Properly functioning measuring tools get the job done. Keeping your gages in optimal condition allows you to obtain accurate measurements, which is vital for most industry users. Some of these tools are sensitive, and slight variations can result in malfunctions and errors. Therefore, you must follow proper care and maintenance procedures.
This guide discusses the benefits of proper equipment maintenance and best practices for caring for your tools. Contact the professionals at MicronPA for further information or guidance.
In This Article
- The Benefits of Maintaining Measuring Tools
- How to Care for Precision Measuring Tools
- Ensure Accurate Calibration With MicronPA
The Benefits of Maintaining Measuring Tools
Why is the proper care of measuring tools so important? Some of the benefits include the following.
Increase Accuracy
Regular maintenance, such as calibration and cleaning, ensures the readings on your tools are accurate. Some of these equipment take exact measurements, so even small changes can impact the precision. Damaged instruments could also be off by relatively large margins. You can reduce errors by routinely checking and adjusting them, which is crucial for quality control and reliable data.
Accuracy is paramount in industries like engineering and manufacturing, where even slight deviations can lead to costly defects. Maintaining accuracy ensures quality and builds trust with customers and stakeholders.
Extended Life Span
Caring for precision tools properly helps extend their life. With proper care, many measuring instruments can prevent premature wear and damage to these instruments. By investing time and resources into maintaining measuring tools, you can avoid frequent replacements and reduce overall costs associated with tool procurement. Extending the life span of these tools can also contribute to sustainability efforts by minimizing waste and promoting efficient resource utilization within your organization.
Reduced Costs
Following the proper care and maintenance procedures can help you reduce your costs over the long term. It can help you avoid costly breakdowns, more extensive repairs and downtime. It also means you’ll have to replace your tools less often, meaning you get more out of your investments in quality instruments.
In addition to savings costs on replacements and repairs, well-calibrated equipment reduces the risk of reworks and errors. This helps you achieve accurate results the first time, eliminating the costs involved in modifying or recreating products.
Consistent Performance
Proper equipment care and maintenance help operators achieve consistent and reliable results. Periodic inspections and repairs enable you to identify and address issues before they escalate. Reliable measuring tools provide uniform outcomes over time, reducing variability in measurements, which can contribute to the overall quality of work.
Highly regulated industries rely on precision measuring tools to comply with client demands. Therefore, having tools that perform consistently can help maintain confidence and a high level of professionalism.
Professional Image
Demonstrating a commitment to maintaining measuring tools reflects positively on your professionalism and dedication to quality workmanship. Clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust organizations prioritizing maintenance because it signifies competence and reliability in their operations. These attributes enhance confidence and help you build a strong reputation.
Compliance With Standards
In regulated industries where adherence to standards is mandatory, maintaining tools is necessary for compliance. Regular calibration checks and documentation of maintenance activities are essential for auditing and reporting. By staying proactive in maintenance practices, businesses can uphold compliance obligations, operate within legal frameworks and observe quality assurance protocols.
Optimized Productivity
Consistent equipment maintenance ensures smooth operations, which can maximize efficiency. Reliable tools reduce unexpected breakdowns and disruptions leading to downtime. Preventing failures and malfunctions can optimize workflow and enhance productivity, allowing you to streamline your operations and direct resources to other areas.
Improved Safety
Safety is vital in every industry, and regular inspections can help you identify potential hazards, such as loose parts and damaged components. Malfunctioning tools pose risks to operators and result in inconsistencies, which can cause unsafe working conditions. By prioritizing maintenance practices, you can create safe work environments where employees can confidently perform their tasks.
How to Care for Precision Measuring Tools
Every measuring tool has different maintenance needs, and you should receive guidelines in the user manual for each device you purchase. Following these recommendations is crucial to keep your tools in optimal condition. In the following sections, we’ll look at some overarching recommendations for the care of measuring tools, as well as some more specific examples:
1. Storing Precision Measuring Tools
Proper storage is essential for your measuring tools. It’s critical to follow the recommended guidelines for each tool, considering they have different materials and storage requirements.
First, be sure to keep the devices in their cases when not in use. If you do not have a case for a particular tool, consider buying one that meets the proper storage requirements. Most cases have padding that protects the instrument. For some gage types, it’s best to wrap them in a clean, dry cloth before placing them in the case. This technique can protect them against accidental physical damage and airborne contaminants.
Another way to control physical damage is to separate your instruments to prevent them from bumping into each other. You may separate them using dividers, but avoid stacking them on each other unless they are in their cases. Organizing the tools in a tray, cart or inspection station also helps. Enforcing proper storage procedures enables easy tool access.
Additionally, remember to store your tools at appropriate temperature and humidity levels. While some tools have specific storage requirements, it’s generally helpful to keep them in a cool, dry place. Heat sources like sunlight can cause tools to expand and then contract as they cool. This continuous process can distort the tools’ accuracy and potentially damage them. Moreover, moisture can cause the equipment to corrode. Air conditioning and dehumidifiers can control humidity and reduce ambient moisture. Putting silica gel packets in the storage drawers can also prevent excess moisture.
Finally, keep your measuring tools away from other moving or vibrating equipment, as exposure to this equipment can cause them to lose their calibration over time.
In addition to these general tips, there are storage best practices for various types of measuring tools:
- Calipers: Store calipers in a clean, dry environment to prevent corrosion. Also, protect the measuring surfaces from debris and keep tools in their cases or pouches when not in use to avoid damage.
- Micrometers: Keep micrometers in a protective case to prevent dust and moisture buildup. Avoid storing them near magnetic sources, which can affect their accuracy. Also, check and lubricate the moving parts before storage to prevent rusting.
