Digital thickness gauges, also known as electronic thickness gauges, find the thickness of flat stock like sheet metal or paper. They are operated with a lever, trigger, or button that opens the jaw by retracting the spindle and then the workpiece will be held between contact points on the spindle and anvil to determine the thickness of the material. The digital LCD screen shows the measurement that reflects the distance between the two contact points. These units are typically handheld devices and are commonly used in machining, engineering, and metal fabrication.