Why Metric?

... I'm living in Germany and too have to deal with imperial measures - mostly when sourcing parts and tubes for plumbing ... but even more when inserting mill-bits -- I have a bunch of millbits with milling diameters from 0.3 to 3mm with both types of shaft diameter - either 3mm or 3.175mm (equals 1/8 Inch), so I have to measure or try them and change the chuck if the new shaft diameter is different to the last used

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Viktor
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jaguarking11

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tjb1

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jaguarking11
The answer is simple honestly.

Certain industries adapted one system globaly.

metric = just about every machined or produced article. Even cars built in the US use metric threads/bolts/nuts.

Standard = tiles, plumbing, and certain agricultural equipment.

The world is a mishmosh. At least we are down to small variations that are at least defined. Go look at mpg on a vehicle in the UK and a vehicle in the US. Same car gets higher MPG, the reason? The MPG standard in the UK is different than US.

Uh I work in a very large machine shop and we program everything in decimal inch and every other shop I have worked at used decimal inch. Using metric fasteners does not mean the item was produced with a metric print. Anything we share with other countries is done with dual dimensions.

If you can't handle working with both units, you might not be cut out to be in manufacturing/engineering. It's pretty obvious when something is 1mm vs 1 inch...

Yeah, your a US based machining shop. The world does not beggin or end with the US. I Have lived in the US all of my life, I went from grade school to college here. I am perfectly capable of doing conversions. With that said, the machining shops around the world that use only metric far outnumber the ones that do both or use only standard.

Personaly I am more adapt to doing things in metric than inches or fractions...... I was educated in the us with inches, feet etc. I own tools that are precise that measure in .001 inch, but at the end of the day my metric tools win out.

The US is also very large into manufacturing so do not generalize and say that all of machining is in metric.

I work with inch and metric every day, it's not an issue. If I have a metric dimension I need in Inventor and I am working in an inch template I just type "200mm" and it does the conversion or bust out the calculator and type "200/25.4".

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2015 08:27AM by tjb1.

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Please add your printer design to [reprap.org]

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tmorris9
I am 50 and always worked in fractions and decimals. Since I got into 3D printing I am learning metric and I really, really wish the U.S. had switched over to metric like they said they were going to when I was in grade school. It is base 10 not 12 and it is just so much easier.

Jimmy Carter tried to tell us.....(go figure!)

I'm sure you know, but the Imperial measurement system is hardly Base 12.....

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dclarkm
I'm sure you know, but the Imperial measurement system is hardly Base 12.....

... I think, he's referring to "dozens", an ancient counting and measure system, which was replaced by the metric system ages ago, but is vivid in some dialects and kitchen measures until today

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Because not everyone can deal with more than one measurement system. Envy of empire builders?
For those of us that can (USA) we own two markets.

I think it is a way for USA to own the USA business and Euro business. USA manufacturing use any system, you want feet, fractions, hectometers, cubits, we will quote it.

Others may need a metric print....

Metric hardware generally costs more.

What is a metric pipe thread?

What are metric rivets?

I see converted metric units that have their foundation in imperial but want to seem metric without the added cost of re-tooling something that built modern industry and works well.

Engineering is a blend of needs and wants. If we understand our customer it does not matter if we call it 7/32" or .375mm. USA companies play both sides equally well. Euro companies tend to be metricentric, probably wouldn't quote imperial prints.

More work for USA, why throw out 200 years of machine tools and inspection equipment? It may be more important when getting down to splitting atoms, but most things aren't that. I work in anything, I work. Bring on your 9/16th of a decimeter, I understand and will make it in print.

Who cares if you call it 1.75 mm or .0688795" either way after about 3 or 4 decimal places, it wont matter. It is the same dimension. You can't print that close anyway!