How to Convert from Metric to Imperial EASILY!

Depending on which country you work in, you may have been trained to only use either imperial or metric units when operating our machines.

Contracting machine shops often make parts for use in other counties so we might land a new role in a machine shop and be expected to work in a unit of measurement that we are not used to.

To convert we can always multiply or divide by 25.4 but that does not help us visualize the equivalent sizes in our heads.

After a while of working within engineering, we tend to be able to tell roughly the size of something by eye. If you can already do this when working with Imperial, it may feel like it is a daunting task to relearn that skill quickly to work in metric.

In this video, Marc from @GCodeTutor shows us some tips for quickly learning how to get used to working with units that feel unfamiliar.

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[pbslab]

"The metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I like it!" - Grandpa Simpson
For over 40yrs, I worked only in thousandths of an inch. I having to work more with metric dimensions. My digital calipers, and DRO's are switchable to mm. No metric micrometers yet. But all my cutters & end mills are inch.

[benjamindejonge]

So if they say 12-15/16” wtf is that in metric ? Is that symbol - a minus or plus ? And how thus a weird 31/32 works out. ?

[WarriorforChrist]

I live in the US, but I wish they would eliminate the Imperial system, metric for life!

[williammorris]

Or we can eliminate the metric system. 🙂