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.

3.00±0.01

7.00±0.01

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

4.00±0.02

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.

7.00±0.01
 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.

A±a
B±b Gap

C±c
Let’s 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

L1±l1
H

L2±l2
The height can be found using geometry (specifically, the Law
of Cosines).

H2 = L12 + L22 - 2l1l2cosα

(where α is the angle between the legs)

And

Hmax2 = (L1+l1)2 + (L2+l2)2 – 2(L1+l1)(L2+l2)cosα

Hmin2 = (L1-l1)2 + (L2-l2)2 – 2(L1-l1)(L2-l2)cosα
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 7 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