[USMA:31387] Re: US Metric System Debated (Engineers Exchange Blows)

[Euric]

One of the most idiotic arguments against metrication is that it will cost "thousands" or "millions".  At the beginning of the year, the company I work for had to shell out thousands just to upgrade all of our AutoCAD software from revision 14 to 2004.  Not only that we had to get new computers that were faster and ran Windows XP as Win 98 would crash left and right.  What motivated the upgrade was that we were receiving an increasing number of drawings from vendors and customers that we could not open.  Plus, AutoDesk said they would no longer support the older versions.    Do people like Dean Hurst argue that we should not progress because it would cost business thousands?  If that be the case, then those businesses are better off not in business or better yet the people who can't manage them properly should be shown the street.  Maybe with the threat of unemployment hanging over their heads, they may see that some upgrades are a necessity and a business should plan and save for the day when it occurs.   Metrication is a form of an upgrade and those that don't go through this may find that they have cost their business and themselves a lot more then the cost of metrication.   As for the metric fasteners he is whining about, it is apparent this guy is way behind the times.  The ISO long ago abolished the various pitches in favour of a standard series (ISO preferred series).  Thus the problems he is complaining about don't exist.  Then again the only ones complaining are those opposed to metric.   Euric     ----- Original Message ----- From: Brenton To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Sunday, 2004-10-31 08:33 Subject: [USMA:31386] US Metric System Debated (Engineers Exchange Blows)   Dated August 2001 (an old discussion, but none the less interesting) ENGINEERS FORUM US Metric System Debated (Engineers Exchange Blows) Here is a collection of comments in response to a previous story on SI standards.   NO METRICS - Conversion to Metric Will Hurt Small Businesses from Dean Herbst, Agricultural Equipment Repairs I would like for us to stay with the US standards and not go to the metric system because it would cost me thousands of dollars. The big thing is in nuts and bolts. Where I have a bolt size 7/16", I do not know for sure how many different nuts and bolts I would have to stock. A #12 is very close to a 7/16". There is a #12 with a 1.00 pitch, 1.25 pitch, 1.50 pitch and 1.75 pitch, and that's just the US standard. In metric sizes, a #12 from Japan will not work with the US standards and a #12 from Italy will not work in place of a Japanese made part, and none of the #12 US parts will work for those ether. I think that any equipment that is imported to the US should be required to be in all US standards.                                   Home | Site Map | Privacy | Legal Reference: http://www.ihs.com/engineering/ihs-informant/200108/3.html