5

Form Tolerances
• Apply straightness tolerances to control surface
elements or a derived median line (commonly
known as axis straightness) and show the
interpretation of those tolerances.

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

• Apply flatness to control a surface and show an
interpretation of the flatness tolerance zone.
• Apply a flatness tolerance for a median plane
and show an interpretation of the flatness
tolerance zone.

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

• Apply circularity tolerances and show an
interpretation of a circularity tolerance zone.
• Apply a cylindricity tolerance and show an
interpretation of the cylindricity tolerance zone.

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Form Tolerance Symbols

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Form Feature Control Frame
• Has only two compartments
– Tolerance symbol
– Tolerance value
• No datum feature references

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Material Condition Modifiers
• RFS assumed
• MMC symbol must be shown when applicable
• MMC Applied when omission of MMC could
increase cost

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Form Requirements
from Size Limits
• Size limit controls form
• Maximum material condition (MMC), small hole
or large shaft
• Least material condition (LMC), small shaft or
large hole

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Rule #1
• Perfect form boundary at MMC
• As size departs from MMC, form may vary
• Perfect form not required at LMC

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Perfect Form Boundary Effect
on Flat Surfaces

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Perfect Form Boundary Effect
On Cylinders

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness
• Control surface elements
• Control derived median line (Axis)
• Surface line element may be called a line
element or surface element

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness (Cont.)
• Derived median line made from midpoints
• Center line is center of feature, no variation
• Axis is line at center of actual mating envelope

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness Applied
to Surface Elements
• Form tolerance only applied if the required
control is smaller than the size tolerance
• Form tolerance larger than size tolerance only
permitted with independency symbol
• Material condition modifiers not used in form
tolerance specifications applied to surfaces

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness of Flat Surfaces
• Feature control frame with extension line or
leader
• Direction dictated by view orientation
• Straightness does not imply parallelism

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness of
Cylinder Surface Elements
• Variation of surface element straightness
• Feature control frame with extension line or
leader
• Surface straightness does not control axis
• Axis straightness does not control surface

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness of
Cone Elements
• Each cone element controlled independently
• Angle controlled by other means

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Verification of
Surface Straightness
• Use a dial indicator
– Full indicator movement (FIM)
– Total indicator reading (TIR)
• Use a straight edge and feeler gage

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness Applied
to Features of Size

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness to Control a
Shaft Derived Median Line

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Bonus Tolerance
• Allowable only when MMC is applied
• Equals departure of size from MMC
• Total allowable form tolerance equals specified
form tolerance plus bonus tolerance

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Straightness of the Derived
Median Line of a Hole

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Overall and Unit
Length Tolerance
• Unit length tolerance makes part easier to
produce
• Combination of overall and unit length
tolerances may be best approach
• Combination is specified by one feature control
frame with upper and lower segments
• Overall limits accumulation of unit length

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Gage for Overall Straightness

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Gage for Unit
Length Straightness

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Flatness
• No material condition modifier applicable on a
surface
• RFS or MMC applicable on feature of size

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Flatness Applied to a Surface
• Only tolerance symbol and value
• Surface variations limited by size

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Verification of Surface Flatness

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Overall and Unit Area
Flatness Tolerance
• Combination of overall and unit area tolerances
may be best approach
• Combination is specified by one feature control
frame with upper and lower segments
• Overall controls accumulation of unit area

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Flatness Tolerance Applied to
a Derived Median Plane
• Feature control frame placed adjacent to
dimension or on dimension line
• No leader

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Verification of Derived Median
Plane Flatness

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Circularity Applied to a
Cylindrical Surface
• Only applied as a control of surface form
• No material condition modifier
• Tolerance zone between two concentric circles
• Applies at each cross section

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Circularity Applied to a Cone
• Only applied as a control of surface form
• No material condition modifier
• Tolerance zone between two concentric circles
• Applies at each cross section
• Does not control the angle

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

 Cylindricity
• Applicable to shaft or hole
• Is combination of circularity and straightness
• Two concentric cylinders create boundary

GD&T: Application and Interpretation © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.