UNIT-I

DFMA - INTRODUCTION
Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) is the process by which designs and assembly
sequences and procedures are altered to increase the ease and effectiveness of assembly.
DFMA is a combination of DFA (Design for Assembly) and DFM (Design for
Manufacturing).
General design principles for manufacturability
1. Simplicity
2. Standard Materials and Components
3. Standardized Design of the Product
4. Liberal Tolerances
5. Use Materials that are Easy to Process
6. Teamwork with Manufacturing Personnel
7. Avoidance of Secondary Operations
8. Design to Expected Level of Production
9. Utilize Special Process Characteristics
10. Avoid Process Restrictiveness
General design principles for manufacturability
1. Simplify the design and reduce the number of parts

There is an opportunity for a defective part and an assembly error.

The probability of a perfect product goes down exponentially as the number of parts
increases.

As the number of parts goes up, the total cost of fabricating and assembling the
product goes up.

Automation becomes more difficult and more expensive when more parts are handled
and processed. Costs related to purchasing, stocking, and servicing also go down as
the number of parts are reduced.

Inventory and working-process levels will go down with fewer parts.

As the product structure and required operations are simplified, manufacturing

processes can be integrated and lead times further reduced.

2. Standardize and use common parts and material

To facilitate design activities, to minimize the amount of

inventory in the system,

and to standardize handling and assembly operations.

Operator learning is simplified and there is a greater opportunity for automation as the
result of higher production volumes and operation standardization.

The classification and retrieval capabilities of product data management (PDM)

systems and component supplier management (CSM) systems can be utilized by
designers to facilitate retrieval of similar designs and material catalogs or approved
parts lists can serve as references for common purchased and stocked parts.

3. Design for ease of fabrication.

Select materials compatible with production processes and that minimize processing
time while meeting functional requirements.

Avoid unnecessary part features because they involve extra processing effort and/or
more complex tooling.

Apply specific guidelines appropriate for the fabrication process such as the following
guidelines for machinability:
1. For higher volume parts, we can consider castings or stampings to reduce
machining.
2. Design for ease of fixturing by providing large solid mounting surface &
parallel clamping surfaces.
3. Avoid designs requiring sharp corners or points in cutting tools - they break
easier...
4. Avoid thin walls, thin webs, deep pockets or deep holes to withstand clamping
& machining without distortion.
5. Put machined surfaces on same plane or with same diameter to minimize
number of operations.
Similarly there are specific guidelines according to the

manufacturing processes

and design features involved.

4. Design within process capabilities and avoid unneeded surface finish
requirements.

Know the production process capabilities of equipment and establish controlled

processes.

Avoid unnecessarily tight tolerances that are beyond the natural capability of the
manufacturing processes.

Determine when new production process capabilities are needed early to allow
sufficient time to determine optimal process parameters and establish a controlled
process.

Avoid tight tolerances on multiple, connected parts. Tolerances on connected parts

will "stack- up" making maintenance of overall product tolerance difficult.

Design in the center of a component's parameter range to improve reliability and limit
the range of variance around the parameter objective.

Surface finish requirements likewise may be established based on standard practices

and may be applied to interior surfaces resulting in additional costs where these
requirements may not be needed.

5. Mistake-proof product design and assembly

Components should be designed so that they can only be

assembled in one way; they cannot be reversed.

Notches, asymmetrical holes and stops can be used to mistake-proof the assembly
process.

Design verifiability into the product and its components. For mechanical products,
verifiability can be achieved with simple go/no- go tools in the form of notches or
natural stopping points.

6. Design for parts orientation and handling

To minimize non-value-added manual effort and ambiguity in orienting and merging

parts.

Basic principles to facilitate parts handling and orienting are:

1. Parts must be designed to consistently orient themselves when fed into a process.
2. Product design must avoid parts which can become tangled, wedged or disoriented.
3. Part design should incorporate symmetry around both axes of insertion wherever
possible. Where parts cannot be symmetrical, the asymmetry should be emphasized to
assure correct insertion or easily identifiable feature should be provided.
4. With hidden features that require a particular orientation, provide an external feature
or guide surface to correctly orient the part.

5. Guide surfaces should be provided to facilitate insertion.

6. Parts should be designed with surfaces so that they can be easily grasped, placed and
fixtured.
7. Avoid parts with sharp edges, burrs or points. These parts can
8. Design the work station area to minimize the distance to access and move a part.
9. When purchasing components, consider acquiring materials already oriented in
magazines, bands, tape, or strips.

7. Minimize flexible parts and interconnections

Avoid flexible and flimsy parts such as belts, gaskets, tubing, cables and wire
harnesses.

Their flexibility makes material handling and assembly more difficult and these parts
are more susceptible to damage.

Interconnections such as wire harnesses, hydraulic lines, piping, etc. are expensive to
fabricate, assemble and service.

8. Design for ease of assembly

By utilizing simple patterns of movement and minimizing the axes of assembly.

