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±0.0
1
 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

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

Hmin 2 = (L1-l1)2 + (L2-l2)2 – 2(L1-l1)(L2-l2)cosα
Tolerance stack of swing weight governor

L1 4L1max 4.02
l1 0.02L1min 3.98
L2 3L2max 3.02
l2 0.02L2min 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