Derby-based Exalto Bearings is using a number of universal ‘snap’ gauges from Bowers Group (www.bowersgroup.co.uk) to measure marine bearings.

They are used for the precise measurement of interior diameters, outer diameters, and lengths — and to ensure the concentricity and parallelism of components with exceptionally tight tolerances.

Exalto Bearings business manager Mark Chesher said: “I’m delighted with the new snap gauges. Not only are they lighter, quicker and easier to use than a comparator, they also eliminate the danger of human error when measuring to 0.001mm.

“We can now measure our marine bearings more effectively, and the gauges have improved our quality inspection procedures in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.

“The gauges enable us to measure the whole bearing in one operation, with no need to re-check, so there is no risk of discrepancy in readings between inspectors.

“They require minimum training and enable the operator to easily switch between metric and imperial measuring systems without re-setting.

“This is a big time-saver for Exalto Bearings, as we produce bearings to sizes across both measuring systems.

“The gauges also allow us to store two nominal sizes at once, enabling us to measure two different batches of bearings without re-setting the gauge. Again, this saves us time and makes our whole process more efficient.”