Ratchet rotates while thumbscrew rolls on.įor the scale, especially the mechanical micrometer model has a rotatable thimble that contains a scale where you take the readout. The differences lie in how we operate them. While a caliper has a part called a thumbscrew. In terms of applying pressure to the object, a micrometer has a part called a ratchet. Other calipers can come with other shapes as well. While caliper has two surfaces on its jaws: flat and pointed. Ball and spherical anvils are such as those in reloading micrometers (micrometer designed for reloading). But you can find it in other models such as tubular, ball, spherical, etc. The micrometer’s anvil surface contour is commonly flat. These parts lead to how versatile they are to perform a linear measurement. But the differences can be observed as a micrometer only provides 2 parts ( anvil and spindle), while a caliper commonly provides 4 parts ( 2 internal jaws and 2 external jaws). Body Partsīoth micrometer and caliper have their parts to clamp the object to be measured. As said before, applying pressure with a thumb scroll is simpler compared to applying pressure with the ratchet. Talking about the ease of use between the micrometer and the caliper, in our opinion, using a caliper is easier than a micrometer. If you rotate the ratchet too quick, it can overpressure and excessively give pressure to the object’s surface. In this case, we can conclude that that using a caliper is way faster than a micrometer.Įven further, when rotating the micrometer’s ratchet to apply pressure to the object, you have to make it carefully. But things are different with a micrometer, moving linearly for an inch requires several thimble rotations which means more works and time. Sliding for an inch is easy for a caliper. Surely it’s not as quick as the caliper does. Apply the thumb scroll (if available) to give pressure, and take the reading. Micrometer, on the other hand, requires you to rotate the thimble. In calipers, you just need to slide in order to clamp the object. It’s not only about range, but also calipers provide better speed in comparison with micrometers. Therefore if your micrometers are still 0.001″ resolution, you should upgrade them. But the 0.00005″ resolutions are more common and it’s been suitable for many applications. Today’s micrometer has a variety of resolutions such as 0.0001″, 0.00005″, and even 0.1 μm. In terms of resolution, the micrometer is better than the caliper. Many people use caliper first to check a certain dimension (thickness, diameter, etc), then switch to a micrometer if further accurate measurement needed. But there are also available other options with a greater measurement range such as 12″, 18″, 24″ (Mitutoyo 500-506-10), and even 40″ (Mitutoyo 500-507-10). It has 6 different ranges: 0-1″, 1-2″, 2-3″, 3-4″, 4-5″, and 5-6″.Ĭaliper, on the other hand, commonly has a measuring range of 6″. The common range of a micrometer is 1″ but you can find micrometers on the market comes with a set of several different ranges such as what happens to Mitutoyo 103-907-40. The micrometer has a shorter measuring range compared to the caliper. 6 Difference Points of Micrometer Vs Caliper 1. Simply, things such as the measuring range, resolution, ease of use, speed, body parts, and functions are several things that differentiate micrometer and caliper. So, when you have to check the inside and outside diameter of a bore, you need two units of micrometer. In contrast, a micrometer is only able to measure either an outside diameter or inside diameter. Caliper is able to measure inside and outside diameter, even depth. Moreover, the differences over the body parts make them distinguishable as well. A caliper is faster and easier to use and provides sufficient measuring range but the resolution is generally lower than the micrometer. When it comes to measuring with a greater resolution, you have to use a micrometer but its measuring range is narrow and you have to be careful when applying the pressure to the object being clamped. They are able to measure with no need to clamp the object as the micrometer and caliper do.īoth micrometer and caliper are actually different. If you have only one side, you may want to check dial indicators or test indicators or paint thickness gauge as examples. These two tools are the right choice if measuring an object that has two sides. As long as you can clamp the object properly, you measure accurately. They measure the linear distance of an object such as length, thickness, (inside and outside) diameter, width, depth, etc. Both are designed for accurate and precise measurements. Micrometer and caliper are both linear measuring tools that we can encounter easily in machine shops.
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