I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. This may help you with your home decorations…

Have you wondered if live web training is right for you? We’ve had a lot of interest in our new live-web format. If you wonder how it would work for you, you can attend a free one-hour GD&T live web public workshop and find out for yourself.

The “mini-workshop” covers two important GD&T topics: Rule #1 and bonus tolerance. The course includes sample exercises, and attendees will receive a 10% off coupon to a future live web workshop. Read more about this course.

Monday, November 17, 2008
Free one-hour workshop
1 pm - 2 pm EST
(EST - Eastern Standard Time)

No Special Equipment Required
Attending an ETI live web public workshop doesn’t require specialized equipment. It runs in a web browser, and the technology required is commonly found in most homes and organizations.

To take advantage of a GD&T live web public workshop, you need three things:

1. A Windows-based computer
2. High-speed internet access (T1 or faster)
3. Phone line for teleconferencing

Don’t miss this opportunity to try live web training for yourself or your organization, and learn about bonus tolerance at the same time!

ETI is having a Fall special.

From October 1st to November 30th, if you order a GD&T Trainer Multi-User or LAN version, you’ll receive 50 free GD&T Ultimate Pocket Guides for every $1000 spent on the software.

For example, if you purchase a GD&T Trainer Multi-User for $2595, you’ll receive 100 Pocket Guides ($600 value)

You can receive up to 650 Pocket Guides (a $3900 value) if your company purchases a 10-seat LAN.

The chart at the right shows some more examples. Click on it to enlarge.

Read more about the GD&T Trainer Professional Edition.

I found some great quotes about the importance of tolerances. They exemplify the importance and impact of GD&T.

Tolerances have far more impact on cost, quality, and customer satisfaction than they have traditionally been accorded. Often during product design, the focus is on the nominal specification and its effect on functional quality.

The discipline and clarity that GD&T brings to the tolerancing task in undisputable. The methods of GD&T are profoundly useful in communicating tolerances, and play a critical role in how tolerances are ultimately relayed to the manufacturing community.

- C.M. Creveling

Tolerance Design – A Handbook for Developing Optimal Specifications

In a previous post, I told you about the upcoming ASME Y14 Committee meeting and invited you to attend. Here’s a little more information about the standard review process.

There is a draft of the new standard out for public review. The public can comment on it until the October 21st deadline. Your input is valuable.

If you can’t attend the meeting, you can still comment. Here’s a quote from the ASME site:

Public comments may be submitted on proposed draft new ASME Standards, and on proposals to revise, reaffirm or withdraw approval of existing ASME Standards.

Comments should be addressed to [gomezc@asme.org] with a copy to the Board of Standards Review, American National Standards Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036. Fax: 212-840-2298; e-mail: psa@ansi.org

The public review proposal is available in hard copy for $85 from:

Mayra Santiago, Secretary A
E-mail: ansibox@asme.org,
ASME Codes & Standards
Three Park Avenue, MS/23E2
New York, NY 10016

As most of you know, I’m a member of the Y14 Standard Committee, and we’re in the process of updating the standard. Many of you may not realize that the general public is invited to attend and comment on the standard. You can buy a copy from the ASME site for $85. (More info)

Please think about attending the next meeting and telling us what you think.

Y14 Committee Meetings on Engineering Drawing and Related Documentation Practices
Sunday - Friday, October 5 - 10, 2008 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Venue and location information:
Crowne Plaza Memphis Hotel
http://www.ichotelsgroup/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/memss
300 North Second Street
Memphis Tennessee , United States

Here’s a link to more info about the hotel and discount available:
http://calendar.asme.org/EventDetail.cfm?EventID=6008

It’s literally been years in the making…we started developing this workbook more than 5 years ago, but other projects got in the way. Computer-based training, web-based training, developing new courses like the Engineering Drawing Requirements, the System Approach to Component Tolerancing, and lots of other products and services always seemed to take precedence over our new workbook.

We kept plugging away, and we can finally offer this valuable tool for practicing GD&T concepts. The official title is The GD&T Workbook With Engineering Drawings, by Alex Krulikowski. It’s a companion to the Fundamentals of GD&T textbook and will be part of all ETI’s fundamentals workshops.

The content matches that of the textbook and also fits pretty seamlessly with the GD&T Trainer, so anyone using the our CBT or web-based training might want to use this for extra practice. I recommend working the exercises after you’ve completed a lesson, but before you try the quiz.

Seeing the GD&T concepts you’ve just learned applied to an actual part drawing is a great way to get hands-on practice. Anyone who already knows GD&T can also use this for review and practice.

The workbook is available in our online product catalog.

We’re excited about this new training option.

Companies can order live web instead of traditional onsite workshops. Individuals (or one or two employees) can attend a live web public workshop.

GD&T live web training is just like a classroom workshop, but it’s delivered and attended entirely over the internet. The instructor is here at our site, teaching the same content as our traditional workshops. We have q/a time and interaction, so it’s just as personalized as a regular workshop.

The only thing missing is the cost of flights, hotels, and rental cars - and the travel time to and from the workshop.

With the soaring price of gas and companies needing to cut costs, the live web training can save money without sacrificing much needed GD&T training

ETI is starting a blog.

Why?

Like many corporate blogs,  the ETI blog will announce new products and services, keep you updated about our public training schedules, and let you know about Alex’s speaking engagements and newly published articles.

However, the heart of the blog will be dedicated to GD&T.

We’ll keep you up to date on the new standard. We’ll inform you about new developments in industry that involve quality issues. We’ll focus on news items that pertain to manufacturing and recalls that may have been avoided by using GD&T.

We’re adding a Q/A portion where you can ask Alex his expert opinion, and see comments that follow from other readers. Alex will also offer tolerancing insights culled from his years of experience working with GD&T on the job and teaching GD&T to thousands around the globe.

Alex will also provide training and mentoring tips on how to keep companies up to speed on geometric tolerancing so they remain competitive in the global industrial marketplace. He’ll give tips for those who are learning the fundamentals, as well as those who are ready to tackle the system approach for component tolerancing.

The format is fluid, so who knows where this will take us? We only know one thing: if it involves GD&T, you’ll find it here.

We look forward to hearing your comments, insights, and viewpoint.