Lecture 9

Measurement of Length

Ordinary length measurement instruments: Instruments used for

length measurement in laboratory setup include meter rod, vernier
callipers, and micrometer screw gauge, in increasing order of
accuracy.

Industrial standard length measurement instruments: In industry,

material standards used for length measurement are available in
two forms:
(a) Line comparison standards (rules, tapes)
(b) End comparison standards (gauge blocks and length
bars)

Rules may be used for direct measurement of length or indirectly

when a length is first transferred to dividers and then measured.

Continued
Similarly gauge blocks may be used directly to measure the width of
a slot, or indirectly when an instrument reading is first standardized
using gauge blocks, and then the reading over the measured part is
compared with standardized reading.
Gauge blocks and length bars provide a means to manufacture
interchangeable components as they are made to such a high
degree of accuracy and stability that provided they are used
correctly, their stated nominal length is accepted as their true length
for most purposes.

End Comparison Standards

End comparison standards consist of sets of standard blocks or bars
that are used to build up a required length.
Metric gauge blocks are thorough hardened high carbon steel
rectangular blocks. They are 9 mm 30 mm in sizes up to 10 mm
length and 9 mm 35 mm in sizes greater than 10 mm length. Their
lengths range up to 100 mm and they are available in five grades:
00, calibration, 0, I, and II.
Metric length bars are steel cylinders approximately 22 mm in
diameter and thorough hardened or hardened at their ends,
depending on their length. They range in sizes up to 1.2 m and are
available in four grades: reference, calibration, inspection, and
workshop.

Continued
Measurement through length bars is considered less accurate as
compared to gauge blocks, none the less they are manufactured to
the same high quality with regards to their length, flatness, and
parallelism of their measuring faces as block gauges.
Reference and calibration bars have plain ends whereas inspection
and workshop grades have screwed holes at one or both ends and
can be fixed together by means of loose fitting studs.
A brief description of all four grades follows:

Continued
(1)

Reference grade: This grade is used in laboratories under

temperature controlled conditions when length determination
of the very highest order of accuracy is required.

(2)

Calibration grade: This grade has some what larger length

tolerances than the reference grade, but is the same in all
other aspects. Because their length tolerances are larger,
their function is more broadly based, they may provide the
standard of length required in a factory against which
inspection grade bars may be checked from time to time
using specialized equipment. (Temperature control may be
required.)

Continued

(3)

Inspection grade: These bars have virtually the same length

tolerances as the calibration grade but are biased towards
positive values to combat the effects of wear. Their
flatness tolerances are larger and they are intended
for use in inspection and tool rooms.

(4)

Workshop grade: This grade is intended for use in accurate

length measurement in the workshop, in built-up lengths. All
tolerances are larger than the inspection grade and the
length tolerances are also biased to combat wear.

All above mentioned tolerances are on the scale of 0.01 m.

Interferometry
Interferometry is a technique in which light is used as a means of
(length) measurement.
Mercury vapor and sodium lamps designed to radiate light of closely
defined wavelengths are used as light sources for this purpose.
Laser can also be used for relative position measurement.

Reference/Further Reading

C. V. Collet, A. D. Hope, Engineering Measurements, Pitman, London,

1983.