Limits, Fits & Tolerance

LIMITS, FITS & TOLERANCE

™ Terminology:- The terms related to limit system as per
BIS are as below;

™Size:- It is a number expressed

in a particular
partic lar unit
nit in the
measurement of length.
Hole
™Basic
™B i Size:-
Si It is
i the
th size
i based
b d
Basic Size
e

Shaft on which the dimensional

deviations are given.
given

™Actual Size:- It is the size of the component

p byy actual
measurement after it is manufactured. It should lie
between the two limits of size.
™Limits of size:- These are the extreme permissible
sizes within which the operator is expected to make
the component.
p Maximum limit of size is the ggreater
of the two limit size, whereas the Minimum limit of
size is the smaller of the two limit of size.
™Hole:- In the B.I.S. system of limits
and fits, all internal features of a
Hole componentt including
i l di th
those which
hi h
Basic size

Shaft are not cylindrical are designated

as ‘Hole’
Hole .
™Shaft:- In the B.I.S. system of limits and fits, all
external
t l features
f t off a componentt including
i l di th
those
which are not cylindrical are designated as ‘Shaft’.
 ™Deviation: It is the algebraic
™Deviation:-
on

on
Lower Deviatio

Upper Deviatio

difference between a size, to its

corresponding basic size. It may
be positive, negative or zero.
Hole

™Upper
pp Deviation:- It is the
Maxx.dia.

dia.
Min.d

Max.dia.
Min.dia.

Shaft algebraic difference between

maximum limit of size and its
corresponding basic size.
™Lower Deviation:- It is the algebraic difference between
minimum limit of size and its corresponding basic size.

™Actual Deviation:-
Deviation: It is the algebraic difference
between actual size and its corresponding basic size.
 ™Tolerance:-
™T l It isi th
the
Lower Deviation

Upper Deviation

difference between
Tolerance

maximum limit of size and

T

the minimum limit of size.

Hole It is always positive and is
Max.dia.

expressed only as a number

Min.dia.

Shaft without a sign.

™Zero line:- In graphical representation of the above

terms,, the zero line represents
p the basic size. This line
is also called as the line of zero deviation.
 on ™Fundamental deviation:-
on

Upper Deviatio
Lower Deviatio

There are 25 fundamental

Tolerance

Tollerance
deviations in the B.I.S.
system represented by letter,
Hole
symbols (Capital letters for
Max.diaa.

Min.dia.

Max.dia.
Holes and small letters for
Min.dia.

Shaft Shaft) i.e. for Holes

ABCD Z
A,B,C,D...Z excluding
I,L,O,Q and W. In addition
to above, four sets of letters
JS, ZA, ZB and ZC are
included. For Shaft the same
25 letters & symbols but in
small letter are used.
Graphical representation of Tolerance Zones
Graphical representation of Tolerance Zones
 Fundamental Deviations

For each letter symbol from a to zc for shafts and

A to ZC for holes; the magnitude and size of one of the
two deviations may be obtained from Tables 2 to 10 and
the other deviation is calculated from the followingg
relationship :
Shafts, ei = es – IT
Holes, EI = ES – IT
where IT is fundamental tolerance of grade
obtained from Table 1.
1
 ™Fundamental Tolerance:-
Lower Deviation

Upper Devviation

This is also called as

Tolerance

‘grade of tolerance’. In the

Indian Standard System,
there are 18 grades
Hole
represented by number
Max.diaa.

Min.dia..

symbols, both for hole and

Max.dia.
Min.dia.

Shaft shaft denoted as IT01, IT0,

IT1 IT2.....IT16.
IT1, IT2 IT16
The fundamental tolerance is a function of the nominal size
and its unit is given by the emperical relation,
St d d tolerance
Standard t l unit,
it i =
where i is in microns and
D is the geometrical mean of the limiting
values of the basic steps mentioned above,
in millimetres.

This relation is valid for grades 5 to 16 and nominal sizes

from 3 to 500 mm.
Table 1 - Relative magnitude of IT tolerances for grades 5 to
16 in terms of tolerance unit i for sizes upto 500 mm
Table 2 - Fundamental tolerances of grades 01, 0 and 1 to 16
Table 3- Fundamental deviations for shafts of types a to k
Table 4- Fundamental deviations for shafts of types a to k contd.
Table 5- Fundamental deviations for shafts of types m to zc
Table 6- Fundamental deviations for shafts of types m to zc
contd.
Table 7- Fundamental deviations for holes of types A to N
Table 8- Fundamental deviations for holes of types A to N contd.
Table 9- Fundamental deviations for holes of types P to ZC
Table 10- Fundamental deviations for holes of types P to ZC
contd.
Formulae for calculating fundamental shaft deviations
 Formulae for calculating fundamental hole deviations

The fundamental deviation for holes are derived from the formulae,
corresponding to the shafts, with the following modifications :

(i) As a general rule, all the deviations for the types of holes mentioned in (ii)
and (iii) below, are identical with the shaft deviation of the same symbol,
i.e., letter and g
grade but disposed
p on the other side of the zero line. For
example, the lower deviation EI for the hole is equal to the upper deviation
es of the shaft of the same letter symbol but of opposite sign.

