Whether you’re talking about measurement checks in the quality room or a quick, accurate check on the shop floor, height gages remain one of the most useful tools in metrology today. We all are familiar with the basic measurements taken by a height gage, but many of today’s new instruments can perform with near coordinate measuring machine (CMM) capabilities with similar accuracies to their CMM big brother. There is no replacing the CMM, but having a multipurpose height gage than can perform similar tasks can save a CMM for the more intricate and critical quality checks.
A height gage does exactly as its name indicates—measures height. A slider with a measuring stylus moves relative to a measuring scale on a beam along a single vertical axis nominally perpendicular to a reference plane on the instrument base.