Surface plate manufacturers and their reputation

pcm81 · Mar 25, 2017

I am shopping for a bigger and more accurate surface plate than my current 6x18 block. I am interested in Grade A ~ 12x18 inch size.

The problem with all "calibration" type of equipment is that either user has to send them out for cal to iso certified lab or trust the reputation of the manufacturer and their "cal cert".

I am looking at surface plates on Amazon from Grizly and from HHIP manufacturers.

My question is: "Does anyone have kind words about these manufacturers or do I need to pay the buku-bucks to Starett if I want true Grade A accuracy out of the box?

I realize that there is more to accuracy of plates than just their grade. Mounting and proper support is also important; for now I am specifically interested in surface accuracy out of the box from different "lower priced" manufacturers.

Thanks ahead

jscpm · Mar 25, 2017

(this is a metrology question, but anyway...)

I assume you are talking about granite surface plates, not cast iron plates (much more expensive).

In general, grade A is grade A. You are splitting hairs if you are worried about manufacturers. The main spec to be concerned about is the "repeatability". If the manufacturer does not guarantee repeatability, then the error could be double in some specific areas of the plate.

Another reason for possibly going with a name brand is that some manufacturers are now selling diabase plates. This is somewhat better than granite because granite has mica in it that can flake out, creating a pit. Although if you are working a plate so hard that mica is flaking out of it, then it will probably have worse problems.

At a certain level, getting too fussy about surface plates is canonball polishing. If your shop is running so close to the edge that the difference between 0.0003 and 0.0005 FIR matters then you will be having more problems with human errors than a surface plate will solve.

Jaxian · Mar 25, 2017

The Standridge plates at that size are pretty darn cheap. Given their reputation and how good luck I have had with them I would say find a dealer and grab one.

Davis In SC · Mar 25, 2017

I just looked at Travers Tool site.. 12X18 Starrett Grade A is only 317 dollars. I might recommend going a bit larger, if possible. My biggest plate is 36X48, and I wish it was larger..

pcm81 · Mar 25, 2017

Davis In SC said:
I just looked at Travers Tool site.. 12X18 Starrett Grade A is only 317 dollars. I might recommend going a bit larger, if possible. My biggest plate is 36X48, and I wish it was larger..

Yup and then add another $100 for shipping. We are in $400-$500 range. Vs $150 shipped for HHIP or Grizzly off Amazon. Hence the question about "Maker Reputation" / "Trust"...

CarbideBob · Mar 25, 2017

pcm81 said:
Yup and then add another $100 for shipping. We are in $400-$500 range. Vs $150 shipped for HHIP or Grizzly off Amazon. Hence the question about "Maker Reputation" / "Trust"...

But this price is a pink plate.
If you do not know the life difference you don't buy very many plates or have them fixed up after use so go with the lower dollar black which fits a light user better.
But you are looking to buy a "A" rather than a "B" which makes it confusing.
Even my pink "AA's have become "A"s rather quickly and within two-three years are "B"s or worse.
As much as I love high resolution measuring one can get crazy here beyond your measurement gauges or process capabilities.
An A plate passes any DTI or height gauge by a long distance, you are into LVDT or such stuff here but yes I work down there where 2 microns counts so understand the need.
Just saying do not buy what you do not need or can use and go cheap.
You will wear any plate, how often will you recalib it? Guessing ISO cert is not on your must do list so lots of room to breathe.
Few can do this in house, the service call is expensive and maybe more than a new plate in this size which is why they are considered throwaways by many.

The import Grizzly ones or others who sell real plates in this size are just fine. Never seen a bad one and I suspect the source is the same place.
There is only a handful of guys actually making these across the planet we live on. It is a very small market.
Bob

pcm81 · Mar 26, 2017

CarbideBob said:
But this price is a pink plate.
If you do not know the life difference you don't buy very many plates or have them fixed up after use so go with the lower dollar black which fits a light user better.
But you are looking to buy a "A" rather than a "B" which makes it confusing.
Even my pink "AA's have become "A"s rather quickly and within two-three years are "B"s or worse.
As much as I love high resolution measuring one can get crazy here beyond your measurement gauges or process capabilities.
An A plate passes any DTI or height gauge by a long distance, you are into LVDT or such stuff here but yes I work down there where 2 microns counts so understand the need.
Just saying do not buy what you do not need or can use and go cheap.
You will wear any plate, how often will you recalib it? Guessing ISO cert is not on your must do list so lots of room to breathe.
Few can do this in house, the service call is expensive and maybe more than a new plate in this size which is why they are considered throwaways by many.

The import Grizzly ones or others who sell real plates in this size are just fine. Never seen a bad one and I suspect the source is the same place.
There is only a handful of guys actually making these across the planet we live on. It is a very small market.
Bob

My goal is to be using the plate as a "large master reference", which I can use to calibrate smaller "work" plates as well as to do final flatness checking of the parts (not 10x checking while working the parts). The reason why I am looking for an "A grade plate is to also be able to use my 50 millionth gauge on, for part to gauge block stack comparisons and part parallelism. May eventually upgrade to a finer accuracy gauge. My point is that the plate will see minimal "hard" use hence hopefully will retain original grade / cal for a long time. This is why I am wondering about "trustworthiness" of cheap plate manufacturers. My hope is that after flatting parts vs this plate the parts will be flat enough to move to 1 micron optical flat testing if there is need for such extreme flatness. This is why I am looking for a Grade A plate, but want to make sure that it really is that flat out of a box.

Do you think this type of "light" use will still degrade an A to a B quickly, hence my plan has a hole in it?

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Surface plate manufacturers and their reputation

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