disk when installing it. Step 2. I had to peel it off. and then use acetone to remove the residue. Of course, this means you run the risk of melting the plastic case with the solvent if you don't do it VERY carefully. I took only minor damage. EFFECT 1.2) The instructions tell you to mount the round stop bar with the quill on the top right side of the mounting plate. The attached picture shows it from the left side. It's just the right side when you look at the device after it's installed on the machine, but it's the opposite of what you see in the picture. HIT 2.3) Only 1 stop rod screw is included, not the 2 needed. Metric M2.5, no? M3, no? #4-40, no? #6-32, no? Would you believe #5-40 - are you mocking me? who uses #5-40 screws in this world? Who keeps a supply of #5-40 1/2" flat heads? STRIKE 3. Oh, and yes, in case you missed it, this is a product from a Japanese company that uses inch-size fasteners. Stop bar machining x#(@. Bevels Thread is not stamped, 2 mounting holes in base look like drilled by a drunk preschooler but I digress IMPACT 4.5) Angled threaded hole (used to split the fork - That's a horrible design btw who designed this PoS?) should could be a fine thread screw (e.g. #10-32, not #10-24) for better grip and tightening control IMPACT 5.6) The screws that attach the mounting plate to the back of the head only go 1/2, maybe 1 Turn (if I'm feeling generous). This $200 thing literally hangs by 4 "half" threads. The head has enough meat for 3-4 threads, but the design is so bad they didn't even think of it have to drill the panel to get it right g The "vernier scale" on the head (btw, Mitutoyo, that is NOT a "vernier scale" - and you metrologists should know better) are ridiculously large for such small screws. The setup picture on the front of the "Manual" is also wrong - it shows the base upside down, not how it should be. The exploded view on the back of the "Manual" shows this correctly. IMPACT 7.8) And to add salt to the wound when you're done, you've managed to mount a two-bladed scalp ripper on the front of your machine. The bottom two corners of the sheet metal bracket are perfectly square - no radius, nothing - and sharp as a screwdriver. At some point I'll worry about it - and you too. To (hopefully) retard the bloodshed, I applied two layers of adhesive-backed heat shrink tubing (RED) to the cut edge on the right side of the bracket. Then I filed the bottom left corner with a radius of about 3mm - it will still tear the scalp but maybe the wound is getting smaller now. See attached pictures. STRIKE 8. So, to sum it up: Mitutoyo should be ashamed of releasing such an epic PoS with their name on it. If they had any pride, they would repeat this technical failure, correct their paperwork, and send each customer a replacement set along with a good bottle of sake to save face. It has to be said, however, that once you stop swearing and scratching your head at the instructions, the readout works well - but wow, what a terrible product experience from start to finish. Watch your head. EDIT 3 months later: Well I take my words back. those good words I said about the Mitutoyo sensor itself. A real precision gauge (head slides over the bar) just blocked me for no reason the other day. It is absolutely clean with no dirt. I drilled 4 holes and it just stuck in hole #2. I removed it and still can't move it. If I welded the head to the stem it would be even tighter. I'm not sure what to do now. I think I'll try to get a replacement from Mitu but I'm sure they'll kick my butt for it.