Historically, in-process gaging has not been widely used in the machine tool industry, but today that’s changing. Gaging companies have been evolving their products and making them easier to use, while enabling users to do more with gaging routines.

For as long as there’ve been in-process gaging systems, they’ve used hydraulic or pneumatic actuators to drive them. 

“Work smarter, not harder.” It’s a term often heard by just about anyone who has ever set out to perform a task. It can be found on inspirational posters and do-it-yourself home repair manuals as well as articles on life management and corporate handbooks.

Manufacturers typically use two different techniques to assess part conformance and process control: either in-process gaging or final inspection. In-process gaging is measuring the part while it is still in the process of being manufactured and using that data to, sometimes, adjust the process, other times for part conformance.

In-process gaging for this discussion is the continuous measurement of the workpieces during the grinding process in the work area of the machine. 

In the survey, gages continued to lead CMMs, software and other categories in upcoming budgets.

There was a time, not so long ago, when everyone knew that “in-process” gaging meant installing a jump-on gage on a grinder to tell the control when the workpiece was at size.