Thread these styli directly onto your FARO arm, so you don’t have to worry about an adapter introducing measurement errors. They have a strengthened joint between the body and stem that prevents them from shaking loose or breaking apart when you move from part to part on your manufacturing floor. When they touch your workpiece, they trigger a probe to send a signal and measure geometric features. For high precision, they have a tungsten carbide stem that’s extremely stiff, preventing flexing. Tungsten carbide can expand slightly from temperature changes, so if you need precise measurements, use these styli in temperature-controlled environments.

Ball styli are the most general purpose. Completely round and smooth, the ball end won’t make contact with a workpiece at more than one point, preventing inaccurate readings. The ball is made of zirconia ceramic, which is tough enough to avoid fracturing from high-speed scanning jobs and frequent contact with rough or hard surfaces. Safe for use on cast iron, zirconia ceramic minimizes the friction that would otherwise damage both your workpiece and your styli. As a rule of thumb, you should choose a ball stylus with the largest ball end diameter that works for your application. Larger ball ends reduce the possibility that the stem will accidentally touch your workpiece and interfere with the stylus’ reading.

Point styli are ideal for inspecting narrow, shallow grooves, lines, and threads. The end is tapered, so if the groove isn’t wide enough, it might inadvertently touch the sides of the groove before it touches the bottom. To avoid measurement errors, you should only use these styli in shallow grooves that are wider than the pointed end. The tungsten carbide end is extremely rigid, so it stands up to wear and tear on hard surfaces.

For technical drawings and 3-D models, click on a part number.