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Alternative Title: gage
Gauge, also spelled gage, in
manufacturing and engineering, a device
used to determine, either directly or
indirectly, whether a dimension is larger
or smaller than another dimension that is
used as a reference standard. Some
devices termed gauges may actually
measure the size of the object to be
gauged, but most gauges merely indicate
whether the dimensions of the test object
are sufficiently close to those of the
standard—i.e., whether they are in the
range between set limits, known as the
tolerance, for a particular object. Gauges
may operate mechanically or electrically.
gauge blocks
Set of metric gauge blocks.
Image: Glenn McKechnie
Gauge
QUICK FACTS
KEY PEOPLE
Jean-Charles de Borda
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Gauges are usually regarded as either
fixed-type or deviation-type instruments.
Fixed-type gauges are used to indicate
whether a given dimension is larger or
smaller than the standard. They may be of
hard steel, soft steel, or glass. Sometimes
chrome plating or tungsten-carbide
coatings are used to prevent wear.
Plug, ring, snap, and limit gauges are
fixed gauges usually made to satisfy
special requirements. To check the
accuracy of a hole, a cylindrical bar (plug
gauge) with highly finished ends of
different diameters is used. If the hole
size is correct within tolerable limits, the
small end (marked “go”) will enter the
hole, while the large end (“not go”) will
not. Ring gauges for checking the
dimensions of cylindrical parts also utilize
the tolerance principle, with “go” and “not
go” sections. A snap gauge is formed like
the letter C, with outer “go” and inner
“not go” jaws, and is used to check
diameters, lengths, and thicknesses.
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Flush-pin gauges have one moving part
and are used to gauge the depth of
shoulders or holes. Form gauges are used
to check the profile of objects; two of the
most common types are radius gauges,
which are packs of blades with both
concave and convex circular profiles that
are used to check the radii of grooves and
corners, and screw-thread pitch gauges,
which are blades with triangular
serrations spaced to correspond with
various pitches, or numbers of threads
per inch or per centimetre.
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Gauge blocks, also known as Johannsson
blocks, after their inventor, came into
significant industrial use during World
War I. They are small steel blocks, usually
rectangular, with two exceptionally flat
surfaces parallel to each other and a
specified distance apart. They are sold as
sets of blocks that can be wrung together
in increments of ten-thousandths of an
inch to gauge almost any linear
dimension. Angle-gauge blocks can be put
together to measure angles.
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Deviation-type gauges indicate the
amount by which the object being gauged
deviates from the standard. This
deviation is usually shown in units of
measurement, but some gauges show only
whether the deviation is within a certain
range. They include dial indicators, in
which movement of a gauging spindle
deflects a pointer on a graduated dial;
wiggler indicators, which are used by
machinists to centre or align work in
machine tools; comparators, or visual
gauges; and air gauges, which are used to
gauge holes of various types. Very precise
measurements may also be obtained by
the use of light-wave interference, but the
instruments that do so are referred to as
interferometers.
This article was most recently revised and
updated by Richard Pallardy, Research Editor.
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