I have some documentation from a vendor. To communicate the multiple sizes, they have a generic drawing with a table of dimensions.

I created a notional model based on their table and the linear hole pattern didn't come out as expected. After some noodling I determined that their hole call out quantity was short by 1. I wrote to the reseller and pointed out the inconsistency and asked for clarification. I received back from the manufacturer the same drawing with the hole call out highlighted in RED in both the table and the drawing. The message seemed to be "hey stupid, the hole information is RIGHT HERE".

I went through the whole thing again to see if, in fact, I was being stupid (might have happened before...maybe). My conclusion is that the ONLY way the call out is correct is if it references the number of SPACES between the holes and the end user is to understand that the actual hole quantity is one more than the call out. Not being familiar with DIN, ISO, JAS or other standards used commonly outside the USA, do any of those recommend calling out the spaces?

This seems entirely un-intuitive and a bit ambiguous...

So please set me straight.

Thanks,

Daen