Abstract: Adjustment of the force that a stylus exerts on an object in a stylus profiler is accomplished by having a magnetic core, which is operably connected to the stylus and and mounted within an electromagnetic coil. The core moves relative to the coil as the stylus moves vertically. The coil creates a uniform magnetic field within the range of movement of the core. The core is elongated to be subject to uniform fields so that the force that the core-coil combination applies to the stylus is constant irrespective of the vertical position of the stylus.