[MV] A brief intro to Mil Stds and Numbering systems

charles post (charlespost@home.com)
Fri, 05 Nov 1999 08:14:51 -0800

Hi List,
Not knowing the meaning of abbreviations and part numbers can be very
frustrating. Sometimes those of us in the "business" use references
interchangeably at will, frustrating many folks out there. I'll make
this as concise as possible. First, I spent 35 years designing various
things for numerous aerospace/military projects. I know of where I speak
and what. Part numbers are frequently drawing numbers and in the old
days included the drawing size, i.e.: "A" size is 8 1/2 x 11 inches, "B"
size is 11 x 17 inches,(notice the progression)on up to "E" size. This
is the letter frequently preceding the dwg number, ex:B342167. A letter
following a std or dwg number is the revision letter of the drawing. "A"
is rev A, "B" is rev B and so on, ex:B342167C. S/N is the serial number
or "serno" and may or may not be the dwg number. Military Standard is
"Mil Std" or "MS", Federal Standard is "Fed Std"(but not FS), Department
of Defense is "DOD". Army/Navy part drawings are prefixed with "AN" or
"JAN"(joint army/navy). A letter following a Standard(MS32067B)means
that this is the "B" rev to the standard and is not part of the standard
number. Why? Because the standard may be up to rev G currently and is
updated all the time. No one stocks parts by the rev letter, except in
very, very rare instances. Many standards cover workmanship, procedures
for testing or assembly, and there is even a standard for writing
standards! Many standards now have been superseded by "ISO"
standards(International Standards Organization)since we are now global
in our economic community. There are numerous industry standards also
but I won't get into that now. Standards originally were on paper, then
microfilm(microfiche) now CD-ROM. This is just an overview but I hope it
clarifies some things for those who are new to mil type spec and pt
no(abbreviations are covered in Mil Std 12). When abbreviating words on
mil dwg there is no period after the abbreviation unless the abbrev
spells a word, ex:number is no., while drawing is dwg and abbreviations
are not pluralized, ie:numbers is still no.
Peace,
Charlie

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