The height gage has transformed. From its infancy to today, the height gage has been in the grittiest shop environments. In spite of that, height gages also have the ability to meet the quality measurement demands of any precision laboratory. Regardless of how they are used or where, height gages have stood the test of time and remain an essential tool in every workshop.

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. 

“On a long enough timeline, everyone’s survival rate drops to zero.” It’s a quote from the popular 1999 film, “Fight Club,” and the same can be said for many of the things and ideas we create.

A height gage does exactly as its name indicates—measures the height of a workpiece.

Several years ago I was inspecting some parts on a small surface plate in the quality lab. Gathered around a larger surface plate a few feet away was an assortment of engineers, supervisors, leads persons, and probably an inspector or two.

With its long range of motion, the digital height gage can be thought of as a giant caliper, but one with the accuracy of a much more sophisticated benchtop gaging system.

Depth gages are among the simplest of gages, typically consisting of an indicating device mounted through a reference bar or plate.

The need for long range height measurements has been around since the principles of layout work became a fundamental requirement in machine shops.

Height gages are a general purpose tool, which can be used in a variety of industries and applications by anyone who needs to measure precision parts.

CTM (Custom Tool & Model Corp) founded in 1969, is a high precision engineering machine company based in Frankfort, New York.