First published 1998
Second edition published 2000
Third edition published 2004

This edition first published 2012
© 2012, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Matthews, Clifford.

Engineers' data book / Clifford Matthews. – 4th ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-119-97622-6 (cloth)

1. Mechanical engineering—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. TJ151.M3924 2012

621.02′1–dc23                                                 2011043947

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Foreword

This book is an essential tool to help you as you embark on your career in mechanical engineering, providing a wide range of useful information you will need during your studies, and later as a professional engineer.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is your dedicated partner throughout your career and we are committed to supporting you through your studies to graduation and beyond. Home to 98,000 engineering professionals working in the heart of the country's most important and dynamic industries, we will ensure that you have the skills, knowledge, support and development advice you need at every stage of your career.

Because we set the standard for professional excellence in mechanical engineering our members are recognised for their professional competence and enjoy enhanced career opportunities as a result. To achieve this recognition of your skills and to manage your career development, it is important that you maintain your membership of IMechE and take advantage of the opportunities available to help you fulfil your potential.

As an Affiliate member, during your studies you will benefit from career advice and support as well as regular information about engineering and how to get involved in your local IMechE community. By becoming a member, you also have access to Career Developer, our suite of online reporting tools, enabling you to record your professional experience as soon as you start your industrial placement.

Upon graduation you can apply to become an Associate Member of IMechE and begin the journey towards professional registration. With appropriate work experience and support from IMechE to develop your skills and knowledge, you can apply for registration as an Incorporated or Chartered Engineer. Your membership of IMechE will bring ongoing support for your continued professional development, through a range of member resources, events and activities. Engineers need to continue their professional development to keep their skills fresh and progressive, so we will help you stay up to date, broaden your knowledge and deepen your understanding of your chosen industry.

We hope that your relationship with IMechE will be a lifelong one that supports you throughout your career. As you join this exciting and essential profession, we wish you luck and look forward to helping you stay ahead in an increasingly varied, dynamic and rewarding industry.

Preface

This significantly updated 2012 edition of the Engineers'Data Book replaces the three successful previous editions published in 1998, 2000 and 2004. Since the data book's inception, feedback from engineers and students has indicated that, despite the proliferation of technical information in published and electronic format, there is still a need for a source of core mechanical engineering information in a readily available form. The 2012 data book has increased in content by approximately 60 percent compared to the first edition. As well as an increase in the coverage of basic units, data, and engineering rules, the content has gradually been extended to cover vital aspects of structural integrity and reliability of engineering components: these are important current issues in the engineering business.

Finally, it is important that the content of this data book continues to reflect the information that is needed and used by student and experienced engineers. If you have any suggestions for future content (or indeed observations or comment on the existing content) please let me know on: enquiries@matthews-training.co.uk

Clifford Matthews

Introduction

The Role of Technical Standards

What role do published technical standards play in mechanical engineering? Standards have been part of the engineering scene since the early days of the industrial revolution when they were introduced to try to solve the problem of sub-standard products. In these early days they were influential in increasing the availability (and reducing the price) of basic iron and steel products.

What has happened since then? Standards bodies have proliferated, working more or less independently, but all subject to the same engineering laws and practical constraints. They have developed slightly different ways of looking at technical problems, which is not such a bad thing – the engineering world would be less of an interesting place if everyone saw things in precisely the same way. Varied though they may be, published standards represent good practice. Their ideas are tried and tested, rather than being loose – and they operate across the spectrum of engineering practice, from design and manufacture to testing and operation.

The current trend in Europe is towards harmonization of national standards into the Euronorm (EN) family. Whether you see this as rationalization or simply amalgamation is not important – the harmonized standards will have significance for the mutual acceptability of engineering goods between companies and countries. Some recent ‘standards’, such as the Machinery Directive and Pressure Vessel Directive have real statutory significance, and are starting to change the way that mechanical engineers do things. They may be written by committees, but they are not without teeth.

Since the first edition of the Data Book, the number of EN harmonized engineering standards has increased significantly. However, their influence is still to be felt in many areas. Engineering companies that have been used to working to existing British and US standards can be reluctant to change, with the result that many companies still prefer to work to superseded standards. In some disciplines (pressure equipmentis a good example) the amount of equipment being manufactured to the new EN standards is quite small. Things are changing, but slowly.

Technical standards continue to be an important model for technical conformity in all fields. They affect just about every mechanical engineering product from pipelines to paperclips. From the practical viewpoint it is worth considering that, without standards, the design and manufacture of even the most basic engineering design would have to be started from scratch.