George Schuetz Director of Precision Gages
Fixtures Are A Common Source Of Gaging Error
As a gaging engineer, my concept of a gage includes both the measuring instrument and its fixture. Assuming you are dealing with a reputable supplier, and your instrument was engineered to do its job as intended, there is probably little you can do to improve its accuracy, aside from throwing it out and spending more money.
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Choice Of Bore Gage Depends On The Application
Indicating bore gages come in two basic varieties: adjustable-capacity gages with interchangeable contacts or extensions and fixed-size gages with plug-type bodies. While indicating plug gages can measure closer tolerances with higher repeatability than adjustable ones, these are only two of several factors to consider when selecting a bore gage.
Read MoreYou Won't Err With Air
It is perfectly natural that machinists should have an affinity for mechanical gages. To a machinist, the working of a mechanical gage is both straightforward and pleasing.
Read MoreHoles Big Enough To Fall Into
Maybe you’re not in Texas, but suddenly you find yourself faced with a huge measurement requirement. You’ve been given the task of checking some large diameters—not your 6 inch variety—I mean those large enough to drive a herd of cows through.
Read More20 Questions To Help Select The Right Gage And Master
You will soon be going into production with a new component. There are six or eight ways you could measure the part and dozens of products that might do the job.
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Coming To Terms With Accuracy
A question I am frequently asked is, "How accurate is that gage?" I am usually tempted to say something like, "Super accurate" or "So accurate you wouldn't believe it!" But I don't. Instead, I take a deep breath and give my questioner a couple paragraphs worth of information, then watch his jaw drop because he was only expecting a few words.
Read MoreWhere's The Fault? SWIPE To Find Out
Nobody likes to be the bearer of bad tidings. This goes back to the dawn of recorded history, when a tribal leader might easily decide to kill the messenger if the news was not to his liking.
Read MoreGaging Oldies But Goodies—A Review Of Some Things We Should Know By Now
Ten years ago this month, Quality Gaging Tips first appeared in Modern Machine Shop. Since that time, we have covered many tools and techniques for assuring accurate, repeatable measurement and gaging in machine shops.
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Do's And Don'ts For Keeping Dial Indicators In The Game
Just because dial indicators have been around since the early 1900s, don't expect them to fade away with the last century. This tool's long-term popularity is well earned.
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What Good Is A Parallelogram?
Do you remember learning the names of weird shapes in elementary school and then later in geometry? There were isosceles triangles, parallelograms and dodecahedrons. What good would come of all this bizarre knowledge in “real life?” Well, it turns out that at least one of these shapes is very important to those of us who lay out gaging setups or select precision measurement tools.
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Hand Tools Get Geared Up
Gears, while being a fundamental means of transferring motion and power and being simple in principle, are components with complex geometries that must be made with great precision to avoid premature component failure and high warranty costs. In recent years, tools and processes for measuring gears have come under great scrutiny by manufacturers, as well as reputable third parties such as NIST.
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Stylin' With Your Micrometer
Convenience is one reason the micrometer is often the tool of choice for length/diameter measurements. The basic micrometer provides direct size information quickly, has high resolution and is adaptable to many different measurement applications.
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