The Mitutoyo 500 series ABSOLUTE Coolant Proof Caliper is a dust and water resistant digital caliper made of durable hardened stainless steel using Mitutoyo's ABSOLUTE linear encoder technology. This caliper conforms to IP67 protection levels enabling it to operate in workshop conditions exposed to water, dust, coolant, or oils.

Although identical to dial and vernier calipers in its ability to make precise measurements, the digital caliper has an LCD that displays in inch and metric units which increases reading reliability, and reflects all ABSOLUTE system activities. This digital caliper has accessible function control buttons, such as Origin to set and retain the original measuring point, On/Off to automatically shut off the caliper after 30 minutes, and Zero/ABS (Absolute Scale) to zero-set the LCD display. The Absolute Scale (ABS) function tracks the set origin point, even after shutoff. Once on again, the caliper can immediately start measuring, without zero resetting. The LCD can be "zeroed out" before making and comparing incremental measurements without having to subtract the first measurement from the second.

The 500 series ABSOLUTE Coolant Proof Caliper has the ABSOLUTE electromagnetic induction linear encoder to help prevent overspeed errors. It measures outer diameter (OD), inner diameter (ID), depth, and step, where the butt end of the fixed jaw measures one end of a work piece before its upper/lower or inner/outer "steps" are measured. LCD resolution is .0005" (0.01mm), and repeatability is .0005" (0.01mm). Dust/water protection level is Ingress Protection 67 (IP67)-certified, which means that the electronic components are resistant to debris and to submersion in liquid under standard conditions for up to 30 minutes. An alarm alerts the user to low voltage and counting value composition errors. A rolling thumbwheel makes fine adjustments and a thumbscrew locks the scale's position. Response speed is unlimited. Each caliper includes, and is powered by, one SR44 silver oxide cell battery that lasts approximately 3 years with normal use.

Calipers measure the distance between two opposing sides of an object. They make inside, outside, depth, or step measurements, according to their type. Calipers are commonly used in architecture, metalworking, mechanical engineering, and machining. The simplest calipers have two legs to mark the two points and require a ruler to take the measurement. More complex calipers use two sets of jaws instead of legs and have up to two graduated scales. Vernier, dial, and digital calipers give direct and accurate readings and are functionally identical, having a calibrated scale with a fixed jaw, and another jaw with a movable pointer that slides along the scale. The vernier caliper has a scale sliding parallel to the main scale for an additional, fractional reading to improve measurement precision. The dial caliper has a circular dial with a pointer on a toothed gear rack replacing the second vernier scale. As with the vernier, this second measurement is added to the reading from the main scale to obtain the result. The digital caliper takes a differential by zeroing the display at any point along the slide, with an LCD that displays a single value in English and/or metric units.

Mitutoyo manufactures precision measuring tools, metrology equipment, and systems. The company was founded in Tokyo in 1934 and formed Mitutoyo America Corporation in 1963, which is headquartered in Aurora, IL.