Dear John and All, I have interspersed some notes from an Australian perspective.
on 2003-09-01 03.13, John S. Ward at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hi, > > I'm a scientist/engineer working for NASA. The metric system is used > extensively at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but inch-pounds are still > dominant. What do you mean by the word, 'dominant'? Could you guess what proportion of measures (and calculations) are done in metric measures and what proportion are done in old (UK Imperial or USA Customary) measures? Do you know of anyone who calculates the chemistry of fuels (for example) in kilograms and then changes their results to pounds when they have their results. I believe that in the brewing trade (in the USA), there is a tendency to do this because the calculations are so easy in metric and so difficult in UK Imperial (or USA sustomary) measures. > Our metric technical drawings are normally drawn for metric paper sizes > (A0-A4), and we generally follow international drawing practices for metric > drawings. Yet strangely enough, all our printers and plotters are loaded > with inches paper sizes, and when the metric drawings get printed they are > usually resized to fit the inches (A, B, C, D...) size paper. Worse yet, our > purchasing department doesn't even know what A3 paper is, and can't find a > vendor to buy it. Architects and civil, electrical, mechanical engineers, in Australia, routinely have their printers and plotters loaded with the A series of paper sizes. I have only heard of the B series being used in a photocopier for the Australian Ballet Company, who found that A3 paper was a little too small for an orchestral conductor's score and A2 was a little too large � so they used the intermediate B series size. For architects and engineers, I believe that the 'New Metric Handbook � Planning and Design Data' edited by Patricia Tutt and David Adler is a fairly common reference here. This recommends the use of the A series only � it doesn't mention the B series at all. As an personal example, last week I asked an engineer from the local water authority if he could print me out a map of a local park area. Because we hadn't discussed the size that I wanted, he supplied me with both A3 and A2 maps. I wanted to include the map in a submission to the local council, so I reduced the A3 map to A4 on an office photocopier (see below). > At least our metric drawings are REALLY metric, following international > standards for the title block, tolerances, etc. But I've noticed that the > few metric drawings we get from American companies are drawn with > inches-style title blocks, parts, tolerancing, and paper size. > > So my questions are: > > - Are there any US companies that use metric paper sizes? Yes, all of the USA companies that operate in Australia use the A series papers here, eg, the Ford Motor Company, that has a factory here in Geelong. > - How common is metric paper usage (A4, A3, etc.) in recently metricated > countries? Close to 100�% here in Australia. Inch based sizes are relatively unknown. As a side issue, I recall being in San Francisco some years ago when I was dicussing an illustration for a book. I wanted to enlarge the illustration (or maybe I wanted to reduce it � I can't remember) so I wandered over to a photocopier expecting to place my A4 drawing on the glass to change it to an A3 by simply pressing the enlargement button. Alas, it was not to be � I wondered how businesses in the USA operated without this simple facility to double and half photocopies that is routinely available in almost all offices in Australia. My experience is that most photocopiers in Australia are routinely loaded with both A4 and A3 papers to allow for exact enlargements or reductions. > - Where in the U.S. do you get affordable metric size paper, esp. A3? (I'm > paying about $100 / ream!) > - Are there any other American engineers besides me designing entirely > hard-metric? > - Do engineers in recently metricated countries draw on metric sheet sizes, or > inches sizes? All the engineers and architects that I know use A series metric sheet sizes and they have done so for many years. > - Do engineers in recently metricated countries use hard-metric parts, or do > they simply convert inch-pounds parts to metric numbers? This question is more complex. It depends on the industry and on their connections with other parts of the world, and, in some cases, on the history of individual components. One thing that I could add here is that those companies who recognised metrication as an opportunity to re-engineer their products and to refine their inventory made a lot of money for their companies from the metrication process. Others, who chose to pretend that if they ignored metrication, it might go away, were saddled with the extra cost of dual operations as well as the continuing cost issues associated with the old inefficiennt products, and inventories, that they knew needed a (re-engineering) rethink. As an example of a company who chose to use metrication as an opportunity, a door hinge maker chose to rethink the number and the location of the screw holes on their hinges; by doing this they were able to reduce their number of hinge sizes from 153 to 11, and these were suitable for the same number of applications as previously. Another company, who made oil drums, were able to reduce the number of steel sections they used and the number of oil drums that they made from 55 to 11. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS* Geelong, Australia Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Pat Naughtin is recognised as a Liftime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist (LCAMS) by the United States Metric Association. --
