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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Tolerances and Measurement

Caliper

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

/ˈkælɪpər/nounCore term

In mechanical engineering, caliper means: A hand measuring tool with two jaws that measures outside and inside sizes and depths, usually to 0.01 or 0.02 mm. It can be vernier, dial or digital.

In Turkish: kumpas

How it is used

Used every day on the shop floor and in quality control. People measure a part 'with a caliper' or 'with calipers'; both are common. For tighter tolerances a micrometer is used instead. The British spelling is calliper.

Example sentences

  1. Measure the outside diameter with a digital caliper and write it on the check sheet.

  2. The caliper reading was 24.96 mm, which is inside the tolerance.

Common collocations

  • digital caliper
  • vernier caliper
  • dial caliper
  • measure with a caliper
  • micrometerA precision measuring tool with a calibrated screw that measures small sizes such as diameters and thicknesses, usually to 0.01 mm or 0.001 mm.
  • dimensionA measurement of size or position on a part, such as a length, width, diameter or the distance between two holes, shown as a number on a drawing.
  • toleranceThe allowed amount of variation in a dimension or property, for example ±0.05 mm. A part is acceptable if its measured value falls inside this range.
  • inspectionChecking a part, product or machine against a drawing, specification or standard by looking at it, measuring it or testing it.
  • calibrationComparing a measuring instrument with a more accurate reference and adjusting or correcting it when needed, so that its readings can be trusted.

More terms: Tolerances and Measurement

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