Service for renting and supplying InGauge USB for transmitting measurement instrument values into computers for Thai manufacturing plants

How the brief came about

The challenge in this case was sending workpiece dimension readings from digital measuring instruments directly to a computer, instead of reading the figures on the display and writing them down by hand. The customer's QC department measures injection-moulded parts with digital vernier calipers, thickness gauges and dial gauges. The existing method was recording values by hand.

We surveyed the site before quoting. The survey found that some thickness gauge models did not yet have a data cable, and the customer wanted the option to rent or buy the equipment.

Requirements and constraints

The device had to receive values from the measuring instruments the QC department already uses, without replacing those instruments. The main requirements and constraints are as follows:

• Receive values from the digital vernier calipers, thickness gauges and dial gauges already in use
• Some thickness gauge models do not yet have a data cable, so an additional cable or accessory has to be sourced
• The customer wanted a choice between renting and buying
• Each rental round must go through the customer's procurement system: quotation, purchase order and delivery report (Actual Report)

Why use InGauge USB in HID mode for this job

We use InGauge USB in HID mode because the computer sees the device as a keyboard, so no driver installation is needed, and values can be sent to any program that accepts keyboard typing, such as a spreadsheet or an inspection record form. The reading goes into the field where the cursor is.

The customer's measuring instruments were already digital. What needed adding was a signal converter to USB and data cables for some models, so the main work was cabling and signal conversion. For some instruments, the measuring instrument manufacturer's direct-connect USB converter is another route, which sends values to the computer without going through InGauge.

1. 1

   Connect the measuring instrument to InGauge

   Connect the measuring instrument to InGauge USB V2.1 via an SPC cable, then connect InGauge to the computer with a USB cable

2. 2

   Place the cursor in the required field

   Open the recording program and place the cursor in the field that will receive the reading

3. 3

   Measure and send value

   Staff measure the part and press send. The reading goes into that field with no manual typing.

Deliverables

We deliver equipment in 2 forms: periodic rental and outright purchase. The items according to the purchase orders are as follows:

• Rental: InGauge USB V2.1, 1 set at a time, 3 months per round, delivered to the plant according to each round's purchase order
• Rental: waterproof SPC cable with send button, for measuring instruments without a cable yet
• Rental: measuring instrument manufacturer's direct-connect USB converter, which connects to the computer without going through InGauge
• Outright purchase: 3 InGauge USB sets, for another industrial company in Thailand

How each InGauge USB rental round works

Each rental round starts with that round's quotation and purchase order, after which we deliver the equipment to the plant. After 3 months, the customer decides whether to issue a purchase order for a new round. Accessories have purchase orders separate from the InGauge set.

The rental sequence, by delivery date in the documents, is as follows:

1. Sep 2025: rental round 1 began; 1 InGauge USB V2.1 set delivered
2. Oct 2025: rental accessories delivered: waterproof SPC cable and direct-connect USB converter
3. Jan 2026: rental round 2 began
4. May 2026: rental round 3 began
5. Sep 2026: rental round 4 began, and this rental is in progress

Confirmed results up to rental round 4

A manufacturing plant in Thailand has issued purchase orders to rent InGauge USB V2.1 for 4 rounds, 3 months per round, since Sep 2025. Each round has a delivery report (Actual Report) in the customer's procurement system, and rental round 4 is currently in progress.

We delivered 3 InGauge USB sets as an outright purchase to another industrial company in Thailand, according to the delivery note, in Aug 2025. This case has no measured performance figures, such as reduced time or fewer recording errors, so the confirmed results are the continuing rental and the documented deliveries.

What we learned

This work offers 3 principles for sending measuring instrument readings to a computer:

• Check measuring instruments model by model before proposing equipment. In this job, the survey found that some measuring instrument models did not yet have a data cable, so cables or accessories had to be added. The site survey therefore has to come before the quotation.
• Make the data route of each measuring instrument clear. Some send values through InGauge and some through a direct-connect USB converter, so the QC team should know which route each instrument uses.
• Sending values as keyboard input requires no change to the destination program, but values always go into the field where the cursor is, so the field order in the recording form must be set to match the measurement order.

How this approach can apply to your factory

If your QC department uses digital measuring instruments with a Digimatic/SPC port and still records values by hand, you can use the same approach as this case: connect the measuring instruments to InGauge, then send values to the program you already use. What needs adjusting is the cable for each instrument model and how you acquire the equipment, by renting or buying.

• Send us the brand, model and a photo of the port of every measuring instrument so we can check compatibility before you start renting or buying
• Choose the destination program that will receive values, such as a spreadsheet or an inspection recording app, and arrange the fields to match the measurement order
• Estimate how long you will use it, then compare the total rental cost with the outright purchase price