Measurement systems
Assessment
In your Assessment at the end of this Unit, you will be asked to:
- Distinguish between the common systems of measurement in engineering drawing.
This will help you to satisfy assessment criterion 1.1 for this Unit. You’ll find lots of useful information on the following pages to help you complete this part of your Assessment.
Think first
Do you know what the two measurement systems are? Have a go at listing them in the box below!
Let’s begin by looking at the two measurement systems that are commonly used in engineering drawing. Click on the icons below to learn more.
Imperial
The imperial system is an older system of measurement, and uses inches, feet, yards, miles and gallons. It was used officially in the UK from 1824 until 1965. In the USA, the imperial system is still used in engineering drawings today!
Metric
The metric system is probably one you are familiar with! It uses centimetres, meters, kilometres and litres. It was first passed by the UK government in 1965, but was only officially put in place in 1973. Most other European countries have used the metric system for hundreds of years.
An engineer who was refurbishing an older or classical mechanical project, such as a steam engine or a plane, would probably have to use the imperial system, whereas newer projects are usually drawn using metric units. Move on to next page to see how the two measurement systems compare.