There are various sets of standards in the tool world. In America we have The American National Standards Institute or ANSI for short. On a global level, there is the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO. Since this is a blog about specifically German made tools we will look at the German version: DIN.
DIN stands for Deutsches Institut Für Normung or German Institute for Standardization in English. They have been operating for literally 100 years and have always been highly regarded in the standards community. Though the name implies an exclusively German operation, the DIN standards have been adopted across the world and influenced many other standards organizations including the ISO. The best example of this is the DIN standard 476 from 1922 introducing the A sizes of paper which would later become ISO 216 in 1975.
Though it may seem obvious, it bears questioning why we need standardization. Many standards, including DIN, are completely voluntary, but it is beneficial to use standards to prove that you are manufacturing something to the highest quality and uniformity. DIN standards are developed by experts in the respective fields and are reviewed every five years to ensure that they are up-to-date and still “State of the Art.” They are used for a wide range of things too, from metric fasteners to car stereos.
You will see many examples of DIN standards amongst the pages of the KC Tool website. For instance, this Gedore Engineers’ Hammer has two standards it lives by, one with the hickory handle and the other with the forged hammer head.
The best part about standardization is the future. Not only do DIN (and ANSI and ISO) standards insure that your 10mm socket truly is 10mm, there are multiple programs and research facilities who are constantly improving the current standards and innovating new ones. Check out the DIN website for more information and as always shop KC Tool for all your DIN specific needs!