Slim,
This is an example of what we have been doing:
Those are both #10 Remington caps. I think the most inexperienced viewer of this thread can see why we had to resort to some other measurement technique than a caliper or a micrometer. To measure a large number of caps they tried using a pocket (a hole) in a plate to hold the cap and a drop gage with a tip larger than the diameter of the cap for the measurement, but the caps often tilted (even a slight cocking changes the measurement) unless there was a very close or almost a line to line fit between the cap and the pocket. Measuring heights or caps with irregular edges was just one measurement problem. One of my techs asked me if she could use the Optical Comparator I had moved into my personal workspace, and as you can see from the images it is perfect for the job. All you have to do is zero out the "Z" axis on the seating surface, then place and focus on each new cap and record the height. She sent me this photo while I was out of town to ask if it was acceptable.
Check this out, this is her set up:
Notice the "Z" measurement? .18201, which of course is recorded as .182 tall.
Here's another shot she took, it also has the OGP Smart Scope in it. The O.C. is a bench top model that got stuck in the corner and she was showing me they left it in the corner (it was on the wall before I took delivery of the Smart Scope) out of the way yet had set it back up, validated the machine in the new location with standards from the metrology lab and then conducted a simple R&R study between the two of them to show it was capable with the parts they were measuring.
That's the automated vision system they used to verify and correlate the Inside Diameter dimensions they both recorded using the laboratory grade gage pins.
I have pretty much anything available I need already in my lab space, I have a CMM, an Optical comparator, a toolmaker's scope, the Smart Scope, a hardness tester, a superficial hardness tester, stereo scopes, any hand measuring equipment you might need, I can also use the film or the digital X-Ray equipment when needed, Instron material testers, fatigue testers, the die penetrate lab and more.
As I told you earlier the measured CCI #11 caps run from Ø.165 to Ø.168, that's a range of four gage pins in .001" increments. The CCI #10s actually have a greater range but they cluster at Ø.161, they range from Ø.159 to Ø.165, that's seven gage pins. But read this carefully, only two measured at Ø.165, only six measured at Ø.164 and only three at Ø.163. In their notes they both indicated all of those appeared to have been slightly flared. Those caps were sequestered and I also observed the "flare" they reported. That's only 11 out of 120 measured caps, those are obviously outliers.
I wish you and everyone else a happy Thanksgiving,
Mako
P.S. I am contacting CCI using the address you provided me. I'm going to lay out the inspection methods, the equipment, the pictures, the models and ask for their reply.