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Silicon Nitride Probe life duration

I feel like we are going through probes very quickly. We do a lot of aluminum parts. Some of them are decent size. maybe 1 foot in width 2 feet in length. We do a lot of scanning because flatness is usually a concern. I had to replace my 1mm probe this morning because it was not getting accurate results. I got some pictures of it and it looks like material is already in bedded in it even though its got that nitride coating on it. I cant find a clear answer online so im hoping that i could get some info from the forums on what people are seeing on how often they are changing probes that are used for manly scanning.

I use all auto features for scanning planes for flatness. So what ever the software decides is the what I use for speed.
One picture is the side of the probe. That's the one that has the circles on the probe. The other one is top down. That could either be the glue holding it onto the step, or a flat. Hard to tell im leaning twords the glue hold the ruby onto the stem.

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  • Did 100% aluminum with SN tips for years. Take a worn piece of scotch bright and lightly wipe until all aluminum is removed. Clean with isopropyl wipe with chemwipe #1, clean with bubble gum green watch maker’s cleaner putty shstuff, and clean with isopropyl and chemwipe #2! Keep an eye “lupa” with a higher mag handy to inspect.

    Edit: I just read post above, missed it first go around, and I did almost the same exact thing. I also used Qmark, I love them!
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  • Did 100% aluminum with SN tips for years. Take a worn piece of scotch bright and lightly wipe until all aluminum is removed. Clean with isopropyl wipe with chemwipe #1, clean with bubble gum green watch maker’s cleaner putty shstuff, and clean with isopropyl and chemwipe #2! Keep an eye “lupa” with a higher mag handy to inspect.

    Edit: I just read post above, missed it first go around, and I did almost the same exact thing. I also used Qmark, I love them!
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