[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by aldaeron

This explains what I was going for pretty well.

<digress>
I worked as a Mechanical Design Engineer for 8 years in Aerospace. The released drawing package must be standalone and unambiguous at all times. The customer can pull their design and have someone else make it at any time (and they sometimes do!). Perhaps this makes me a little more "detailed" than many others with regard to documentation.
</digress>

Most drawing packages I have seen in industry include a STEP modeled to nominal dimensions without tolerance.

From the many STEPs I have seen on CD, things often missing are:
- Fastener details (.190 nominal shank is a #10, but is it 24 or 32 TPI?) (Please don't model the threads and make me count them. It makes so many more faces for the STEP importer!)
- Bolts, screws, snap rings, etc missing (I can see a feature for retaining the shaft but no idea what goes there)
- Vendor specific parts missing (where can I buy it?)
- Lubricant/epoxy/thread-locker/etc callout missing
- Tight tolerance parts (+/- .005 assumed, but a few parts are probably +/- .001)

I don't think you need a full ANSI-Y14.5 compliant drawing to accompany your STEP file. But a quick spreadsheet of the parts and where to buy them and a 1 page write-up on how to assemble the parts (including any weird things about the assembly) would cover it IMO.

As my first boss always said: "Use your best engineering judgement"

-matto-

A lot of the information you list (especially threadcount on screws) is often stuff where you have a fair bit of leeway in implementation, though. I don't think leaving bolts/rivets out of your CAD really constitutes "withholding critical information."