Tolerance stack up analysis for angularity of components and their assembly

Abstract

Geometric dimensioning and Tolerancing (GDT) constitutes the dominant approach for design and manufacture of mechanical parts that control inevitable dimensional and geometrical deviations within appropriate limits. The stack up of tolerances and their redistribution without hampering the functionality is very important for cost optimization. This paper presents a methodology that aims towards the systematic solution of tolerance stack up problem involving geometric characteristics.Conventional tolerance stack up analysis is usually difficult as it involves numerous rule and conditions. The methodology presented i.e. generic capsule method is straightforward and easy to use for stack up of geometrical tolerances of components and their assembly using graphical approach. In the work presented in this paper, angularity tolerance has been considered for illustration of the methodology. Two approaches viz. Worst Case (WC) and Root Sum Square (RSS) have been used. An example of dovetail mounting mechanism has been taken for purpose of stack up of angularity. This assembly consists of two parts i.e. dovetail male and dovetail female. Tolerance stack up has been done both for the components and their assembly. Need for computerisation of methodology for geometrical tolerance stack up of large assemblies has emerged out as the limitation of the proposed method. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.