Introduction

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TDC is headquartered in Tucson, AZ

Technical Documentation Consultants of Arizona, Inc. (TDC) is an Arizona corporation established to promote comprehensive Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) training programs.

George O. Pruitt, a well-known and respected leader in the field of GD&T training, founded Technical Documentation Consultants, Inc. in 1984. As head of the Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Office at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California, Mr. Pruitt recognized that GD&T must be properly applied throughout the entire production team. His strong belief in formal GD&T training led to the creation of TDC.

Michael A. Sandford purchased TDC in early 2000 and moved the company to Tucson, Arizona, shortly after George Pruitt's retirement. Mr. Sandford is President and serves as the main instructor. In addition to continuously updating existing workshop to reflect the latest GD&T standards, Mr. Sandford has added several new workshops to provide a broad range of training programs.

The training programs offered by TDC are based on the ASME Y14.5M standard that is administered and maintained by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The ASME Y14.5 standard is a legal document that establishes a common "language" for use in drawings, technical documents, and databases to convey engineering design intent. Very simply, it defines the methods used to communicate all design aspects for the fabrication, inspection, assembly, etc. for virtually any manufactured item.

All TDC instructors are certified ASME Senior Level Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Professionals (GDTP), and have taught hundreds of workshops within the USA and abroad.

TDC offers training programs of quality unmatched by any other training organization. In TDC training workshops, students learn and they have fun doing it! Our workshops contain a unique blend of classroom lecture with student participation, using hundreds of actual parts, tools, and gages to illustrate the fundamental principles of GD&T. TDC also embraces the use of quizzes, homework, and a final examination as learning tools - they work! We know, because our students tell us so through our unique course evaluations.