NUST School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

ME-218 Machine Design

Lecture 1

Instructor: Dr. Jawad Aslam

Tolerance, limits and fits
Introduction
Tolerances
Ways to express tolerance
Symbols used in dimensioning
Limits and fits
Fits
Basis of limit system
ISO limits and fits

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• Introduction
The term interchangeability is normally employed for the
mass production of identical items within the prescribed
limits of sizes
A little consideration will show that in order to maintain the
sizes of the part within a close degree of accuracy, a lot of
time is required
If the variation are within certain limits, all parts of equivalent
size will be equally fit for operating in machines and
mechanisms
Therefore, certain variations are recognized and allowed in
the sizes of mating parts to give the required fitting
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• Introduction
This facilitates to select at random from a large number of parts
for an assembly and results in a considerable saving in the cost
of production
There is no such thing as a “10mm hole”. Tolerances are
important to define any dimension in engineering drawing

Note 1: The term shaft refers not only to the diameter of a circular
shaft, but is also used to designate any external dimension of a part

Note 2: The term hole refers no only to the diameter of a circular

hole, but it is also used to designate any internal dimension of a
part
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• Tolerances
Tolerance is the total amount a dimension may vary. It is the difference
between the maximum and minimum limits
As an example, a dimension may be given as 1.625 + 0.002 which means that
the manufactured part may be 1.627” or 1.623”, or anywhere in between
these limit dimensions
In order to ensure that the assemblies function properly their component
parts must fit together in a predictable way
No component can be manufactured to an exact size, so the designer has to
decide on appropriate upper and lower limits for each dimension
Accurately tolerance dimensioned features usually take much more time to
manufacture correctly and thus can increase manufacturing costs
significantly
Good engineering practice finds the optimum balance between required
accuracy for the function of the component and minimum cost of
manufacture Page 5
• Dimensional tolerances
If a dimension is specified, in millimeters, as 10 + 0.02, the
part will be acceptable if the dimension is manufactured to an
actual size between 9.98 and 10.02 mm

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• Dimensional tolerances
General tolerance notes apply tolerances to all unspecified
dimensions on a drawing
They can save time and help to make the drawing less
cluttered. Examples are shown below:

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• Ways to express tolerance
Tolerance are expressed as:
1. Direct limits or as tolerance limits
applied to a dimension
2. Geometric Tolerances
3. Tolerance specifications in the title block
4. Notes referring to specific conditions

1. Direct limits and tolerance values

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1. Direct limits and tolerance values – plus and minus
dimensions

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2. Geometric tolerance system
Geometric Dimensioning
and Tolerancing (GD&T) is
Feature control frame
a method of defining parts
Concentricity symbol
based on how they
function, using standard
ANSI symbols

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Symbols used in dimensioning

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3. Tolerance specifications
in title block
General tolerance note
specifies the tolerance for
all unspecified tolerance
dimensions

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4. Notes referring to specific conditions
General tolerances could be in the form of a note similar to the
one shown below:

ALL DECIMAL DIMENSIONS TO BE HELD TO +0.002”

Means that a dimension such as 0.500 would be assigned a

lower limit of 0.498” and a upper limit of 0.502”

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• Limits and Fits
Important terms used in the Limit System
Nominal size is the size of a part specified in the drawing as a matter
of convenience
Basic size is the size of part to which all limits of variation (i.e.
tolerances) are applied to arrive at final dimensioning of the mating
parts. The nominal or basic size of part is often the same
Actual size is the actual measured
dimensions of the part
Limits of sizes There are two extreme
permissible sizes of a part as shown. The
largest permissible size for a dimension of a
part is called the upper, high or maximum
limit, whereas the smallest size of the part
is known as the lower or minimum limit
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• Limits and Fits
Allowance is the difference between the basic dimensions of
the mating parts. The allowance may be positive or negative.
When the shaft size is less than the hole size, then the
allowance is positive and when the shaft size is greater than
the hole size, then the allowance is negative

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• Fits
The degree of tightness or looseness between the two mating parts is
known as the fit of the parts
The nature of fit is characterised be the presence and size of clearance
and interference
Type of fits
1. Clearance fit
2. Interference fit
3. Transition fit
Clearance fit
The clearance is the amount by which the actual size of the shaft is less
than the actual size of the mating hole in an assembly as shown. The
clearance is the difference between the sizes of the hole and the shaft
before assembly and it must be positive
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Interference fit
The interference is the amount by which the actual size of a shaft is
larger than the actual finished size of the mating hole in an assembly as
show in figure. It is the arithmetical difference between the sizes of hole
and shaft and the difference must be negative
Transition fit
In transition fits, assembly usually requires press tooling or mechanical
assistance of some kind. Creates close accuracy with little or no
interference
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• Basis of limit system
The following are the two bases of limit system
Hole basis system when the hole is kept as a constant member
(i.e., when the lower deviation of the hole is zero) and different fits
are obtained by varying the shaft size
Shaft basis system when the shaft is kept as a constant member
(i.e., when the upper deviation of the shaft is zero) and different
fits are obtained by varying the hole size

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• Base limit system

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• ISO limits and fits
Fits have been standardised and can be taken directly from those
tabulated in the BS 4500 standard, ISO limits and fits
The BS 4500 standard refers to tolerance symbols made up with
letter followed by a number
The BS Data Sheet BS 4500A, as shown on the next slides, shows a
range of fits derived, using the hole basis, from the following
tolerances:

Capital letters always refer to holes, lower case always refer to shafts
The greater the number the greater or wider the tolerances
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• ISO limits and fits
The selection of a pair of these tolerances will give you the fit,
the number of possible combinations is huge
BS4500 helps to standardise this and offers a range of fits
suitable for most engineering applications

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• Example
Consider an example of a shaft and a housing used in a linkage
Type of fit: “Normal” clearance fit
Basic or Nominal size: φ40mm
We will determine the actual working limits, the range of
allowable sizes, for the shaft and the hole in the housing
Look along the bottom of the ISO Fits Data Sheet 4500A and
locate “Normal Fit”. We will use this pair of columns to extract
our tolerance
The tolerances indicated are:
1st column H8 for the hole (upper case H)
2nd column f7 for the shaft (lower case f)
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 For the hole diameter we have a tolerance of: +0.039mm –
0.000mm
For the shaft diameter we have a tolerance of -0.025mm – -
0.050mm
Representation of fits

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Where
D = Basic hole dia.
D = Basic shaft dia.
I = Interference
C = Clearance
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Thank you

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