The creation of a Fifth Edition is proof of the continuing vitality of the book's contents, including: tool design and materials; jigs and fixtures; workholding principles; die manipulation; inspection, gaging, and tolerances; computer hardware and software and their applications; joining processes, and pressworking tool design. To stay abreast of the newer developments in design and manufacturing, every effort has been made to include those technologies that are currently finding applications in tool engineering. For example, sections on rapid prototyping, hydroforming, and simulation have been added or enhanced. The basic principles and methods discussed in Fundamentals of Tool Design can be used by both students and professionals for designing efficient tools.

This handbook is a both a description of the current practice at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and a compilation of the theory and lore of gauge block calibration. Most of the chapters are nearly self-contained so that the interested reader can, for example, get information on the cleaning and handling of gauge blocks without having to read the chapters on measurement schemes or process control, etc. This partitioning of the material has led to some unavoidable repetition of material between chapters. The basic structure of the handbook is from the theoretical to the practical. Chapter 1: basic concepts and definitions of length and units; Chapter 2: history of gauge blocks, appropriate definitions and a discussion of pertinent national and international standards; Chapter 3: physical characteristics of gauge blocks, including thermal, mechanical and optical properties; Chapter 4: a description of statistical process control (SPC) and measurement assurance (MA) concepts; and Chapters 5 and 6: details of the mechanical comparisons and interferometric techniques used for gauge block calibrations. Full discussions of the related uncertainties and corrections are included. Finally, the appendices cover in more detail some important topics in metrology and gauge block calibration.