All the buzz these days is about laser micrometers and vision systems. If you visit a tradeshow or get any online advertisement, many companies are promoting these measuring methods.

Mahr Inc. announced a series of new Micromar Micrometers offering capabilities to perform specialized measuring tasks.

Tritech Precision Products Yeovil* manufactures production quantities of high-quality investment castings in air and vacuum. It supplies to customers in aerospace, medical, power generation, vehicle components, safety equipment, railway and general engineering.

I love to cook and for the most part, it is a precise science…at least when you are first learning how to do it.

I am in my tenth year as a part-time instructor at Western Michigan University, currently working with junior- and senior-level engineering students. I instruct the hands-on metrology lab of Dr. Pavel Ikonomov’s metrology class. We have about 15 weeks for this three-credit hour class to introduce metrology, focusing on precision measurement. We have about 45 students taking three hours of lecture and three hours of lab each week.

Quality control applications that require precise measurement can be some of the most challenging applications to solve. Very tight tolerance requirements demand a reliable solution that can measure parts in micrometers to detect the smallest variations in part size, thickness, orientation, placement, and more. 

From calipers to micrometers, to indicators and all manner of gages and metrology equipment, there are literally hundreds of standard off the shelf solutions for measuring the vast array of parts that manufacturers make.

I’ve commented on this subject from time to time but thought I’d have another go at it since the questions never seem to go away. I’m referring to the language used in our day-to-day work in measurement and calibration.

Mahr Inc. announced a new family of Micromar 40EWRi-L digital micrometers with high speed measuring spindle positioning. The digital micrometers, with the latest MarConnect interface, allow measurements that are 10 times faster than a standard micrometer, saving the operator time when numerous different dimensions need to be measured on a single workpiece.

A depth gage could be as simple as marks on a piece of tape, a line on a ruler, or tape on a drill. Fortunately, of course, modern gages take the guesswork out of measurement, providing a range of simple or high-tech options depending on the job.