WHATWORKS

by James Keith

Zero Tolerancing Works

W e’ve been led to believe that more
is better—more speed, more filled
seats per flight, more miles per gallon,
ance is zero at MMC. Figure 2: Non-Zero and Zero Tolerance Part Acceptance
Virtual condition
remains unchanged. Hole Ø Total Tol. Ø V Cond. Hole Ø Total Tol. Ø V Cond.
LMC .270 .020 .250 LMC .270 .020 .250
more inspection tolerance and so on. (See the example in .269 .019 .250 .269 .019 .250
With tolerances, one might think that figure 1.) .268 .018 .250 .268 .018 .250
.267 .017 .250 .267 .017 .250
a large value in a feature-control frame As you can see, the .266 .016 .250 .266 .016 .250
is better than a small value. When using change to zero toler- Accept .265 .015 .250 .265 .015 .250
.264 .014 .250 .264 .014 .250
geometric dimensioning and tolerancing ance isn’t difficult. .263 .013 .250 .263 .013 .250
(GD&T) and talking about position tol- This little change .262 .012 .250 .262 .012 .250
.261 .011 .250 Accept .261 .011 .250
erances, the greatest allowable variation allows acceptance of MMC .260 .010 .250 .260 .010 .250
actually comes from the application of the full range of parts Reject .259 .259 .009 .250
Reject .258 .258 .008 .250
zero tolerance on a maximum material that will assemble Reject .257 .257 .007 .250
condition (MMC) basis. and meet the hole Reject .256 .256 .006 .250
Reject .255 .255 .005 .250
Put in simple terms, tolerance is air. size and location tol- Reject .254 .254 .004 .250
We can see this demonstrated by the for- erance. Reject .253 .253 .003 .250
Reject .252 .252 .002 .250
mula shown in the ASME Y14.5 (GD&T) Virtual condition Reject .251 .251 .001 .250
standards, where tolerance = hole – fas- remains unchanged Reject .250 MMC .250 .000 .250
tener, or T = H – F. for both methods.
As an example, let’s assume a hole Caution: Do not apply regardless of fea- virtual condition (absolute policy), the use
diameter of 0.260 – 0.270 and a fastener ture size with zero tolerance. Remember, of zero tolerance on the work piece is the
diameter of 0.250. Both H and F will be all the tolerance comes from the bonus preferred combination.
the MMC value of the respective features. and with no bonus you get no tolerance If a virtual condition functional gage
So, H (0.260) – F (0.250) = T (0.010). Theat all. is used with the toleranced method, the
problem with this method is that holes less Manufacturing may not warm up to this gage will accept parts with holes smaller
than 0.260 (down to 0.250) aren’t allowed idea right away, but when they achieve than the specified MMC, provided that
regardless of their location. greater tolerance with this method, they they’re located within the acceptable
Now this is where zero is more. We’re should come around, and may even location. These are parts that would have
going to modify the formula slightly to request it. been rejected, based on size check, per the
read T(0) = H – F. Now we have a value of In the example seen in figure 2, for drawing.
zero that the MMC hole minus the MMC the non-zero toleranced part (left side of There are circumstances where this
fastener must satisfy: H(0.250) – F(0.250)graphic), the range of acceptance falls off method is not necessarily the best choice.
=T(0). at the MMC hole size, which is far short However, for most conventional assem-
In other words, we have modified the of the virtual condition. Any hole size blies zero tolerancing will work well.
MMC hole size to equal the MMC fastener less than 0.260, regardless of its location, If you want to do more with less, try
diameter. The new hole size is a 0.250 should be rejected. doing the most with nothing (zero, that is).
– 0.270 diameter and the location toler- The range for the zero tolerance part
(right side of the About the author
Figure 1: Modified MMC Hole Size = MMC Fastener Diameter graphic) is equal to the James Keith is a member of the ASME
virtual condition and Y14.5 Standards Committee, and a consul-
will allow acceptance tant and instructor with Crucial Knowl-
of all parts that meet edge (www.crucial-knowledge.info),
the hole size and loca- based in Wichita, Kansas. QD
tion requirements.
When using func-
tional gaging (ASME Comments
Y14.43) designed for Send feedback to comments@qualitydigest.com.
verification based on
Quality Digest/March 2006 55