The gages tend to help refine and reduce variation of process by giving their operators better analytical tools. Greenslade also stresses that both capital equipment and maintenance for that equipment should be viewed as an investment and not an expenditure. Management cannot demand better output from operators if they re not given the right tools and if those tools have not been adequately maintained. You can only use so much duct tape and wire to hold the equipment together and still expect good output, said Greenslade. Both fixed and limit gages have their advantages.
Attribute gages check all elements of the thread.
And on certain applications, it is the right thing to do where you have a critical, highly stressed application. However, for the screw that holds the shelf up in the refrigerator and other normal commercial practices, the normal fixed limit gaging is more than adequate. Duncan said, Unfortunately with most gaging, it doesn t check all of the thread form, so if there s not some means by which to verify that the tool is still correct, an incomplete thread form could be the result. When it comes to sufficient inspection, Duncan said many people don t cover all of the bases because by using a plug or ring gage or an element gage of some type, only one element is being checked. If you only look at what you want to look at, it leaves all of the other characteristics incorrect, said Duncan.