Screw Gauge: Types, Uses And Calibration

Third Coast Gage & Calibration
3 min readJul 18, 2018

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A gauge is a mechanical instrument used for measurement of physical quantities. There are many different types of gauge in engineering and mechanics. Some very basic types of gauges are divided into four types. The analogue instrument meter is the initially used gauge before the contemporary gauges were invented. Some different types of gauges include

> Bore gauge which is used to measure holes.

> Caliper gauge is used for measuring the distance between two opposite sides of an object.

> Comb type gauge is mainly used to measure the thickness.

> Dial gauge is used to measure small linear distance. This type of gauge gives the exact measurement.

> Feeler gauge is used to measure the width of a gap.

> Go gauge is like an examination tool. It checks a piece of work against its level of tolerance to check its strength.

> Micrometer is the type of gauge that gives the precise measurement of small distances.

> Radius gauge is used for measuring the radius of an object.

> Temperature gauge also called a thermometer is used to check the temperature.

> Screw gauge is used to measure the thickness of a screw thread and is one of the most popularly used gauges for mechanical purposes.

> Wire gauge is used to measure the thickness of a wire.

Thread gauge: The most widely used gauge for measurements

> A screw gage also known as the thread pitch gage is an engineering tool. It is used to measure the dimensions of the screw thread.

> The dimensions often include the thickness, gap in space, width and so on. In a thread gauge the uppermost gauge is the worldwide most commonly used ISO metric screw thread.

> The gauge in the center is the larger one. Its major purpose is to measure the acme thread. Acme thread is trapezoidal thread form with trapezoidal shape outlines.

> The last gauge is the lower gauge which is for the Whitworth screws. These screws are the British Standard unit for screw threads.

> To use a thread gauge, the thread and the gauge must match each other’s sizes. The method of trial and error is applied if the size of the thread is unknown.

But to get accurate results, it is important to match the size of the thread and the gauge being used. For this purpose,custom thread gauge is used. It is a series of gauges starting from the smallest size to the biggest one. Thus, it is easier to choose the required gauge.

The custom gauges are available in various hardware stores as well as online. The prices are not high, and it serves multiple purposes. Most of the customers also prefer custom gauges over specifically sized gauges.

Gauge calibration:
Calibration is a judgment between the given measurement and real time measurement done using your measuring devices or a gauge. Calibration checks the precision of the measuring instrument and determines how far the measurement can be relied upon. Calibration is important for the insurance of your project. It also helps to repair the errors. This is done using calibration custom design. The calibration designs and software differ as per the measurement and errors and size of errors.

Calibration is also important because the capability of the measuring devices go down over time due to excessive use and regular wear and tear. Thus, calibration determines the errors and also indicated that the time to change your measuring instrument has come.

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