ASME sets 3-D digital standard

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers announced Aug. 13 a new technical standard, ASME Y14.41-2003, which establishes requirements for preparing, organizing and interpreting three-dimensional digital product images.

ASME Y14.41-2003, Digital Product Definition Data Practices, which represents an extension of the popular Y14.5 standard for two-dimensional drawings, reflects the growing need for a uniform method of documenting the data created in today's computer-aided design environments.

Beneficiaries of Y14.41 include the departments of the U.S. government and their subcontractors in industry, which for several years have sought a manageable system for preparing and interpreting CAD product data and recently approached ASME to request a standard.

The standard also provides a guide for CAD software developers working on improved modeling and annotation practices for the engineering community. ASME Y14.41 sets forth the requirements for tolerances, dimensional data and other annotations.

ASME Y14.41 advances the capabilities of Y14.5, Dimensioning and Tolerancing, the widely used standard pertaining to two-dimensional engineering drawings. Y14.41 defines the exceptions, as well as additional requirements to existing ASME standards for using product definition data or drawings in three-dimensional digital format.

ASME Y14.41-2003, Digital Product Definition Data Practices is available from ASME by calling 800-843-2763.