The scalemeter allows us to make measurements on different scales
A scalemeter is a ruler that has graduations of different scales on its faces . In this way, the user has several scales at their disposal in the same element.
General characteristics
Scalemeters are usually made of aluminum , plastic or wood . The chosen material must have good durability so that the device can be used over time without problems.
The shape of the scaler depends on the number of scales it includes. There are flattened scalemeters that have two scales , while others are square and contain eight scales . The most common scalemeters, however, are triangular and display six scales .
Scalemeters generally work with metric units . In countries where the decimal metric system is used, to mention one case, these rules detail the most frequent units, such as millimeters , centimeters and meters .
There is evidence that the scalemeter was created several millennia ago, at least more than four. We know this thanks to the Architect of the Rule and the Architect of the Plane , two sculptures that date back to more than two thousand years BC and that we can find in the Louvre Museum.
Scalemeter applications
Since architects often use scalemeters, these instruments are also known as architect's rulers . In any case, engineers, designers and surveyors, among other professionals, also use scalemeters to carry out their work .
Those who make technical drawings , therefore, do not need to do mathematical operations to convert measurements to a scale. They can simply use a scalemeter to appreciate the measurement in the graduation of the ruler.
Let's take the case of a 1:50 reduction scale . This means that, on paper, the measurement used is fifty times smaller than the actual measurement. In other words, 1 real meter is equivalent to 20 mm of the plane . By having a scale meter and a scale plane, you can discover the measurement of distances without carrying out calculations.
The smart scalemeter
In 2017 Joanne Swisterski , the chief designer and owner of the company Swisterski Design , had a revolutionary idea: the smart scale ruler , whose original name is Smart Scale Ruler . It is a digital version of this ancient tool, which is capable of carrying out three incredibly useful functions to facilitate the work of designers and architects to a considerable level:
* custom scales : Swisterski was tired of encountering plans without specific scales or whose dimensions had been distorted during printing. This often happened to him in his work meetings with other design professionals. In the past, the only way to overcome such a problem was to take a sheet of paper and make marks with a marker to establish a reference scale. With the smart scalemeter, this is done in a couple of seconds, absolutely precisely;
A wooden scalemeter and a pencil on a plane
* division : sometimes it is not necessary to resort to units of measurement. If we simply want to divide a drawing to talk about arbitrary fractions, the intelligent scalemeter allows us to do it in two simple steps: delimit the extension and indicate a number of segments . Doing this by hand requires measuring the drawing with a traditional unit, such as centimeters or inches, dividing the total extension into the desired number of parts and then making small marks on another sheet that we will use as a ruler;
* conversion : although in each part of the world we get used to using a specific system of units (in our case, the metric, while in the United Kingdom, the so-called imperial ), design professionals often convert plans from one to another , when they collaborate with people from other countries. Far from needing a reference table, a calculator or two scalemeters, with the smart one this is achieved by pressing a simple button .