Established in 1952

Page: 3100 Ball Gage Page: 1

Precision Ball Plug Gages

Hardened Chrome Alloy Steel 62 Rc. or Tungsten Carbide on Special Order

Precision balls make first-rate inspection tools, but loose balls are very hard to work with. A ball plug gage is a precision, hard, steel ball securely fastened to a stem and handle. There are a number of advantages to using a ball instead of a conventional cylindrical plug gage.

When a large number of holes must be gaged, a ball plug gage can be 100 times faster than a cylinder.

The stem holding the ball can be bent to allow it to reach inaccessible locations.

A flat can be ground on the no-go gage member, so that it can be used to detect out of round.

Used as a gag gage, it can measure complex 3D shapes.

We have established a separate cell with all of the machinery to quickly produce ball plug gages from the thousands of balls in our inventory.

The heat applied when attaching the stem by soldering, brazing or welding will invariably cause a dramatic change in the size and roundness of the ball, along with a large drop in the hardness.

These Ball Plug Gages are produced by an entirely different process which completely avoids these problems: The stem is attached by gluing it into a deep hole that has been produced by Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)This method holds the ball rigidly without causing any distortion or loss in hardness.

Two Ball Plug Gages are frequently used in Go-No Go combinations mounted on a common handle. All Ball Plug Gages are supplied with handles which meet American Gage Design Standards, unless otherwise specified.

Measuring inside diameters, the space between two surfaces and the width of grooves are in the broadest applications for Ball Plug Gages.

The Ball Plug Gage has a unique advantage over conventional inspection methods. Its spherical shape provides a self-centering line of contact that can be inserted into a hole at any angle. The ball will not stick or bind, allowing it to be used to measure bell mouth and taper.

The Ball Plug Gage is excellent for use in confined areas even when the actual hole or groove being measured cannot be seen by the inspector.

A feature buried down in a hole or inside a cavity can often be measured by putting a bend in the stem of the Ball Plug Gage.

The Ball Plug Gage is at its best when used to measure holes which have a constant diameter but are not straight--Piping and Tubing for instance.

A variation of the ball gage concept is to mount the ball on a flexible wire so it can actually go around corners. The ball can be put in the middle of a long wire and pulled in either direction.

By machining two flats on the ball, the Ball Plug Gage can be used to actually measure out-of-round holes.

Ball Plug Gages that have two flats on both members are used to gage the inside spherical surfaces of rod end bearings.

The precision Ball Plug Gage makes a radius gage of unparalleled accuracy. By applying a thin coat of oil-base Prussian Blue to the Ball Plug Gage, it becomes a very effective method for checking spherical and toroidal surfaces. When the blued ball gage is brought into contact with the test part, it will leave a telltale blue mark at the points of contact.

These gages are also widely used to measure the pitch diameter of bearing races, threaded surfaces and of gears.

The location of holes, internal and external grooves and various machined details are other common uses for the Ball Plug Gage.

Delivery can be made in just a few days. With over 30,000 different lots of special balls in stock, most Ball Plug Gages only require installing a stem and shipping.

During our fifty-plus years in the custom ball business, we have produced a vast array of ball gage designs. Call us for unique configurations that will help you do a better inspection job.