Tolerance Analysis

"Final Assembly is the moment of truth."  -Charles Fine, MIT Veteran product development professionals know the value of thorough and methodical tolerance analysis. Tolerance analysis is baked into our process and has become a core expertise at Bresslergroup. We, like many other experts took our tolerance lumps the hard way which has led to our current tolerance analysis expertise. From junior level engineers to the Director level, all staff members understand the importance of tolerance analysis. For them and many professionals, the following sequence will sound familiar:

Y Veteran product development professionals know the value of thorough and methodical tolerance analysis. Tolerance analysis is baked into our process and has become a core expertise at Bresslergroup. We, like many other experts took our tolerance lumps the hard way which has led to our current tolerance analysis expertise. From junior level engineers to the Director level, all staff members understand the importance of tolerance analysis. For them and many professionals, the following sequence will sound familiar:

Your parts have been carefully designed. A lot of thought and effort has gone into their form and function. Each part has been meticulously checked and refined -- they can handle the loads and there aren't any manufacturing issues.

Your suppliers received your CAD data and the first parts are coming out of the presses. Good news from quality control: all parts pass inspection.

You've received your first parts, did a visual inspection, and measured all the critical dimensions yourself…all looks good. They're laid out before you and you excitedly begin assembly.

As you assemble the first few pieces, dismay sets in: something's not right, the parts all passed inspection, but they're not fitting together -- the ones that do require an inordinate about of force -- what happened?

Surprising as it may be, when manufacturing variation isn't taken into consideration, this is probably the best scenario -- you can't assemble your parts! That’s when early investment in tolerance analysis pays off. Not that tolerance analysis ensures that your parts will fit and functional perfectly each time, but effective tolerance analysis can significantly streamline the production ramp-up process.

More often than not, when the inevitable variations of your manufacturing processes aren't taken into account beforehand, your parts may very well fit together but your assembly may function poorly (if at all!) -- and the tedious and expensive process of analysis and troubleshooting to accommodate production tolerances begins.

All manufacturing processes have their own inherent tolerances -- or, the process’ ability to meet your dimensional requirements. The variation may be quite small -- even a fraction of a thousandths of an inch -- but it’s there. Your CAD model may show a 2" feature, but when it’s actually produced, that feature will have some variation depending on the tolerances inherent in the process that was used to create it -- it could be 1.999" or 2.001.” Moreover, not all the parts will be the same…some may be larger, some smaller. They may all pass inspection.

Continue >>
Contact Bresslergroup directly >>