print|close

WorkingwithDimensionalTolerances
MachineDesign
StefanMenin,Ondrives.USCorp.
Thu,2012051020:20
Understandingthenuancesoftolerancesmakeslifeeasierforengineers.

Keypoints:
Alwaysusedimensionaltolerances.
Byusingsuitabletolerances,engineerspasstheresponsibilityformakingthepartcorrectlytothe
manufacturer.
Dontexpectmachineshopstoverifyuntoleranceddimensions.
Resources:
Ondrives.US

Engineerswhodiscounttheimportanceofdimensionaltolerancedosoattheirownrisk.Itslikeignoring
theoddsinVegas,andoftenwiththesamedisappointingresults.Forinstance,designa0.875in.diameter
shafttomatewithaprecisionbearing,sendthedrawingstoareputableandexperiencedmanufacturerand,
withoutspecifyingtolerances,thebearingmayormaynotfitonthefinishedpart.

Howcanthishappen?Amachineshopthatseesanuntoleranceddiameter,withoutknowingthedesign
intent,mayapplyastandardtoleranceforthreedecimalplaceuntoleranceddimensions,0.005in.
Unfortunately,thismayresultininterference,wheretheholeissmallerthantheshaftdiameter,which
preventsthepartsfromslidingtogether.Theymighthavetobepressedtogether,butiftoolargeofan
interferenceexists,itwilldegradeperformance,especiallyinbearings.Themanufacturerwillgladlyofferto
reworkthepiecestofitforanadditionalchargewhichwillextenddeliverytimesandpossiblyleadto
misseddeadlinesandbudgets.

Andmakenomistake,thishappensallthetime.Whilemanymachineshopstakedue
diligencetoverifynontoleranceddimensions,manydont.Engineerswhoknowthe
importanceoftolerances,andhowtousethem,caneasilyavoidthisproblem.

Understandingbasics
Ifpartsdidnotneedtointeractwitheachother,oriftheworldwereperfect,therewould
benoneedfortolerances.Butpartsaremadeeitherfromlargerpiecesofmaterialor
builtupfromapowderorliquid,sothereisnoguaranteetheywillbeexactlythesizeonerequires.

Itsimportanttounderstandwhattoleranceis.ASMEY14.5Mdefinesitasthetotalamountaspecific
dimensionispermittedtovary.Thetoleranceisthedifferencebetweenthemaximumandminimumlimits.
Thiscanbeshownasupperandlowerlimits(0.2500over0.2498)oranallowableamountaboveandbelow
anominaldimension(0.2500+0.0000over0.0002,0.24990.0001).Bothofthesemethodsdefinethe
samerangeofallowabledimensions.Inthisexample,afinishedpartisacceptablewhenitsdimensionis
anywherebetween0.2498and0.2500in.outsideofthisrange,itisrejected.Thisrangeofallowable
dimensionsisthetoleranceband.Thelargerthedifferencebetweentheupperandlowerlimits,thelarger
thetoleranceband,referredtoasaloosertolerance.Conversely,asmallertolerancebandisconsidereda
tightertolerance.

Alwaysusetolerances.Always.Ambiguityisnotthefriendofthemechanicaldesigner.Ifyouleavea
dimensionwithoutatolerance,nooneelsewillknowtheimportance,orunimportance,ofthedimension.

Benefits
Whentolerancesareusedcorrectly,engineershavemuchtogain.Theyensurethatparts
willfitproperlyandworkasdesignedwithinanassembly,beitaslidingorpressfit.They
canalsoreducecosts.Unnecessarilytighttolerancesmakepartsmoreexpensiveto
produce.Thereisnoreasontoapplya0.0002tolerancewhen0.002willdo.Also,
althoughsomemanufacturersapplytheirownstandardtolerancestonontoleranced
dimensions,manywillnotevenbeginmakingpartsuntilallfeaturesaredefined,which
consumesvaluabletimeandpossiblypushesoutdeliverytime.

Expectingpartstobemadetothemachinistsbesteffortisnotacceptable.Themachinistdoesnotknow
howpartsinteract,noristhathisorherresponsibility.Furthermore,onemachinistsbesteffortmaybe
maintainingfeaturestowithinafewtenthousandthsofthedimensionindicated,whereasanothermay
makethefeature0.015in.largerorsmallerthanindicated.

Tolerancesshouldnotbeusedwithhesitation.Justbecausealargertolerancebandisused,itdoesntmean
partswillbesloppilymade.Infact,dependingonthemanufacturersstandards,shippedpartsmighthave
eventightertolerancesthanoriginallyspecified.Onegoodexampleistheboreofagear.Thespecification
mightbe0.250+0.000over0.002butthemanufacturermaymachinetheboretoatightertoleranceof
0.2500+0.0000over0.0005simplybecauseitistheparticularmanufacturersstandardandthistighter
toleranceiscriticaltothegearcuttingprocess.