(ii) For the holes of sizes above 3 mm and of type N and of grade 9 and above,
the upper deviation, ES is 0.

(iii) For
F theth holes
h l off size
i above
b 3 mm off types
t J K,
J, K M andd N off grades
d upto t and d
inclusive of 8 and for the types P to ZC of grades upto and inclusive of 7, the
upper deviation ES is equal to the lower deviation ei of the shaft of same
letter symbol but one grade finer (less in number) and of opposite sign, sign
increased by the difference between the tolerances of the two grades in
question.
™ FIT:
FIT:- It is the relationship that exists between two
mating parts, a hole and shaft with respect to their
dimensional difference before assembly. Three types of
fit are given hereunder;
™Clearance fit:- It is a fit which
always provides clearance. Here
Clearance
fit the tolerance zone of the hole will
be above the tolerance zone off the
Hole Shaft
shaft. e.g. 20 H7/g6. Maximum
clearance is the difference between
the maximum hole and minimum
shaft. Minimum clearance is the
difference between the minimum
hole and maximum shaft.
 ™Interference fit:- It is a fit
which always provides
Tolerance Zone of Tolerance Zone of
interference. Here the tolerance
Hole Shaft
zone of the hole will be below
the tolerance zone of the shaft.
shaft
Shaft
e.g. 25 H7/p6. Maximum
Hole
interference is the algebraic
difference between the
minimum hole and maximum
shaft. Minimum interference is
the algebraic difference
b t
between th maximum
the i h l and
hole d
minimum shaft.
 ™Transition
™T i i fit:-
fi It
I is
i a fit
fi which
hi h
Shaft
may sometimes provides
Hole Hole
clearance and sometimes
Hole
interference. When this class of
Sh ft
Shaft
Shaft fit is represented
p ggraphically,
p y,
the tolerance zone of the hole
and shaft will overlap each
other. e.g. 75 H8/j7.
 Shaft and Hole Fits

Clearance Interference
 Shaft and Hole Fits

Transition

CLEARANCE FIT
+ .003
 Advantages:-1.Time for the manufacture of components
™-

is reduced
2. The cost of pieces is reduced.
3. Spare parts can be quickly made
available.
Disadvantages:-1. Special purpose machines are
necessary.
2.Jigs and Fixtures are needed.
3. Gauges are to be used instead of
conventional precision instruments.
4. Initial expenditure
p will be veryy high.
g
™ Interchangeability:
Interchangeability:- When components are mass
produced, unless they are interchangeable, the purpose of
mass production is not fulfilled. By interchangeability, we
mean that identical components, manufactured by
different personnel under different environments, can be
assembled
bl d andd replaced
l d without
ith t any further
f th rectification
tifi ti
during the assembly stage, without affecting the
functioning of the component when assembled.
assembled
™ Hole Basis System:- Where the
size of the hole is kept constant
and the size of the shaft is varied
to gget the different class of fits,,
then it is known as the hole basis
system.
™ Shaft
Sh ft B
Basis
i SSystem:-
t Wh
Where the
th Basic Shaft System
size of the shaft is kept constant
and the variations given to the Shaft
Z
Zero line
li

hole to get the different class of

fits, then it is known as the shaft
basis system.
HOLE BASED SYSTEM-
Size of hole is kept constant
constant,
shaft size is varied
to get different fits.

SHAFT BASED SYSTEM SYSTEM-

Size of shaft is kept constant,
hole size is varied
to get different fits.
Specifications of Tolerances
1. Limit Dimensioning

The high limit is placed above

the low limit.

In single-line
g note form, the low limit
precedes the high limit separated by a
dash
Specifications of Tolerances
2. Plus-or-minus Dimensioning

• Unilateral Tolerance

• Bilateral Tolerance
Cumulative Tolerances
International Tolerance Grade (IT)
Representation of Tolerance

Tolerance Grade defines range of dimensions (dimensional variation)

There are manufacturing constraints on tolerance grade chosen
Representation of Fit
Together
g ((Letter & Grade)) on both mating
g components
p
decide quality of fit

0.021

INTERFERENCE
0.013
FIT
0.022

Φ30.035
Φ30.022
Φ30.021

Φ30.000
FITS APPLICATIONS