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Industrial Terminology Glossary – B

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Balance (Weight and Scale)

An instrument employed for precisely gauging the weight or mass of an item. It comes in mechanical or electronic forms, with the degree of precision differing based on the specific kind of balance. Read More…

Balanced Load (Electrical)

A load connected to an electric circuit (as a three-wire system) so that the currents taken from each side of the system are equal and the power factors are equal.

Balco

A 70% nickel, 30% iron alloy which has a thermal conductivity similar to nickel with twice the resistivity. Commonly used for low cost resistance sensors.

Ball Gage

A gage, usually hand held, with a ball mounted on a stem or handle to evaluate the diameter of a cylindrical hole.

Barometer

A device designed to gauge the atmospheric pressure exerted by the air above a specific location. Read More…

Baud

A unit of transmission speed equal to the number of times a signal changes state per second. Baud rate equals bits per second (BPS).

Bench Scale

A bench scale is a weighing device commonly used within laboratory or industrial environments. Typically designed as a compact unit for placement on a table, it incorporates a platform or base and an indicator display for readings. Read More…

Bezel

A gage component utilized in several types of measurement gages such as a caliper or an indicator which holds the protective face cover in place. They are frequently replaced when repairing dial gages as the face and bezel are protective in nature and can take a majority of any damage when a gage is dropped.

Bi-Directional

Moving, functioning, or sending or receiving signals in or from two, usually opposite, directions

Bias Current (Bias Voltage)

Direct current ( DC ) deliberately made to flow, or DC voltage deliberately applied, between two points for the purpose of controlling a circuit

Bifilar

Having two parallel threads, as in the suspension of certain measuring instruments

Binary Coded Decimal (BCD)

Process for converting decimal numbers into their binary equivalents.

Boiling Point

The temperature at which a liquid boils and turns into a gas.

Bore Gage

A precision measurement device used for accurately determining internal hole diameters. Read More…

Bottle Cap Tester

A tool used for gauging the rotational force needed to remove a bottle cap from a container. Read More…

Bourdon Tube

A component used in pressure measurement devices that is used to measure relative pressures. It is a non-electrical instrument classified as mechanically operated pressure measuring device.

Bridge Circuit

Topology of electrical circuitry where two circuit branches are “bridged” together by a third branch that connects the two branches at an intermediate point between them.

Brinell Hardness

The hardness of a metal or alloy measured by hydraulically pressing a hard ball under a standard load into the specimen, reported using the Brinell scale of hardness.

British Thermal Unit (BTU)

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

Bursting Strength Tester

A property of paper or paperboard used in packaging that measures its resistance to rupturing, defined as the hydrostatic pressure needed to burst a paperboard sample when it is applied uniformly across its side

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In the meantime, enjoy these fun facts…

Did you know… Cross Company is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Our ESOP started in 1979 and as of 2006, we are 100% employee-owned! Learn more about our ESOP and how that benefits both team members and our customers.
Did you know... the precision measurement group at Cross was founded in 1939 by our current CEO's grandfather, Jim King. That's a whole lot of calibration!
Did you know... A fingerprint weighs about 50 micrograms. We know, we weighed it! The residue left from a finger can actually make a difference in weight results which is why we wear gloves when we calibrate weights. For reference, a sheet of paper is about 4.5 grams, that’s 4.5 million micrograms.
Did you know… Cross Company has grown significantly since our start in 1954. Over the years we've acquired 26 companies! Today, our five groups have expertise in everything from industrial automation to precision measurement, and industry knowledge going all the way back to 1939.