Nuts and bolts. SAE, Metric, or both
I been wrenching on vehicles all my life. It use to be only SAE, then it became a mix of SAE and Metric. I thought they we're going to phase out SAE and go all metric at some point, but it seems like ...
Forum Discussion
liborko wrote:
If it was so easy to design perfect system right from the start we would not have imperial system, bias ply tires, beta vs VHS, 4x8 sheets of plywood, 2x4 lumber, NTSC vs PAL vs SECAM, 120V/60Hz vs 220V/50Hz etc. You can go on and on. Things evolve. It is called progress. The thing is to recognize what is better and adjust accordingly.
It's not really about better, it's just sneaky business on a grand scale which the general public doesn't understand.
It's a game that manufacturers play with each other to bid/win large scale contracts. Imagine if you were Boeing and bidding on the next MASSIVE government defense contract. At the last minute prior to bid, you get the design team to specify something as a "HAS TO" be built to SAE standards (or some other project parameter) for whatever "apparently good" reason. Your competitors are all metric and would have to redesign/retool to meet the project specifications. What happens next? Boeing wins the bid and everything still looks copacetic. It happens all the time. I know because I used to have a hand in it. That's why there are $2500 toilet seats and $1500 hammers that otherwise look . . . . normal. It's all about money.
Chum lee
