In August of 2011 I made a presentation to our sales team on how we had incorporated the new ISO Geometrical Product Specifications into our operating software for all of our form tester products. I thought the presentation went well—I was clear and precise, and the material wasn’t too complex. I expected everyone would be embracing the new options now offered in the software. However, at the end, several people looked puzzled. “Yeah, but,” summed up one of the participants, “what are these new standards good for? Who will use them?”
It’s an interesting question, and a very important one. To understand that, we must first understand the reasoning behind these new standards and the new parameters they offer us the opportunity to use. In fact it is just that, the “opportunity,” which is the key to understanding these standards. These standards give us the potential to specify form tolerances on parts in new ways that may be beneficial to the function of a component. The new ISO Standards for Roundness (12181), Cylindricity (12180), Straightness (12780) and Flatness (12781) can be seen as setting a stage for future development. The result of many years of discussion, they open a new window for form specifications and may have significant ramifications on how some companies specify, measure and manufacture parts.