Tools of the Trade – What are Vernier Calipers?

The tools of the trade is a series of blogs that look into the tools which are used by designers, engineers & manufacturers. Just like a carpenter needs a Chisel to make a square hole, a Designer needs a Marker Pen to sketch down a design. In this series we are going to show you what tools we use to design, test & manufacture quality products.

Episode 1: Vernier Calipers

Is an instrument commonly found in the tool box of a designer, engineer and manufacturer. They are designed to allow the user to take a variety of measurements from an object with extreme precision.

There are two main types of calipers, there are manual and digital. Digital calipers display the measurement on an LCD screen whilst manual calipers are read like a ruler. Both types display the figure in metric and imperial scale.

• The calipers can take internal measurements using the internal jaws found on the back edge of the calipers. For example this could be the inside diameter (ID) of a hole, which you might need to decide which size bolt to use.

• External measurements can also be taken using the external jaws. This feature is particularly useful when measuring the overall diameter (OD) of the bolt.

• The Depth blade takes measurements from internal holes using it as a more accurate ruler. This is useful if you are measuring the length of the bolt or the depth of the bolt hole.