Measurement
Working With Your Working Gage Blocks
The uses of working gage blocks are as varied as the number of gage blocks in a large set. The working blocks have an intermediate grade and are often used in the inspection or calibration lab, but they may also be found on the shop floor.
Read MoreSemi-Automatics—The In-Between Gages
The faucet has been opened a little, and you've just received a long-awaited contract to produce 10,000 large trunnion caps for a manufacturer of earth moving equipment. Despite the joy, you realize that you have a problem: The machines will be in place and ready to run the part shortly, but you haven't given much thought to the gaging.
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The 'Issues' With Height Gages
Don't tell anyone, but there is something of a problem with height gages. The big issue that they have is what they measure: height.
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The Real Dirt About Gaging
I'm not sure that any of us in the metrology business are very close to godliness, but I do know that cleanliness is the first step to approaching accuracy in gaging. Probably every machinist is at least nominally aware that dirt can interfere with the ability to take accurate measurements.
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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.
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Bore Gaging Flexibility Boosts Productivity
A key machining operation at the plant is the boring of metal; consequently, improved inner and outer diameter measurement ability is required.
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Scanning CMM Gets Auto Parts To Market With Speed, Accuracy
In the game of darts, the bull's eye is 4 cm in diameter. It doesn't matter where the dart hits inside the bull's eye—dead center, slightly to the left or right of dead center—to score points, as long as it lands within the 4-cm circle.
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Opening Up Metrology
The current state of metrology equipment mimics the disparity of spoken languages. Proprietary operating systems, available on metrology equipment from CMMs to hand-held electronic gages, are unique to the manufacturer. Getting data from one measurement operating system into another requires translation and interpretation of the data. In many cases, just like language, some design intent and nuances of the data can get lost in translation.
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.
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