The history of metering rods dates back to the early 20th century. In 1905, Charles W. Mayer founded Mayer & Cie and invented the first “balancing rod” or “squeegee rod,” which is considered the precursor to modern precision metering rods.³ Early measuring rods were primarily made by winding music wire around a carbon steel mandrel and were used in the manufacture of carbon paper and wax paper³.
With the advancement of industrial technology, to improve durability and address rust issues, modern measuring rods gradually adopted stainless steel as the mandrel material and introduced surface treatment processes such as chrome plating³. In terms of manufacturing processes, in addition to traditional wire-winding techniques, cold extrusion technology emerged in the late 20th century. By directly extruding continuous corrugated grooves onto the stainless steel rod body, this method resolved the issues of wire breakage or loosening associated with wire-winding processes, further enhancing the accuracy and service life of gauge rods.