TL;DR
The short answer
If your inspection day is mostly heights, depths, bore diameters, groove widths, flatness, squareness, and step dimensions on machined parts — you probably do not need a ₹20–50 lakh coordinate measuring machine for every station. A digital height gauge on a granite surface plate, with VECTOR V1 software, handles the majority of routine dimensional work faster, at lower capital cost, and with less operator training than routing everything through a CMM. That is what we mean by 90%: the bulk of daily shop-floor and incoming QC on prismatic components — not all metrology on earth.
The queue
Why plants buy CMMs they do not fully use
Walk into many Indian machining plants and you will find a familiar pattern: a complex drawing arrives with one tight GD&T callout — or a customer asks for a CMM report. Capital approval goes to a coordinate measuring machine, often ₹15 lakh and up before room, HVAC, programmer, and annual calibration. Six months later, the CMM queue is full of jobs that are really height checks, bore diameters, and flatness scans — work a height gauge does in seconds.
CMMs are extraordinary tools. They are also slow to set up, expensive to own, and easy to under-utilise when your real workload is 1D and 2D dimensional verification. For a simple 100.00 ±0.02 mm step, a height gauge on granite can deliver a direct reading in under a minute. The same feature on a CMM may take 5–10 minutes including fixture setup and program selection.
Defining 90%
What "90% of use cases" actually means
We are not claiming Height Master replaces a CMM on aerospace true-position layouts, medical implant profile scans, or automated 100% inline 3D inspection. We are claiming that for a typical automotive supplier, die shop, general machining plant, or tool room, roughly nine out of ten inspection tasks on the daily traveler fall into categories a vertical measuring system already solves. Use the filter below to explore which tasks belong on the plate versus the CMM.
Interactive
Inspection task matrix
Filter by instrument — see which daily checks belong on the plate versus the CMM.
| Task | Callout | Height Master | CMM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step / pocket height | 25.00 ±0.05 | ||
| Bore diameter Often queued on CMM unnecessarily | Ø32.00 H7 | ||
| Shaft OD | Ø50.00 g6 | ||
| Distance between faces | 42.00 ±0.10 | ||
| Groove / slot width | 12.00 +0.05/−0.02 | ||
| Flatness on mounting face Plate method often faster than sparse CMM points | 0.05 flatness | ||
| Perpendicularity (simple) Full datum frame → CMM; single-face check → gauge | ⊥0.05 to datum A | ||
| Step chain / die heights | Multiple step dims | ||
| Hole pattern layout True position GD&T → CMM; pattern map → 2D bore | 4× Ø8.00, PCD | ||
| Concentricity (bore vs OD) | At one axial station | ||
| Runout on shaft | 0.03 TIR | ||
| True position | Ø0.05 MMC A|B|C | ||
| Profile of surface | CAD profile | ||
| PPAP / AS9102 full FAI Height Master covers subset; full layout needs CMM + CAD | All features ballooned |
11 of 14 tasks are routinely handled on a digital height gauge — tap filters to explore.
VECTOR V1
What Height Master + VECTOR V1 covers
Height Master is a manual digital height gauge with integrated VECTOR V1 — 5 µm accuracy, ISO 13225, and fourteen measurement modes on the LIVE tab.
| Mode | Replaces on CMM queue |
|---|---|
| Height | Single-surface Z dimensions |
| ID / OD | Bore and shaft diameters (ProbeSense sweeps) |
| Distance | Point-to-point or from logged features |
| Groove / Notch | Slot and lug widths |
| Flatness | Surface TIR via lateral sweep |
| Perpendicularity | Squareness between datum and check face |
| Steps | Chain height on dies and fixtures |
| Taper | Wedge-angle checks |
| Concentricity | Inner vs outer eccentricity at one station |
| Runout | Rotation TIR on shafts and bores |
| 2D Bore | Multi-hole pattern mapping with rotation pass |
| Part programs (PROG) | Repeatable sequences with pass/fail |
- Part programs — define nominals and tolerances once; operators run step-through with automatic pass/fail.
- LOG export — CSV (SPC), Excel, and branded PDF for audit trails.
- Calibration wizards — probe ball radius, linear compensation, wedge span on your granite plate.
- Auto-capture & stability gate — repeatable contact without operator grip variation.
Interactive
Cost and workload estimator
Adjust the slider to match your shop's mix of simple dimensional work.
Interactive · workload estimator
What share of your inspection is simple height, bore, and flatness?
Drag the slider to match your shop. Estimates use illustrative cycle times and mid-range CMM capital cost for India.
Capital vs mid CMM
~₹26,71,000
potential savings on instrument
Time saved / day
~4.3 h
vs CMM for 40 simple features
Height Master kit
₹2,29,000
intro offer · ex GST
Height Master is likely the right primary instrument
Most of your queue is plate work. A digital height gauge station will be faster and far cheaper than routing these jobs through a CMM.
Compare
Height Master vs a typical CMM
| Factor | Height Master | Typical CMM |
|---|---|---|
| Capital cost | From ₹2.29 lakh (full kit) | ₹8–50+ lakh (often higher with room & HVAC) |
| Floor space | Bench / granite plate footprint | Dedicated metrology room or cell |
| Setup time per part | Seconds to minutes | Minutes to hours (program + fixture) |
| Operator skill | Shop-floor inspector after 1-day training | CMM programmer + trained operator |
| Best for | Heights, bores, flatness, steps, 2D patterns | Full 3D GD&T, profile, CAD-direct FAI |
| Throughput (simple dims) | High — measure at the plate | Low — queue bottleneck |
| Software | VECTOR V1 included on tablet | Often separate licence / module cost |
| India support | On-site training, 1-year remote support, AMC | Import-dependent, variable |
Real plants
Where Height Master wins
Tap a scenario to expand problem, solution, and outcome.
- Problem
- Drawing has 15 dimensions; 13 are heights, bores, and a flatness callout. Parts wait 45 minutes in the CMM queue.
- Solution
- Run a VECTOR V1 part program at incoming — height, ID, flatness, and pass/fail on the tablet.
- Outcome
- Under 10 minutes per piece without tying up the CMM.
Honest limits
When you should still buy (or keep) a CMM
Height Master is not the right sole instrument if:
- —Drawings mandate true position, profile, or composite GD&T evaluated against multi-datum reference frames.
- —You need AS9102 / IATF PPAP first-article reports with full CAD balloon mapping.
- —Parts are sculpted 3D surfaces (turbine blades, impellers, mould cavities) requiring dense point clouds.
- —You run high-volume automated 100% inspection with robot-loaded CMM cells.
The smart strategy is hybrid metrology: Height Master for the daily 90%; CMM for the critical 10%.
Interactive
5 questions to decide in your plant
Question 1
Last month, how many CMM jobs were height, bore, flatness, or step only?
Question 2
Does setup on the CMM take longer than measuring at the granite plate?
Question 3
Do your drawings rely mostly on ISO 2768-m general tolerances?
Question 4
Do operators wait on the CMM queue during production?
Question 5
Do customers require true position or profile evaluated to a 3D datum frame?
Answer all questions to see your recommendation.
Wrap-up
Summary
FAQ
Common questions
For routine dimensional inspection on prismatic machined parts — heights, bores, flatness, steps, groove widths, and many 2D patterns — yes. For full 3D GD&T datum frames, profile surfaces, and complete CAD balloon FAIs, you still need a CMM. Most plants benefit from both: Height Master for daily work, CMM for the critical 10%.
Book a demo on your actual parts
We will measure live on Height Master, walk through VECTOR V1 part programs, and help you map which drawings stay on the CMM.