cadfreak-
Drake's (with many contributors) book "Dimensioning and Tolerancing Handbook" ISBN 0-07-018131-4 is all-encompassing, in-depth, formal and more advanced. It's a great reference if you want to get into the subject in depth. It's really geared towards engineers and cerebral people.
I have Bruce A. Wilson's "Dimensioning and Tolerancing" and found it to be a no-nonsense book that keeps things simple and straightforward. I suppose that all of his books are that way. He is offering a paperback called "Design Dimensioning and Tolerancing" which is very affordable. Of course, ASME Y14.5M-1994 is a must for anyone getting into it but it's a pricey spec at $120 or more.
I find Y14.5 to be the best resource. If you can tie your shoe, etc you should be able to use Y14.5 to "learn" GD&T - as it is the sole source document for GD&T. Everything else is just regurgitating the same material in a, sometimes, easier to digest format.
I think Y14.5 is money well spent and a necessity for anyone communicating design.
cadfreak-
zissou indicates you can get away with just the standard. That's fine if you can do with few examples. Also the standard is often terse and formal with no elaboration on important topics. It is my educated opinion that you need two texts AND the standard. The decision is yours but you now have my two cents.
After giving it further thought, I'm going to have to retract/modify my previous post. I benefit from several years spent as a machinist - and because of that I have more than handful of examples - both good and bad - of GD&T in use. So, when I look at Y14.5 I can draw on that experience as well as the examples in the text. Tunalover is correct, most will need many more examples than what are provided in Y14.5.
I agree ASME Y14.5 is an excellent source to look through. Other sources are available at local Univesity Libraries, for example where I live we have an excellent Engineering Library that also is a Patent Repository for research. This is a place that one can get lost for days.
Good Luck,
Namdac
On the way to GDTP-S certification, I went through a lot of reference materials...some ok...many ... well...
Anyway, ASME Y14.5M-1994 is an absolute MUST. After that, sign up for some training and use the trainer's materials as your daily resource and Y14.5 as your bible. Use a live-training session if possible; some people like the videos, but I like to ask questions when I don't understand (and that was pretty frequent when I was starting GD&T). My preferred trainers are Tec-Ease (
They both have training sessions around North America (Canada & US), both have trained large & small, public, private and government, and each has their strong points. Tec-Ease has a better in-class experience, and iigdt has a better emphasis on surface profile. Either one is an excellent investment in your future.
Jim Sykes, P.Eng, GDTP-S
Profile Services
CAD-Documentation-GD&T-Product Development
Now if he can just get his company to pay for it! That's usually the hardest accomplishment of all (besides convincing management that GD&T is good for the company).
If your company is ISO certified and you call out any specs on your drawings.....you better have a current copy of that spec in a public place. If not you will get dinged on any ISO inspections.
Best Regards,
Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
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Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.