What is the process of displacing air between gage blocks for accurate measurement called?

The process of displacing air between gage blocks for accurate measurement is known as wringing. Wringing involves the careful placement and sliding of two gage blocks together, which allows them to adhere to one another due to surface tension and the displacement of air. When the blocks are pressed together, a thin film of liquid (which can come from contaminants or moisture on the surface) forms a bond that enables extremely precise and stable measurements.

This technique is essential in precision machining and gaging because it eliminates the effects of air gaps that can lead to measurement inaccuracies. When gage blocks are wrung together correctly, they create a solid, rigid length reference for machining operations, thus ensuring that measurements are both reliable and repeatable.

In contrast, calibration refers to the process of adjusting an instrument to ensure its accuracy, press fitting is a method used to join parts without fasteners by forcing them together, and surface finishing pertains to processes that improve or alter the surface of a workpiece for functional, aesthetic, or other purposes. These processes, while important in machining, do not pertain directly to the act of creating a precise measurement reference through the combination of gage blocks.