Probe of the Month: June 2005

These styli have zirconia (zirconium oxide) balls. They were custom made for a client in the automotive industry. They feature a one-piece stainless steel M2 base fitted to the 1.0 mm diameter balls.

Zirconia is an advanced ceramic material with very high hardness and superior wear resistance. It performs well in abrasive applications, particularly when used on cast iron components. The stem diameter immediately behind the ball is 0.7 mm. It runs for 5 mm, then tapers out gradually to the standard 3.0 mm diameter M2 base, complete with wrench hole. The styli are 21 mm long overall, not counting the thread length.

Our client ordered 7 pieces. They needed them in a hurry. We shipped the styli in 9 days, including the lead time needed to obtain the tiny zirconia balls."