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A Look at the Uses of Specific Gauges in the Manufacturing Industry

When you head off to the hardware store and pick up a section of pipe, a piece of PVC, or a metal fastener, it is really hard to appreciate just how much work went into getting that piece in your hands because it is so easily accessible. However, everything in a hardware store that has a specific size or rating has gone through an insane amount of testing and regulating before it got to you and your hands. The truth is, there are all kinds of gauges and gadgets used to perform tests to ensure products are exactly what the customer needs. Here is a look at three of the specific types of gauges used in the manufacturing business. 

Ring Gage 

A ring gauge is a small hand tool that is most often used to measure the outside circumference of a round-shaped item. Some of the things that are probably tested by a ring gauge before leaving a manufacturer's facility would include things like:

  • Plumbing pipes
  • Tubular automotive components
  • Bathroom fixtures 
  • Screws, nails, and other fasteners

This gauge usually boasts of multiple-sized rings that slip over the outer shape of an elongated item to give the gauge user a look at the exact diameter. 

Thread Plug Gage

If you have ever bought a piece of pipe that is threaded on the inside on either one end or the other, you have handled something that was likely tested by a thread plug gage at some point. These gauges make sure the inner threading of an item is exactly as it needs to be by measuring the size of the threads inside. Thread plug gauges are extremely important to a manufacturer because they must be certain that the products they send out are capable of accepting specifically threaded parts and elements. 

Limit Gage

A limit gauge can refer to a few different things in the manufacturing industry. There are large pieces of equipment that are often used in product testing that do have on-board limit gauges. For example, a piece of equipment designed to measure the tensile strength of a piece of tape may be called a limit gauge. However, there are also smaller, hand-held gauges that are often used on production and assembly lines to do rapid tests on small items or products. These gauges always have the purpose of testing for a specific limit, whether it is direct force, tensile strength, or something else. 

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