Anothersignificantbenefitisthatbyusingsuitabletolerances,engineerspassthe
responsibilityofmakingthepartcorrectlytothemanufacturer.Butremember,itsnot
themanufacturersjobtofigureoutdesignintent.Ifthepartiswithintolerancebut
doesntfitorfunctionproperly,themanufacturercannotbeheldaccountable.
Dimensionswithouttolerancesleavetheacceptablelimitsopen,anditsnotthe
manufacturersresponsibilitytodeterminewhatisacceptable.

Importantconsiderations
Oneofthemostcriticalconsiderationswhenapplyingtolerancesistotakeintoaccountfits.Thisrefersto
howshaftswillfitintobearingsorbushings,motorsintopilotholes,andsoon.Dependingonthe
application,thepartmayrequireaclearancefittoallowforthermalexpansion,aslidingfitforbetter
positioning,oraninterference(press)fitforholdingcapability.Informationonlimitsandfits(amonga
plethoraofotherinformation)canbefoundinthe29theditionofMachinerysHandbookforbothU. S.
customaryunitsandstandardISOfits.

Anotherconsiderationishowtoleranceaccumulation(alsocalledtolerancestack)affectsapart.For
example,takeashaftwithfoursections,eachofadifferentdiameter(asshownintheTolerance
accumulationgraphic.)Althougheverylengthdimensionhasthesametolerance,thetolerancebetween
surfacesBandDcanbeaslargeas0.15(topfigure)oraslowas0.05(bottom),dependingonwhere
dimensionsareplaced.Itisuptothedesignertodecidewhichlengthsarecriticaltothepartsfunction.
 Becarefulwhenapplyingtolerancestoaradiusordiameter.Atoleranceonaradiuswill
doublewhenmeasuredasadiameter.Atoleranceonaradiusmightbelooserthan
intended,whileoneonadiametermightbetighterthanintended.Theeffectofthisis
illustratedinthetwogeardrawings.Ifthepartismanufacturedtothedimensionsinthe
topdrawing,aholediameterof0.502isacceptable.Inthelowerdrawing,itsnot.

Also,oneneednotassumemeasurementswillberoundedwhendeterminingifapart
conformstothespecifiedtolerance.Ifapartismeasuredtobe0.2502usingadial
micrometerorotherdevice,andthepartsdimensionissupposedtobe0.250+0.000over0.002the
dimensionisnotroundeddowntothreedecimalplacesitisconsiderednonconforming.ASMEY14.5M
statesdimensionsareusedasiftheywerecontinuedwithzeros,evenifnotshown.

Alsotakeintoaccountanyplatingorfinishingprocessesthepartrequires.Anoteshouldindicateif
dimensionsapplybeforeoraftersuchprocesses.

WhenusingeitherMINorMAXlimits,ensurethatifthedimensionapproachesinfinity(inthecaseofMIN)
oriszero(inthecaseofMAX),itdoesnothinderthedesignofthepart.TheCornerradiusillustration
usesaMINtolerance,possiblytoensurearadiuswillreducestressconcentration.However,thelower
figureshowsadimensionthatiswithintolerance,butitmayhinderthepartsfunctionality.Otherfeatures
shouldclearlydefineunstatedlimits.

Boththelocationandsizeofalignmentholes(suchasfordowelpins)shouldnotcarrythesametolerances
asclearanceholes(suchasforscrewstopassthrough).Acertaindeviationfromnominalinthelocationofa
dowelpinholemayresultinpartsthatareimpossibletoassemble,whilethesamedeviationinthelocation
ofclearanceholeswilllikelycausenoeffecttotheentireassembly,exceptforperhapsanearimperceptible
aestheticoddity.

Whilethoroughlydimensioningpartsisimportant,onemustavoidredundancies.Theymaycauseconflicts
ininspectionbecausecertainfeatureswillbedefinedmorethanonceinmorethanoneway.Ifadimension
thatoverdefinesthepartisdesired,useareferencedimensionbetweenparenthesesandusuallywithout
tolerances,likedimension(M)inthemiddleshaftdrawing.Thisdimensionisderivedfromothersoris
repeated,usuallyinadifferentview.

Dimensionaltolerancesarekeyinmakingpartsright.Usingthemappropriatelywillsavetimespent
coordinatingwiththemanufacturer,circumventdesignissues,andreduceunnecessarycosts.However,
whiledimensionaltolerancesareimportant,soaregeometrictolerancesinfullydefiningparts.Theydeal
withgeometricfeaturesandrelationshipsbetweenfeaturessuchasform,profile,orientation,andrunout,
andcannotbedefinedbydimensionsalone.Thistopicwillbeexploredinafuturearticle.

SourceURL:http://machinedesign.com/materials/workingdimensionaltolerances