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2011 FIN – Changes Lead to IFI 8th Edition for Inch Fasteners

June 14, 2011 FIN – In 1,146 pages of the 8th edition of Inch Fastener Standards, what might readers be most interested in?
Joe Greenslade, director of engineering technology for the Industrial Fasteners Institute, cites the new standards of MIL-DTL-1222J for a commonly used bolt for military applications; ASTM C954, C1002 and C1513, covering screws used in drywall applications and IFI-301, the industry’s first standard for calibration of thread gages.
More than half of the 2011 content in the $345 8th edition has been updated.
“During 2009 and 2010 many of the most important standards were updated for the first time in many years,” Greenslade explained the timing of the new IFI Standards text. “The IFI felt it was critical to the fastener industry that these new editions of several SAE, ASME and ASTM standards get into the hands of the fastener industry.”
Changes in standards are now the key to deciding when to publish an updated edition, Greenslade explained. “In the past the new edition development had a lot to do with how much inventory of the book was on hand.”
In the past it took a printing order of 10,000 copies to justify the costs of a new edition.  Then it took up to a decade to deplete the inventory.”
The 8th edition includes more than standards changes.
“In past editions the dimensional standards were grouped in one part of the book and all of the materials and performance standards were grouped in another part of the book,” Greenslade noted.
In the 8th edition standards are grouped by product.  In each product section – bolts, nuts, screws, etc. – the dimensional standards are in the front of the section and related materials in the back of the section.
The layout of the thread section now has separate tables for internal and external threads. Greenslade said that reduces the chance of a user pulling the wrong information from the tables.
Sections are: Thread; Bolts, Studs & Threaded Rod; Sockets, Structural Fasteners; Nuts; Screws; Washers; Rivets; Pins; Finishes; Quality; and Reference.
The IFI has published Inch Fastener Standards since 1941 when it started with a couple hundred pages.
Successive editions had more and more fastener technology information, leading to the 7th edition having about 300 pages in addition to standards.
The 8th edition returns to the original concept of only inch fastener standards. The fastener technology information was published as a separate book entitled, IFI Fastener Technology Handbook.
New technology allows the IFI to complete a new edition in less time, Greenslade noted. “In using this totally new approach to compilation and production it took 12 months from board approval to release,” Greenslade told FIN. “In contrast, the 7th edition took seven years for preparation and production.”
The new technology also allows the IFI to economically print books in fewer than the traditional 10,000 number of the past.
Also new for the 2011 edition is a digital version.
“Using the book on one’s computer instead of handling the hard cover book is a major shift in thinking,” Greenslade said. That is why the IFI isn’t anticipating fast adoption of the online version.
Nonetheless Greenslade likes how the digital works. “The use of the ‘Find’ function makes locating the desired information fast and easy,” he pointed out.
“What most people do not realize is how much easier it is to locate what is wanted because of the table of contents bookmarks that take you directly to what you are looking for.
One limiting factor for the online version is the copyright.
“Because of copyright restrictions we can only license the use of each digital book to one computer,” Greenslade explained. “lt cannot be placed on a computer server for multi-person access at this time.”
Will there be a Kindle version of the IFI Inch Fastener Standards? “We have investigated a Kindle version, but the Kindle is not particularly good on graphics and there is no way to capture the information to share as can be done now using the ‘Print Page’ or ‘snipping tool’,” Greenslade said.
The 8th edition was created and compiled by Greenslade, with the assistance of Barbara Grachanin and Jennifer Vance in pulling materials together, proofreading and preparing for publication.
The IFI also credits two past leaders in developing Fastener Standards: Richard Belford, who started with the IFI in 1950 and was the first technical director plus managing director from 1982 to 1984; and Charlie Wilson, director of engineering from 1963 to 2006.
The 8th edition is priced at $345 for either the print or online versions.  A combination of Inch Fastener Standards and the IFI Fastener Technology Handbook is available for $399.
The Metric Fastener Standards/3rd Edition is available at $249.
Order information is available online: indfast.org. ©2011/2013 Fastener Industry News
For information on permission to reuse or reprint this article please e-mail: FIN@GlobalFastenerNews.com

Related Links:

• Industrial Fasteners Institute