Calibration is of the upmost importance across a variety of industries and spanning across a wide range of equipment. Although many reasons for calibration remain the same, this page will focus mainly on the importance of calibration in relation to surface tables.

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It must first be understood that the majority of gauges can potentially deteriorate over time, this is no different for surface plates & tables. The deterioration can be affected by the environment, amount/ type of use and if the gauges have been maintained appropriately (cleaning etc). When it is considered that gauges can degrade over time, it needs to be assessed how fast they are going to deteriorate. This can be established by a chain of calibrations spaced at given intervals. The changes in the results achieved will give an indication as to the wear over time and allow for the determination of acceptability. With frequent calibrations they shouldn't deteriorate to a point of providing unreliable results. When this limit is reached/ exceeded On Site Services (Calibration) Ltd are able to recondition the surface table back to a required grade or tolerance. If a surface table has not been maintained correctly it will be unknown when these errors became unacceptable and can lead to unreliable and potentially incorrect results with the associated risks to the business.

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Reliability is a cornerstone in all measurements and without calibrated equipment it becomes difficult to produce reliable results. If a surface table is not calibrated the flatness would be unknown, this becomes increasingly problematic when it is considered that a surface table is the datum used for a vast array of measurements whereas, a calibrated surface table will verify the flatness and allow for a greater level of reliability on the results produced when used as a base for measurements.

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Confidence is very important when taking any measurements, because certainty is needed that the results achieved are correct. Using a calibrated surface table gives the user more confidence in the results because they are certain of the flatness and therefore more confident that the measurements that have been taken are correct. 

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Another important reason for calibrating all necessary equipment is to adhere to the requirements of customers and/ or the requirements of national/ international standards. These requirements are introduced on the whole to support the above points. Customers will want there products to be inspected using calibrated equipment because it gives them confidence the results achieved are correct and reliable.

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