- Gages: To maintain accuracy, store gages in a climate-controlled environment. You should also use protective covers or cases to shield them from dust and impact damage. Finally, inspect the surfaces regularly for signs of wear.
- Levels: Store levels horizontally to prevent the vials from warping. Keep them in padded cases or pouches to protect them from knocks and scratches. Again, check the calibration periodically to ensure accuracy.
- Tape measures: Avoid kinking or bending tape measures. Keep tape measures away from extreme temperatures that can affect the material.
- Squares: Store squares in a dry area to prevent rust on the metal components. Put them away separately or use edge guards to protect the edges from damage. Check alignment periodically and make the necessary adjustments before use.
- Protractors: Store protractors flat or hang them to prevent the plastic components from warping. It’s essential to keep them clean and free from adhesive residue. Inspect the markings for wear and replace the tool if necessary.
2. Cleaning Measuring Equipment
Tool cleaning recommendations are usually based on the tool’s specific material. For example, avoid using alcohol on aluminum-made instruments because it can cause the material to deteriorate. Brass is best cleaned with a clean cloth dampened in distilled water.
Other considerations when cleaning your measuring equipment include:
- Environment: Some working environments may require you to clean measuring tools more regularly than others. For example, in manufacturing facilities, cleaning tools to keep them dust- and debris-free requires more effort and consistency than in sterile environments like laboratories.
- Task or project: The project itself may also demand different cleaning standards. For example, if you regularly use your tools in liquids, you may need to adopt stricter cleaning practices to prevent rust and corrosion. For high-precision projects, you must clean the instruments regularly since small amounts of residue or dirt can affect accuracy.
- Legal requirements: Some industries have regulations directed toward unique cleanliness requirements. For example, businesses engaged in food production must adhere to strict cleanliness standards to meet health compliance standards.
Alongside these specific rules, there are also general cleaning practices you can employ:
- Keeping the instruments away from dirt and oil can prevent corrosion.
- Touching gages with gloves can help reduce oil transfer.
- Using a soft, nonabrasive fabric to clean your instruments can protect them.
Cleaning residue off your tools enhances visibility and accurate readings. Clean equipment also tends to last longer, saving you money. As a general rule, inspect and clean your tools before and after each use. Spot cleaning is equally vital since scheduled cleaning can still accumulate dirt.
3. Proper Handling of Measuring Instruments
Once you remove your precision measuring tools from their cases or storage spaces, the level of protection drops significantly. The best way to care for them at this point is to adopt proper handling techniques. Besides extending the life span of your instruments, handling your equipment correctly can ensure accurate readings.
Handle your instruments gently, install rubber mats on the floors of your workspace to prevent physical damage from drops and shocks, and only use the tools for their intended purpose. For example, using measuring tools as makeshift hammers can result in physical damage.
Avoid touching sensitive instruments with your bare hands since the oils on your skin can cause corrosion. For some tools, minimizing the time you spend holding them or only touching them at certain points may be enough. However, if you need to handle them frequently, use lint-free gloves or accessories, such as tweezers, lifters and forks.
4. Maintenance and Lubrication Procedures
Regular maintenance and lubrication keep your equipment running smoothly. One effective practice is creating systems for tracking activities, including maintenance times and equipment conditions. Additionally, you should consider outsourcing technical assignments to third parties.
Lubrication reduces corrosion and oxidation, so it’s essential to create a schedule and use suitable lubricants in the right amounts. For many precision measuring tools, oiling them slightly after use is enough. It’s also ideal to remove any excess oil from surfaces using a clean, dry cloth. If a device is visibly wet with oil, it may attract particles that can cause internal wear of certain parts.
Again, avoid penetrating oils or other substances made for purposes besides light lubrication. WD-40, for example, may leave a film on your instrument that can affect its calibration. Even a thin layer can throw off the accuracy of some sensitive instruments.
5. Calibrating Precision Measuring Tools
Calibration involves comparing a measurement made by your instrument with the value of the exact measurement as defined by an accepted standard. This comparison serves to check the accuracy of the tool. If the device’s measurement differs from the standard to a significant degree, you will need to repair the instrument so it is accurate. For some devices, you may want to work with a professional calibration company that can ensure your devices have the correct calibration.
Calibrate your instruments according to the schedule recommended for each device. All measurement devices drift out of calibration over time, so it’s vital to recalibrate them regularly. In addition to your scheduled recalibrations, you may also need to recalibrate your instruments after:
- A shock, such as a fall
- Experiencing harsh conditions
- Producing readings that seem incorrect
Ensure Accurate Calibration With MicronPA
It is crucial to work with a professional maintenance servicer to ensure the proper care and maintenance of your measuring tools. MicronPA can perform calibrations to help you ensure your equipment is taking accurate measurements.
We are accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 and ISO 9001-certified. We are fully qualified to provide calibration services to organizations across various industries.
We offer in-house and on-site calibration services, and our technicians will make necessary repairs and adjustments to bring your devices into spec at no extra charge. For every calibration, we provide a calibration label that identifies the equipment number, calibration date, the due date of the next gage calibration, the identity of our laboratory and the person who conducted the calibration. Additionally, we’ll provide a long-form certificate that documents and validates all work and can offer online reporting and storage of calibration records.
MicronPA offers a quick turnaround time, pickup and delivery options and calibration training. We have a wide range of calibration capabilities, including mechanical and electronic calibration, and we base all our calibration procedures on ANSI, ASTM, ASME or NAVAIR procedures.
Contact us today to learn more about measuring tool care and maintenance and our calibration services!
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