On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:57:22 -0500, "MikeWhy"
wrote:



I must have missed the apologetic tone and the vow to do better next time.
It read like a rant about careless vendors and the triumph of succesful
non-documentation.


I must have missed something also. From the OP it seems the design was
perfectly well documented:

We insisted that our suppliers used a current version of the program,
so that we could provide plate drawings that were essentially design
drawings, and so that the supplier could open up the file and see the
details that might not have been included in the plates.

When I opened up the design file on the computer I found a perfectly
executed description of the bolted connection, including all of the
measurements for the weld nut and its use in the connection. It
showed the 16 gage U bend and the hex nut welded behind.

but that the supplier failed to read the detailed descriptions in the
CAD file..

Tom Veatch
Wichita, KS
USA