While searching for ideas for DRO (Digital Read Out) for lathe (because calipers are not long enough), I remembered I saw something about PCB strips for them...
Some more search and I found this:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Replacem...53.m2749.l2649
The pattern pitch is the same as used with cheap Chinese calipers... Perfect solution for my case.
I plan to stick this strip to 16x3mm
aluminium flat bar, available at Aluminium Trading Centre, and use it with one of standard caliper reading heads.
Perhaps connect it to Arduino LCD display which could then be conveniently placed somewhere on the machine...
Something like this:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1731982