Ruler from Digikey

[Skimask]

Just got this handy dandy bit in the mail today.  I didn't ask for it.  Don't spend a LOT of money at Digikey.

[jpanhalt]

I am anxious to get mine.

However, in light of the discussions here of such rulers, I really don't see the function.  I have metric and Imperial inch/decimal inch rulers for whatever I need and a few digital calipers.   When I am designing in Eagle, for example, I would never think of using an overlay to confirm a dimension.  If Eagle says the hole is 0.023622047", I trust it.  That is a 0.6 mm hole.  Who am I to question whether the actual hole is 0.023622048" ?

I use manufacturer's dimensions for pads.  Most CAD programs have so many decimals of precision, any printing on a ruler is grossly inaccurate by comparison.  I don't need something I can print out to see if it fits.  I use the CAD dimensions.

But I do like freebies, and I have been a loyal customer of DigiKey for at least 25 years.

John

[EEVblog]

Mine's better 

[jpanhalt]

Mine's better 

Does that mean I get a free one?

I use rulers for woodworking.

John

[Monadnock]

Got one today too. Seems like they've had these for a while,  the data sheet is time stamped 2 years ago. Their website says they still have over 5k in stock. Probably wanted to get rid of a bunch so they sent some out as freebies.

I'll still buy on of Dave's though.

[John_ITIC]

Gave mine to my 10 year old son. He thought it was cool. I'm not sure what to do with it...

[eugenenine]

I guess I haven't ordered from them lately, I didn't get one.

[mmagin]

Hmm.  Wonder if I'll get one.  I've already got ones from Adafruit and AvE.

[DavidDLC]

I also got one today. I like it !

David DLC

[Skimask]

Mine's better 

I plan on picking one (ok, a few) up next time I see it out there.

[Halcyon]

"Flux on, flux off" on the side with the surface mount bits made me smile.

[Bud]

Gave mine to my 10 year old son. He thought it was cool. I'm not sure what to do with it...

He could learn hole sizes and AWG numbers by playing if you can give him a few cuts of wire of different gage or a few screws.

[Bud]

I think they screwed this one, the actual via was placed in a wrong location

[Cubdriver]

I thought buried vias were just that - buried, and completely internal to the board.  Blind don't go all the way through the board, and standard are through holes.

-Pat

[DutchGert]

That burried via is a joke 

Its probably not there at all but since it should be buried u wouldn't see it anyway

[Berni]

Now this is what DigiKey should hand out at there booth on trade shows!

All the PCB rulers that i snatched at trade shows pretty much sucked so far (Tho most of them seam to have been from Chinese PCB manufacturer booths).

[tszaboo]

I also got one from Eurocircuits. It also had a QR code on the silkscreen. In white, where the color should be black, so technically inverted QR code.
About these freebies, they really should figure out a way to send useful freebies with the mail. I got soo much junk, like flower pots from Würth or key holders. The most useful was a pack of gummy bears and a deck of cards. The ruler might be useful, but I have uRuler.

[thm_w]

I am anxious to get mine.

However, in light of the discussions here of such rulers, I really don't see the function.  I have metric and Imperial inch/decimal inch rulers for whatever I need and a few digital calipers.   When I am designing in Eagle, for example, I would never think of using an overlay to confirm a dimension.  If Eagle says the hole is 0.023622047", I trust it.  That is a 0.6 mm hole.  Who am I to question whether the actual hole is 0.023622048" ?

If I have some stranded wire or an LED sitting next to me, I'd rather do a quick test fit in an existing plated hole to see what fits best for my design.
Sure I can use the rule of thumb, or estimate, etc. but its nice to test fit and choose a tight/loose fit if desired.
Same with the silk screen, without seeing it in front of you, its hard to gauge how large the text will be. If its readable from arms length, etc.

I do not have one of these rulers yet though..

[onesixright]

Mine's better 

So when can we order! ? 

[eugenenine]

Mine's better 

So when can we order! ? 

how much would shipping be from his 4th world country?

[calexanian]

The buried via is a joke cause its clearly a 2 layer board. Also there are other little gems on there such as Flux On, Flux Off. Also the part number itself is a little joke. PCB-RUler-ND.

[Howardlong]

A bit late, but I guess Blighty customers have just caught up, mine arrived today. I like!

[tooki]

The proud use of Arial makes me sad.

[alexanderbrevig]

Got mine too
I like them for size reference. Whenever I think I want a 01005 I just look at the size and place a 0402 instead (unless there's reason not to which I can't change)

Some times it's nice to be reminded what a 0.4mm pitch actually looks like, and how small 6/6 mil really is.

[openSourceScope]

*** BE CAREFUL!  ***

This might be the first case of virus delivered by PCB...

Got this email from Digikey this morning, having received my ruler yesterday.

---
We messed up! We recently sent you a gift of our very popular PCB ruler without realizing an incorrect URL was printed on the ruler. Please DO NOT go to this URL. This is not a Digi-Key site! This is a suspicious website and should be avoided. The correct URL is www.digikey.co.uk.
 
If you already visited this website, we do not believe anything happened to your computer unless you downloaded the document offered. It would have been clear that you are not on the Digi-Key site. As a precaution, if you downloaded anything from this website, please contact your IT team to assess.
 
Thank you for your understanding, we appreciate and value your partnership.
 
We sincerely apologise for this mistake.