Jim Elwell wrote in USMA 13155:
>The problem with my older injection molds is that they are designed to be
>used with various types of colloquial fasteners. In some cases a metric
>fastener could be used, in other cases it could not (either due to
>tolerances or where the threads to a fastener are molded in).
I replied:
>I don't understand. What do these molds produce? How do they use
>>"colloquial" fasteners?
The explanation is given by
http://www.qsicorp.com/images/type-w_large.jpg
which shows a product that consists of a front and a back plastic molding,
presumably held together by "colloquial" fasteners. The product does not
appear to be measurement-sensitive in any way, What if it is held
together by American screws? American screws will have to be available
for many years to maintain pre-metric machines.
I admit that there are measurement-sensitive products, such as electronic
circuit boards. However, the cost of product conversion is usually much
less than predicted. My memory is that General Motors predicted the cost
of conversion as $100 000 000, but they found in fact that the cost of
conversion was recouped in a year, and yielded savings after that.
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
