GEOMETRIC TOLERANCING
1. BACKGROUND
Geometric tolerances are used for
• Control of position of features within parts
• Control of form or shape of features of specified portions of the part.
It appears here as if the maximum tolerance of the position of the hole is 0.4
This confusion can be removed if a circular tolerance zone is given instead of a square one.
2. SYMBOLS USED IN GEOMETRIC TOLERANCING
TYPE OF
TOLERANCE CHARACTERISTIC SYMBOL
STAIGHTNESS
FOR
FLATNESS
INDIVIDUAL
FORM
USE
CIRCULARITY (ROUNDNESS)
CYLINDRICITY
FOR
PROFILE OF A LINE
INDIVIDUAL
PROFILE
OR RELATED
PROFILE OF A SURFACE
FEATURES
ANGULARITY
ORIENTATION PERPENDICULARITY
PARALLELISM
FOR
RELATED POSITION
FEATURES LOCATION
CONCENTRICITY
CIRCULAR RUNOUT
RUNOUT
TOTAL RUNOUT
3. ABBREVIATIONS FOR MODIFYING SYMBOLS
TERM SYMBOL
AT MAXIMUM MATERIAL CONDITION M
REGARDLESS OF FEATURE SIZE S
AT LEAST MATERIAL CONDITION L
PROJECTED TOLERANCE ZONE P
DIAMETER Ø
SPHERICAL DIAMETER SØ
RADIUS R
SPHERICAL RADIUS SR
REFERENCE ( )
ARC LENGTH
4. USE OF DATUMS
A datum is a feature of a part that acts as a master reference used to locate other features
of the part.
Can be a point, a line or a plane.
Must be a readily available feature, such as a finished surface.
Example: Two planes are used in the figure below.
5. DATUM PLANES IN SPACE
6. TOLERANCES OF LOCATION
A. Positional Tolerancing
Boxed dimensions show basic values
Tolerance on the location of the hole is independent of the tolerance on the
size of the hole.
Positional tolerancing is often used to provide angular location of holes on a fixed
diameter.
B. Concentricity
Controls the extent to which the axis of one cylinder is collinear with the axis on an
adjoining cylinder.
AS GIVEN MEANING
The offset of the center line of surface B, relative to the center line of surface A,
may not exceed 0.05 mm. The tolerance zone is therefore a 0.1 mm diameter.
7. TOLERANCES OF FORM
A. Straightness
Controls the extent to which an element on the surface of a part is indeed a straight
line.
AS GIVEN
MEANING
Straightness symbol
Controlling surface elements
Straightness may also be used to control the axis rather than surface elements.
AS GIVEN
MEANING
Virtual Condition is the most extreme case that can occur while the p;art is at
MMC. Adding the MMC size to the form tolerance gives the Virtual Condition.
B. Flatness
Flatness relates to a plane surface. A flatness tolerance is defined by two parallel
planes within which all portions of the surface must lie.
AS GIVEN
MEANING
Tolerance zone for flatness must be contained within the size tolerance.
C. Roundness
Controls only those points on a surface intersected by any plane perpendicular to the
part’s axis. Roundness does not control taper.
AS GIVEN
MEANING
Roundness tolerance must stay within the size tolerance.
D. Cylindricity
Is used for cylinders only, and really controls taper, roundness, and straightness. It
defines a tolerance zone consisting of two concentric cylinders.
AS GIVEN
MEANING
Cylindricity tolerance must stay within the size tolerance.
E. Profile of a Line
Controls the profile a line element on a surface along any typical cross-section.
Must stay within the size tolerance.
F. Profile of a Surface
Controls the profile of the whole surface relative to a datum plane.
AS GIVEN
MEANING
G. Angularity
Relates to an axis or surface at specified angle to a datum. The tolerance zone lies
between two parallel planes which have a specified angle to the datum.
AS GIVEN MEANING
H. Perpendicularity
Controls perpendicularity of a plane to a plane, an axis to a plane, and an axis to an axis.
AS GIVEN MEANING
PLANE TO PLANE PERPENDICULARITY
AS GIVEN MEANING
FEATURE ALLOWABLE
DIA TOLERANCE ZONE DIA
0.750 0.003
0.751 0.004
0.752 0.005
0.753 0.006
0.754 0.007
AXIS TO PLANE PERPENDICULARITY
I. Parallelism
Controls parallelism of a feature from a datum.
AS GIVEN MEANING
PLANE TO PLANE PARALLELISM
AS GIVEN MEANING
AXIS TO AXIS PARALLELISM
J. Runout
A measure of the deviation from perfect form, determined as a part is revolved 360 o
around its axis.
The runout may be found by reading the net change on a dial indicator while a part is
revolved one full turn. This reading found is FIM (full indicator reading) or TIR (total
indicator reading).
Two types of runout control, i.e., circular and total.
Circular runout provides control at any single fixed position along the axis of a part.
Total runout provides control for an entire surface.
AS GIVEN MEANING
TOTAL RUNOUT
AS GIVEN MEANING
CIRCULAR RUNOUT
