Measuring equipment refers to the measuring instruments, software, metrological standards, standard samples (reference materials), or auxiliary equipment, or combinations thereof, that are necessary to carry out the measurement process.
Measuring equipment includes: general-purpose measuring instruments (vernier calipers, pressure gauges, weighing scales); metrological standards (gauge block standard devices); testing equipment (voltage withstand testers, insulation resistance meters); auxiliary equipment (mold incubators, ovens); test equipment (vibration tables, aging equipment); standard materials (reference materials, standard samples); verification/calibration devices (pressure gauge calibration devices); software (measurement, data processing) and computers; monitoring and recording devices (thermometers, temperature recorders); instrument manuals, data, and tables.
Measuring equipment must meet the requirements of product standards and their process documents or expected use requirements. Relevant technical parameters can be identified from relevant standards, customer requirements, product performance, and process drawings. These technical parameters are then converted into measurement requirements. Based on the 1/4 principle (i.e., the maximum permissible error of the measuring equipment should be better than at least 1/4 of the tolerance or allowance of the measurement), these measurement requirements are then converted into metrological requirements. Metrological requirements mainly include: measuring range, resolution, and maximum permissible error. Higher metrological requirements are not always better; they only need to meet the needs of the application.