3/22/2019 Maximum Material Boundary (MMB) and its Advantages in GD&T Analysis

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MAXIMUM MATERIAL

BOUNDARY (MMB)
CONCEPT AND ITS
ADVANTAGES IN GD&T
ANALYSIS
ALL, TIPS & TRICKS

Figure 1. The annotation B(M) on this figure indicates a

maximum material boundary applied on datum feature B

The goal of this blog post is to present the maximum

material boundary (MMB) concept in GD&T
applications. The maximum material boundary concept
is simply the use of a maximum material condition on a
datum feature, as shown in Figure 1 (the annotation
B(M)). Its major use is to allow easier assembly
conditions on a part.
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3/22/2019 Maximum Material Boundary (MMB) and its Advantages in GD&T Analysis
To fully understand the maximum material boundary
concept, we need to understand a more fundamental
concept:  the datum reference frame (DRF) (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Datum reference frame concept in GD&T

Datum Reference Frame:

A three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system that

de nes the product. Dimensions and tolerances all
originate from the DRF.

Fully Constrained:

When fully constrained, the part to be evaluated is

completely immobilized: all degrees of freedom of the
part are locked.  To physically immobilize a part,  we can
use datum feature simulators, such as a chuck, a mandrel
or a vise, on the datum features.

Underconstrained:

When underconstrained, the part has conditional

mobility. We’ll get into more details on this, but the main
point is that the part has some freedom to move; it is not
completely immobilized.  A part with datums that have
been assigned material modi ers, or that has less than 3
datums, can generally be considered to be
underconstrained.

Why to de ne a DRF with the underconstrained

condition:

The main advantage of the MMB Concept is that it

facilitates assembly. The part can rattle around or
wiggle as long as the MMB allows it, and this helps
tolerances to pass.

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3/22/2019 Maximum Material Boundary (MMB) and its Advantages in GD&T Analysis

Figure 3. Both of the parts are underconstrained. The difference

is that the one on the right has a secondary datum feature with a

material boundary modifier

Underconstrained (Figure 3, Left)

Both of the datums are de ned at RMB (Regardless of
material boundary).  This part is still underconstrained:
The speci cations allow rotation around B since there is
no datum C to stop the rotation (there could have been a
slot or a keyway).

Underconstrained + Maximum Material

Boundary Modi er on Datum B (Figure 3,
Right)
This time, the datum B is de ned at the MMB: This
allows Rotation + Translation around the axis of datum
B.

What would be the effect of this modi er? Let’s take a

look at Figure 4, which shows the underconstrained
parts with corresponding gages:

Figure 4. Underconstrained parts with corresponding gages.

Underconstrained (Figure 4, Left)

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3/22/2019 Maximum Material Boundary (MMB) and its Advantages in GD&T Analysis
If we use a chuck on datum feature B to immobilize the
part, the part is completely xed with respect to datum
feature B.

Now, let’s imagine one of the holes is in the wrong

position in translation (Figure 4, bottom-left). As the part
is not allowed to translate in this condition, there is
nothing we can do; the part would not pass the
inspection since the tolerance wouldn’t pass.

Since the chuck is rmly holding the part in translation,

no shift of the pattern of holes (there is no wiggle room
on the part) is allowed for this degree of freedom.

Underconstrained + Material Modi er on

B (Figure 4, Right)
With an underconstrained part with a material modi er,
we can use a xed gage on B (Figure 4, bottom-right).
The dimension of this gage is de ned by the MMB of
datum feature B: It corresponds to smallest possible hole
diameter for datum B.

If the hole for datum B were manufactured at less than

its MMB condition, causing it to increase in size, we
would have extra mobility (Figure 4, bottom-right). This
extra mobility would give us wiggle room during the
inspection, allowing the part to pass.

Conclusion
The concept of the maximum material boundary
condition is very useful since it can allow much easier
assembly conditions. As the datum feature departs from
its MMB, it can allow a shift so that the position
tolerances pass. We will go into more detail with speci c
application cases in future blog posts.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 / 3 COMMENTS / BY ONAT EKINCI

TAGS: ASSEMBLY, DRF, GD&T, MMB, UNDERCONSTRAINED

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3/22/2019 Maximum Material Boundary (MMB) and its Advantages in GD&T Analysis

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3
REPLIES

Pierluigi Messina
March 16, 2018 at 11:15 am

Great explanation!

Reply

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3/22/2019 Maximum Material Boundary (MMB) and its Advantages in GD&T Analysis
BuildIT
March 30, 2018 at 2:42 pm

Thank you, we hope you continue following us for more technical

content!

Reply

vishnu
February 12, 2017 at 1:44 pm

Really nice and great work. Could you please post a numerical
calculation example.

Reply

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