A company that makes custom parts out of metal has hired me to revamp a program for reasons unrelated to measurement. They're not interested in metricating now, but from all I've heard I know they will. So I'm making it metric internally with selectable input and output units.
I looked at the code used to compute the weight of a part. It multiplies the dimensions, the density, and 1000. Why 1000? The total weight of an order is shown in pounds. The weight of one part is in pounds per 1000 - in other words, millipounds. When it shows metric, they will be in kilograms and grams. When I rewrite the code, it'll multiply the dimensions and the density and divide by 1000. That's because the dimensions are in millimeters, the density is in grams per cubic centimeter, and the weight is in grams. phma
