
An instrument is an engineering device used for identifying, measuring, recording, or controlling the value of a given quantity. There is a diverse variety of industrial instruments, many of them highly specialized and designed for specific applications. Speedometers, scales, and clocks are examples of fairly common instruments used to measure velocity, weight, and time, respectively. But engineers and manufacturers also rely on more specialized equipment, such as galvanometers for calculating electrical current or hydraulic regulators for controlling applied pressure. Such instruments are not only helpful, but often necessary for many industrial projects.