The Precision Brand® Feeler Gage is made from high carbon (C1095), close grain, spring steel. The high carbon content ensures that the material does not compress, producing consistent accuracy, which is the most important aspect of this precision measuring tool. With today’s highly precise equipment, setting proper gaps is critical. A bearing house branch manager shared with us a story of how Precision Brand Feeler Gage tolerances helped him. His story clearly illustrates how trying to save a few dollars really can cost a manufacturer a lot more. |
A distributor in the area offered to save the plant some money by selling them another brand of Feeler Gage at a cheaper price. Within the first month after the product switch, the Quality Control Department began reporting that some engines were being rejected due to poor performance. A few bad engines had actually made it into the marketplace.
The Quality Control Department immediately began an investigation into the cause of this unexpected problem. After two months and pages of documentation, the Quality Control Department determined that the new brand of Feeler Gage they had switched to, was inconsistent and did not hold any type of tolerance.
What the manufacturer “saved” in price was quickly devoured by the cost of these rejects and the investigation. Immediately following the investigation, the manufacturer switched back to Precision Brand Feeler Gage. The last thing the manufacturer wanted to do was tarnish its reputation by selling an unreliable engine.
To guarantee this incident will never happen again, the plant has now specified
“Precision Brand – No Substitutes!”
This means that burrs can cause false readings. It is important that Feeler Gages have a thickness that is consistent across the entire blade. Precision Brand® Feeler Gage is put through an additional manufacturing process to ensure that it is burr-free.