MEASUREMENT

Week 5
The science of measurement

Metrology.
Accuracy.- How close a measurement is to its
true value.
Precision.- How close measurements are to each
other.
The five main physicall quantities used in
engineering are
- length (metre),
- mass (kilogram,
- time (second),
- electric current (ampere),
- and temperature (kelvin).

Together with
- light intensity (candela) and
- the mole, the amount of a substance used in
chemistry,
the seven units are the base units of the
International System of Units (SI units).
Other units are derived from these base units,
for example
- speed (length and time) and
- force (length, time and mass).
Note.- SI units have been adopted throughout
the world in science and engineering except in
the USA where a system based on the imperial
units of inches, pounds, and degrees
Fahrenheit is still used, and still survives in
other countries in everyday use.
Measurement is a fundamental requirement for
ensuring quality.
Two techniques are used together:
- Quality Control
- Quality Assurance
Quality Control is a reactive process of
inspection which uses measurement ro find
and eliminate defects in products.

Quality Assurance uses proactive
management systems to prevent errors
occurring.

Many different instruments are used for
inspection. They need to be calibrated against
standards to ensure accuracy and precision.

Inspection areas are located in temperature-
controlled rooms to eliminate errors in length
measurement due to thermal expansion of
metals in instruments and products.
Economic manufacture and the
interchangeability of parts such as screw threads
require a system of tolerances that allow a
defined error in accuracy for an acceptable
product. Where two parts fit together, there is a
standard system of limits and fits which defines
the tolerances that allow parts such as holes and
shafts to have clearance, transition, or
interference between them depending on the
function.
This ensures that any part from a batch can
mate with any other part from a batch so that
parts do not have to be specially made to fit
together.




AE American English
BE British English
Metre (BE) Meter (AE)
Odometer.- An instrument used for measuring
the distance travelled in a vehicle. (AE)
Milometer (BE)

Tachometer.- An instrument which measures
the working speed of an engine, usually in
revolutions per minute.
Imperial measurements: (UK and USA)
Inches, feet, yards
Ounces, pounds
Cups, pints, quarts, gallons

Farenheit scale:
(water freezes at 32 and boils at 212)
Micrometer.- A gauge which measures small
distances or thicknesses between two faces,
one of which can be moved away from or
toward the other by turning a screw with a
fine thread.
Dial gauge.- An instrument which measures
small linear distances.
Callipers (calipers).- An instrument for
measuring external or internal dimensions,
having two hinged legs resembling a pair of
compasses and in-turned or out-turned
points.
Depth.- The distance down from the top
surface of something and
Depth.- The distance down from the top
surface of something and also the distance
from the front to the back of something.
The swimming pool is 10 metres deep
The shelf is 40 centimetres deep
Micrometre.- The SI term for one millionth of
a metre. This shouldnt be confused with the
instrument micrometer discussed earlier in
the unit, though the pronunciation is the
same.
Micron.- A non-SI term used for micrometre.
In AE this helps differentiate between the gauge and the measurement, which
have the same spelling.