surface plate

American  

noun

1. Machinery. a flat plate used by machinists for testing surfaces that are to be made perfectly flat.

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surface plate British  

noun

1. another name for faceplate

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Etymology

Origin of surface plate

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

The key should first be fitted and should be filed true to a surface plate, for in no other way can a really good reliable gib be obtained, no matter how well the keys may have been planed or milled.

From Project Gutenberg

The faces or seats for the knives should be parallel one to the other, and this may be tested by a pair of straight edges, one pressed to each face and the width between them measured at each end, or if a long surface plate is at hand, one face of the head may be rested on the surface plate, and the straight edge ruled on the other face, and its distance measured from the surface plate at each end, with a pair of inside callipers delicately adjusted.

From Project Gutenberg

The shape of the surface plate is an element of the first importance, because as even the strongest bars of metal deflect from their own weight, it is necessary to shape the plate with a view to make this deflection as small as possible in any given size and weight of plate.

From Project Gutenberg

In truing surfaces with a file a great part of the operator’s time is occupied in testing the work for parallelism, and applying it to the surface plate to test its flatness or truth, whereas in a machine of this kind both the parallelism and the truth of the work are effected by the accurate guiding of the machine table in its guideways.

From Project Gutenberg

Red Marking or Marking.—This is a paint used by machinists to try the fit of one piece to another, or to try the work by a test piece or surface plate.

From Project Gutenberg