Why Do I Need GD&T?

The craftsmen of old could fashion parts in a way that would allow them to slide together and give the impression

that the parts fit "perfectly." Today, with the concept of interchangeable parts, credited to Eli Whitney, it is

expected that parts will assemble the first time and perform their intended function. Interchangeability does not

apply only to mass produced parts. Whenever two parts are expected to fit together and function without rework

or adjustment, the parts must be clearly defined. Parts that have been made in other departments, plants, cities

or even countries must consistently fit and function even though slight variation from the intended shape and size

will exist in every part.

All parts go through a manufacturing process. There is variation in all manufacturing processes. These variations

are reflected in the parts. In addition, there must be a way to inspect a part to assure that it was made to the

required specifications. As Bob Traver says:

"You can't make what you can't measure because you don't know when you've got it made!"

Most importantly, the part must perform its intended task or function. To accomplish all of this, the part must be

clearly and totally defined. In most cases this definition is accomplished on a detail drawing or within a CAD file.

When used properly, GD&T will get the right questions asked early in the program, simplify the engineering

drawing, and directly relate customer requirements to product specifications and process control.

Why Use Geometric Dimensioning &

Tolerancing (GD&T)?
Posted By: James Derrill

October 20, 2015

In 1940 Stanley Parker realised that dimensioning the features of components using
toleranced nominal dimensions had its limitations. He noticed that some components that
were not manufactured to drawing and had therefore been scrapped or reworked, did in
fact fit into their assemblies and function as intended.

It is the geometrical form of a feature, its orientation and/or its position relative to one or
more other features that is crucial to the successful functioning of a component. In order to
gain adequate control over such features, the limits of size applied to nominal dimensions
have to be unnecessarily tight. If it is a geometrical aspect of a feature rather than its size
that is crucial to its function, sometimes features that are not within dimensional limits can
still be functional.
This realisation is said to have marked the beginning of GD&T.

Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) is a structured language of symbols, rules

and definitions that allows the geometrical features of mechanical parts to be defined
according to functional limits of imperfection. It defines the precise relationships between
the geometrical features of a component by the application of tolerances to the following
characteristics: flatness, straightness, circularity, cylindricity, angularity, perpendicularity,
parallelism, position, symmetry, concentricity, profile and run out.

By employing GD&T to functional features on engineering drawings the designer is able to

communicate to the manufacturer how much geometrical imperfection is tolerable before
compromising the function of the component. Where the fit or function of a component is
related to the size of a functional feature, the tolerance zone for that feature can be made
flexible if appropriate. Controlling the functional features this way and allowing greater
dimensional flexibility elsewhere on the component eases the manufacturing process and
consequently reduces the cost of manufacture. The likelihood of producing scrap product is
also reduced which leads to a further cost saving. 

Since its conception in 1940, GD&T has developed gradually into a widely used universal
language understood by design engineers, manufacturing engineers, inspectors, and quality
personnel. It provides a comprehensive, methodical, logical, cost saving, feature based
approach to the specification of engineering components.