Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Calipers

Body Fat Caliper - If You Aren't Using This Tool You Are Wasting Your Time!
By Peter Harris



A body fat caliper is a measurement device used to measure the thickness of skin folds on different parts of your body. The calipers will measure the thickness of the skin folds in millimeters. You can then take the average of those readings, find that number on a chart according to your age group and it will list your body fat percentage. This article will explain what body fat is, why knowing your percentage is important and the ways it can be measured.

Do you know what body fat is? It is the amount of fat that your body contains relative to everything else. When you want to lose weight this is what you really want to focus on. Your weight is made up of several different structures in your body. Your fat content is one of those things that you can control through diet and exercise. What most people don't realize is that you can lose fat and your actual weight may stay relatively the same. You will look slimmer, your clothes with fit better and you will have more energy even if you don't lose actual pounds.

It is important to know your percentage, testing with a caliper because this tells you an accurate story of your actual progress. When you step on a scale you see your total weight. This doesn't tell you where the weight is coming from, does it? Knowing your percentage of body fat you will know exactly what you need to lose to reach your desired goals.

If your goal is to lose weight and you start doing some cardio, lifting weights and eating better it should follow that the number on the scale should decrease over time. What many people fail to realize is that as they are working out they may be gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So they are losing fat while they are gaining muscle and their actual weight (the number on the scale) doesn't change. But they look better! This can throw some people off and they get discouraged, thinking their diet is working. Don't put so much stock on your "scale" weight. Your fat percentage is much more important in determining your progress.

What if you are a hardgainer and you have been struggling to gain weight? What kind of weight do you want to gain? Maybe you don't care but if you are trying to gain weight through gaining muscle mass then knowing your body fat percentage will help you determine where you new weight is coming from. If you've gained 10 pounds how will you know if that is fat weight or muscle weight? You need to know the percentage you started with. If this number stays relatively the same then you know you've gained muscle weight. If it increases dramatically you know you've gained fat weight. See how this differs from the number on the scale?

You can use another instrument called a body fat percentage calculator to take your measurements. I don't recommend these. They are not nearly as accurate as the calipers. At best they can give you an estimate. You need to be more accurate than this.

Friday, May 7, 2010

measuring equipment

Distance Measuring Tool - Long Distance Measuring Equipment

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

calibration

Know All About Instrument Calibration
By Ritchie Smythe


Measurement is a critical aspect when it comes to a manufacturing process. Without proper measurements, any manufacturing project will be a waste of time and money. This is why great manufacturing units give great importance to the accuracy in the measurements than anything else. When it comes to the errors during the measurements, there are two types namely, human errors and instrument errors. While the human errors can be avoided by paying atmost care and attention, the instrument errors can be eliminated only with the help of calibration. Calibration can be simply explained as the validation of various instruments involved in the manufacturing process. Each and every measurement device used in a manufacturing process has a preset unit called standard. This standard is used a reference for all the measurements done during the manufacturing process. The main objective of instrument calibration is to make sure that the standard points are set correct.

Who Does The Calibration?

Instrument calibration has to be done through a qualified Engineer. There are certain cases where the instrument calibration will be done under the supervision of an Engineer. Many of the huge manufacturing units will have in-house engineers for doing the calibration. The calibration process involves the use of sophisticated equipments. Only a few of the manufacturing units out there own these equipments needed for instrument calibration as they are very costly. This makes calibration of instruments in small manufacturing units very hard. Thankfully there is a perfect solution of instruments calibration in small and mid-sized manufacturing plants. There are a few private instrument calibration service providers available out there who charge an affordable fee for calibrating the instruments. These service providers eliminate the need of buying the costly equipments needed for calibrating the instruments.

The Uses Of Calibration

Calibration of instruments has countless numbers of benefits for both the manufacturers and the consumers. The manufacturers can increase the productivity, get a continuous uninterrupted work flow and reduced wastage. The consumers in turn will get high quality products which will be safer than ever before. Manufacturing and supplying safe products to the public will build huge credibility for the brand. Moreover, if the manufacturing unit expects to get quality certification such as ISO and ISI, they have to undergo instruments calibration in the manufacturing unit atleast twice a year. These are only the main uses of instrument calibration. There are several other benefits associated with instrument calibration.

Bottom line

We cannot imagine world with safe planet with quality products without the application of instruments calibration. So let us all ask for products manufactured in instrument calibrated manufacturing plants and ensure a safer tomorrow.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Dial test indicator

Dial test indicator

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dial test indicator
Dial Indicator, Test Indicator, Magnetic Base & Point Set

A dial test indicator, also known as a lever arm test indicator or finger indicator, has a smaller measuring range than a standard dial indicator and therefore has the ability to measure in smaller increments. A test indicator measures the deflection of the arm, the probe does not retract but swings in an arc around its hinge point. The lever may be interchanged for length or ball diameter, and permits measurements to be taken in narrow grooves and small bores where the body of a probe type may not reach. If a force is perpendicular to the finger, the linear displacement error is acceptably small within the display range of the dial. Some cheaper models of test indicators may come with a pear-shaped contact point in an attempt to compensate for cosine error.

Contact points of higher end test indicators come with a standard carbide sphere at 1, 2, or 3 mm diameter. More usable materials are available for contact points such as ruby, teflon and PVC.