ME317

Tolerance Stack-ups

Problems due to tolerance

stack-ups include:

Failure to assemble
Interference between parts
Failure of parts to engage
Failure to function as intended

Overview:
Tolerance stack-ups are
accumulations of variations
on drawings or in part
assemblies.

Example: Accumulation of tolerances on

a drawing.

3.000.01
7.000.01

What is the effective dimension and tolerance between the

two holes?

In this case the tolerances add directly

The furthest apart the two centers can be is
7.01-2.99=4.02
The closest is
6.99-3.01=3.98
Thus, the effective dimension and tolerance
is
4.000.02
This addition of tolerances may make it hard
to join with a mating part that has two pins
that fit in those holes.

What can we do as designers

to improve this?

The logical thing is to put the dimension and

tolerance directly on the hole spacing if that is the
location most important to function.

7.000.0
1

Example: Assembly of
individual parts
Suppose we have two blocks, A and B that are to fit
into a slot in C, all with tolerances shown.
Aa
Bb

Cc

Gap

Lets look at the largest and smallest gap that

we could have.
Largest Gap = (C+c) (A-a) (B-b)
= C (A+B) + (a+b+c)

Smallest Gap = (C-c) (A+a) (B+b)

= C (A+B) (a+b+c)

Consequently the dimension and tolerance of

the gap is effectively:
{C-(A+B)} (a+b+c)

If we have 10 parts (say a clutch pack) that all

have to fit into a housing, the addition of all
those tolerances can be significant.
If controlling the spacing of the clutches is
important to function we have a problem.

What can we do as designers?

Solutions
Tighten up the tolerances on each
component so the sum of the tolerances is
lower.
Include a spacer that comes in different
sizes to take up any slack resulting from the
tolerance addition (similar to shimming).
Design so that the tolerance stacks are not
relevant to function.
Consider that the variation in each part is
likely to be statistically distributed.

Example: 2-D
Consider a swing weight governor similar to the one
shown below

Simplifying further, assume:

Holes are perfectly located

Pins and holes have zero clearance
and move freely
Only length of links has tolerance
L1l1
H
L2l2

The height can be found using geometry

(specifically, the Law of Cosines).

H2 = L12 + L22 - 2l1l2cos

(where is the angle between the
legs)
And
Hmax2 = (L1+l1)2 + (L2+l2)2 2(L1+l1)(L2+l2)cos
Hmin2 = (L1-l1)2 + (L2-l2)2 2(L1-l1)(L2-l2)cos

Tolerance stack of swing weight governor

L1

4 L1max

4.02

l1

0.02 L1min

3.98

L2

3 L2max

3.02

l2

0.02 L2min

2.98
Angle
alpha

Hmax

Hmin

Hnom

+/-

180

7.04

6.96

0.04

170

7.014

6.934

6.974

0.040

160

6.935

6.856

6.896

0.039

150

6.805

6.728

6.766

0.039

140

6.624

6.549

6.587

0.038

130

6.394

6.322

6.358

0.036

120

6.117

6.048

6.083

0.035

110

5.795

5.730

5.763

0.033

100

5.431

5.370

5.401

0.030

90

5.028

4.972

5.000

0.028

80

4.590

4.539

4.564

0.025

70

4.120

4.075

4.098

0.022

60

3.625

3.586

3.606

0.019