http://www.matweb.com/

is the usual place to start, although you might be better off by approaching the supplier direct if you have a particular spec in mind.

Cheers

Greg Locock

MS-264 is a DaimlerChrysler Engineering Specification, which are only available through a company called AutoWeb.  You can obtain more information at their website - http://afx.autoweb.net.

matweb is a good general site, but does not provide details about particular industry standards and specifications.  Just like all standards-creating bodies (SAE, ASTM, etc.), DaimlerChrysler does not offer their products free-of-charge over the internet.  I recommend you visit the website of Global Engineering Documents if you are interested in purchasing anything other than DaimlerChrysler standards - http://global.ihs.com.

TVP's usually excellent posts don't seem to paint the whole picture here. The links for the DaimlerChrysler specs are available more obviously from www.autoweb.com as apposed to http://afx.autoweb.com where you had to scroll down to find the link off of the products menu pick.

Anyway, nitpicking aside, how does one without full access to the databases even know that it is a DC specification? A search on http://global.ihs.com for many permutations of MS 264 (and even HSLA in the key word search) does not produce the specification. Google is no more insightful. I could not find it in the ILI (www.ili-info.com) database my company has purchased.

Any suggestions?

Best regards,

Matthew Ian Loew

Oops, my bad! the autoweb references are .net not .com. Sorry.

Best regards,

Matthew Ian Loew

MLoew,

Thanks for the help on the website for autoweb.  I have a subscription to their service, which is handled through the afx.autoweb.net site, so I just truncated the address and used that.  Obviously the www.autoweb.net address is a better one for non-users.

Now, as for your question about how does one know that "MS-264" is a DaimlerChrysler Engineering Specification, the short answer is that it is very difficult, if not impossible.  We'll use your search as an example: you tried a generic websearch (google), a somewhat more specialized search (ili-info), and a very targeted search (global).  None of these searches identified that this was a DaimlerChrysler specification, even though this document has been in existence since 1935 (it was originally released on October 21, 1935).

This particular subject of not correctly identifying standards and specifications is a very sore subject with me.  I see it almost everyday on the Eng-Tips forum alone.  What is a grade 8 bolt?  If this appears on a drawing for a bolt, how is one supposed to know that the requirements for this are referenced in SAE J429?  

People responsible for the release of engineering documents (drawings, specifications, etc.) should be precise to a fault when identifying the materials, coatings, heat treatments, etc. that are to be used.  The full name for a specification, including the appropriate revision level, should be used.  I find many vendors are not even remotely familiar with the standards that they are supposed to be meeting, especially when it comes to referenced standards within the basic material specification.  Using SAEJ429 as an example, there are 13 referenced standards, which all have additional requirements to those listed in SAE J429.  I realize at some point it becomes an almost impenetrable maze of references to references, but I find it laughable that most of the automotive suppliers (my immediate realm of expertise) are ISO 9000 and/or QS9000 certified, when a tiny amount of probing into this area reveals huge inadequacies.

You don't even want to get me started on the PPAP process...

Thanks TVP. I believe you have more than redeemed yourself!

Best regards,

Matthew Ian Loew