Many of my solid models have holes for alignment pins made from filament snippets that let me glue the pieces together with near-perfect registration:
A reader who designs oil-field equipment for a living pointed out that, in his world, they’re called “stabbing guides”:
He specifies steel plate and welding instructions:
Stabbing guides for large modules may rise 25 feet above the deck plates…
After they install all the little bits on a “part” like this:
It fits neatly atop the stabbing guides and gets welded to a somewhat larger structure:
No sissy plastic for him!
My puny pins don’t qualify as stabbing guides, but forgive me if I sneak the term in every now and then…
Thanks, Tom!
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
Ed:
The “stabbing guide” alignment feature described above is also commonly used in the mold-making industry for aligning (and laterally-locking) “A” and “B” sides of a mold or component group . . . they are commonly called “round, tapered interlocks.”
You can see some typical examples at: https://na.dmecompany.com/Catalog/CatalogListing.aspx?CatalogId=DME&CatalogDetailId=1095. Having worked in the tooling industry for a period of time, I also heard them described as “strawberry pins,” but I am unable to find any information about why this description was used.
Keep up the great, folksy, blog.
I enjoy your objectiveness, and curiousness, about the important as well as the mundane parts of daily life. I frequently check in and read your daily musings, and I learn a lot from the many tidbits of knowledge that are presented in each blog entry.
A great deal of the blog content is beyond my capabilities (electronics, programming, etc.); however, I always find it amusing. (I first stumbled upon your blog when searching for information about the Leadshine 5042 digital stepper drives for use with CNC machines.)
I am also a hard-core recreational cyclist in Minnesota, so I find your bike travels, and challenges, very entertaining.
Thank you!
Tom
… blushes …
Thanks for the links!