this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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Americans will use anything but the metric system ... unless it's important.
Who says 3000 grams instead of 3 kg anyway.
A lot of times it's based on precision. Kinda makes sense to say 1,000 mm if the spec is +/- a mm or 2 imo
Every professional that deals with stuff that needs around 1mm precision uses mm. Metal roofing, gutters, any machining, etc. It is to prevent ambiguity. I used to build roofs and for like wooden beams we used meters and cm, but that was because a couple mm here and there rarely ever mattered. All in all using mm is usually the best choice.
What professional area? Because I don't recall ever seeing listings of thousands of mm.
Metal roofing thing (idk how to translate, am not british) are always in mm. We would buy them at like 5 meters long and measure for cutting using mm. https://limarija-sebastijan.hr/krovni-zidni-i-ostali-profilirani-limovi/trapezni-lim/ All the drawings for metal things are in mm. What is not is like diameter of the pipes. The store I linked sells rolls of sheet metal (again don't know how to translate) in cm, but all the other stores sell in mm. https://olx.ba/artikal/19038696/lim-u-rolni/ When you want custom bent stuff (like the metal.. things that go on the sides, or custom gutters) you make a drawing in mm (can't explain, but I'l draw one if you want).
I just said "professional" because the one I replied said it, without saying what profession. Roofing is a profession, and metal roofing stuff doing (again don't know how to translate) is also a profession.
And all the schematics I have seen for metal parts, and in cad software in general, is in mm. Tailoring is also in mm (https://tehnicki.lzmk.hr/clanak/kroj).
Maybe it is a US vs rest of the world thing ? Maybe I'm not expirienced enough to make such sweeping statements.
Again, you put thousands of mm because mixing cm and mm (and m) can lead to mistakes. I even remember cutting wrong because I heard like 2570 instead of 2507 (he's up there measuring, while I'm down cutting).
House blueprints are usually in meters. Window sizes are in cm.
Sure. I'm not a professional machinist. I have worked on roofs and all sheet metal things are in mm. I have even worked for a company that makes those metal things and as a customer for another one. I also was by far the best at technical drawing in school, not to brag. And all the schematics for things I have seen are in mm, for example https://www.iclarified.com/images/news/48931/228250/228250-1280.png . Disclaimer, all the schematics that are not in, ugh, inches (or architecture).
Sure, if I made something for someone they can give me dimensions in Smoots for all I care. But I would transform it into mm, and would never buy tools that don't use mm.
For context, I am not in an english speaking country nor Myanmar.
Edit: Actually I have seen house schematics in mm as well. I thing they now give out in m, but use mm internally (depending on architecture firm).
When I asked the boss, who has been in the business for a couple generations, why it says here 4000 instead of 4m, he said what I am telling you. So you don't mix up measurements.
You're right. People don't use the system properly, but that's how a lot of people do it is what I was saying. I can see how that would grind your gears (pun somewhat intended) as a machinist, since specs and tolerances are especially important in your line of work as I understand it