Thickness Measurements

Have you ever been tasked with something that seems nearly impossible to accomplish?

Many engineers may seem like they have this problem when it comes time to measure the thickness of steel container or thick concrete building wall. These measurements can only be completed with the right measurement tools.

Most thickness measurements are done with a ruler, micrometer or caliper. There are many manufactured parts and required measurement areas that can't be accessed with these measuring tools.

The development of the Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge has allowed part thickness measurements without having access to the other side of the part, which is required with most typical measuring techniques.

I'll give you a couple of examples from our customers' applications:

Bob operates old steam engines and he is required to measure the wall thickness of the steam engine boiler for quality purposes. Getting an accurate measurement of the thickness of the walls is only possible with the use of an Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge. It is important to monitor the wear on the inside of the boiler but physically being able to reach both sides of the part that needs to be measured cannot be easily accomplished.

Jackson, another customer, is in the concrete business and thickness measurements are made on the product transfer tubes to determine when they need to be replaced.

In both of these cases it would be very difficult to determine wall thickness without a Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge. 

By Jeff Briley

Owner, Brystar Tools