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I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters
3

I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters

I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters

(OP)
Hey everone - I am fairly new to mechanical engineering field (Architecture for a long time) and have a quick question. As good practice, we avoided using 1, 0, I and O on our building gridline layout. I realize I, O, Q, S, X and Z are not allowed but ASME Y14.35M for revisions...but in a digital age, is this really relevent any longer? Do you allow them at your company (or have you considered)?

Thanks...Bunyan in CA

RE: I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters

Bunyan, if your class of work follows ASME Y14.35M then the answer should be obvious.

If not following Y14.35M I would certainly avoid I, O and Q, I feel avoiding the others is not as important. In my particular class of work, revisions are numbered, not lettered.

And what does the digital age have to do with it? I find screens often harder to read than paper, of which there is plenty around still and will be for the foreseeable future.

Regards,

Mike

RE: I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters

It is even more important in the digital age than it was in the paper age. Depending on which font you choose, a "1" (one) looks like an "I" (eye) which looks like an "l" (el).

--Scott
www.wertel.pro

RE: I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters

In digital age I'd say it still applies, especially if you claim to work to Y14.35. As swertel says, so long as there are people reading the letter there are chances for mis reading it so it makes sense to eliminate some of the more obvious sources of errors.

Posting guidelines FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm? (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: I, O, Q, S, X and Z Revision Letters

(OP)
Thanks very much for your feedback everyone...you guys are great!

While I agree that with humans reading drawings is a very important consideration, wouldnt proper application of a font style prevent misreading/confusing those characters (e.g., zero with a diagonal line cannot be confused with an O). When lettering was done by hand it was probably more important as the fonts would have variation from person to person. Digital application of fonts would make it easier to read...not harder.

BTW, from a good practices standpoint we may continue to not use these letters...I am simply conducting a thorough review.

Thanks again for your thoughful responses...Bunyan in CA

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