Appreciation post: That $600 5-axis probe I cheaped out on

Bought a no-name probe off Amazon for $600 thinking I was smart. It died after three months of light use, just stopped giving readings mid-job. Now I'm back to using the $2,200 Renishaw my buddy warned me about. Some things you just CAN'T skimp on in this trade. Anyone else get burned by cheap tooling that seemed like a steal at first?

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baker.simon29d ago

I had a $400 off-brand indicator probe that worked great for exactly two weeks. Then it started giving me readings that were off by like 0.015" and I couldn't figure out why until I realized the stylus was wobbling around in the socket like a loose tooth. Ended up costing me way more in scrap parts and rework than if I'd just bought a Mitutoyo from the start. The cheap stuff works until it doesn't, and by then you're already in a bind. What brand was that no-name probe, I want to avoid it if I ever get tempted again.