Complex orientation and assembly movements in various directions should be

avoided.

Part features should be provided such as chamfers and tapers.

The product's design should enable assembly to begin with a base component with a
large relative mass and a low center of gravity upon which other parts are added.

Assembly should proceed vertically with other parts added on top and positioned with
the aid of gravity. This will minimize the need to reorient the assembly.

A product that is easy to assemble manually will be easily assembled with automation.
Assembly that is automated will be more uniform, more reliable, and of a higher
quality.

9. Design for efficient joining and fastening.

Threaded fasteners (screws, bolts, nuts and washers) are time-consuming to assemble
and difficult to automate.

Where they must be used, standardize to minimize variety and use fasteners such as
self threading screws and captured washers.

Consider the use of integral attachment methods (snap- fit). Evaluate other bonding
techniques with adhesives.

Match fastening techniques to materials, product functional requirements, and

disassembly/servicing requirements.

10. Design modular products

To facilitate assembly with building block components and subassemblies.

This modular or building block design should minimize the number of part or
assembly variants early in the manufacturing process while allowing for greater
product variation late in the process during final assembly.

This approach minimizes the total number of items to be manufactured, thereby

reducing inventory and improving quality.

Modules can be manufactured and tested before final assembly. The short final
assembly leadtime can result in a wide variety of products being made to a customer's
order in a short period of time without having to stock a significant level of inventory.

Production of standard modules can be leveled and repetitive schedules established.

11. Design for automated production.

Automated production involves less flexibility than manual production. The product
must be designed in a way that can be more handled with automation.

There are two automation approaches:

Flexible robotic assembly and high speed automated assembly.

Considerations with flexible robotic assembly are: design parts to utilize standard
gripper and avoid gripper / tool change, use self- locating parts, use simple parts
presentation devices, and avoid the need to secure or clamp parts.
Considerations with high speed automated assembly are: use a minimum of parts or
standard parts for minimum of feeding bowls, etc., use closed parts (no projections,

holes or slots) to avoid tangling, consider the potential for multi-axis assembly to
speed the assembly cycle time, and use pre-oriented parts.
PROCESS CAPABILITY
PROCESS CAPABILITY (CP):
Process capability is the repeatability and consistency of a manufacturing process
relative to the customer requirements in terms of specification limits of a product parameter.
This measure is used to objectively measure the degree to which your process is or is not
meeting the requirements.
Process capability compares the output of an in-control process to the specification
limits by using capability indices. The comparison is made by forming the ratio of the spread
between the process specifications (the specification "width") to the spread of the process
values, as measured by 6 process standard deviation units (the process "width").
Cp = (USL - LSL) / 6 sigma
Cp<1 means the process variation exceeds specification, and a significant number of defects
are being made.
Cp=1 means that the process is just meeting specifications. A minimum of .3% defects will be
made and more if the process is not centered.
Cp>1 means that the process variation is less than the specification, however, defects might
be made if the process is not centered on the target value.

While Cp relates the spread of the process relative to the specification width, it does not
address how well the process average, X, is centered to the target value. Cp is often referred
to as process "potential".

We define process capability analysis as an engineering study to estimate process capability.

The estimate of process capability may be in the form of a probability distribution having a
specified shape, center (mean), and spread (standard deviation). For example, we may
determine that the process output is normally distributed with mean
deviation

1 .0

0.001

cm and standard

cm. in this sense, a process capability analysis may be performed without

regard to specifications on the quality characteristic.

PROCESS CAPABILITY INDICES

PROCESS CAPABILITY INDICES (CPK):

A capable process is one where almost all the measurements fall inside the
specification limits. This can be represented pictorially by the plot below:

The Cp, Cpk, and Cpm statistics assume that the population of data values is normally
distributed. Assuming a two-sided specification, if

and

are the mean and standard

deviation, respectively, of the normal data and USL, LSL, and T are the upper and lower
specification limits and the target value, respectively, then the population capability indices
are defined as follows:

The estimator for Cpk can also be expressed as Cpk = Cp(1-k), where k is a scaled distance
between the midpoint of the specification range, m, and the process mean, .
Denote the midpoint of the specification range by m = (USL+LSL)/2. The distance between
the process mean,
scaled distance is

, and the optimum, which is m, is

- m, where

. The

(the absolute sign takes care of the case when

value, , we estimate by . Note that

). To determine the estimated

.

The estimator for the Cp index, adjusted by the k factor, is

Since

, it follows that

To get an idea of the value of the Cp statistic for varying process widths, consider the
following plot

This can be expressed numerically by the table below:

where ppm = parts per million and ppb = parts per billion. Note that the reject figures are
based on the assumption that the distribution is centered at .Values of the Process
CapabilityRatio (Cp) and Associated

FEATURE TOLERANCES

Geometric feature variations are the result of variations in the shape, orientation or
location of part. When feature variations occur on the mating surfaces between components
of an assembly, they affect the variation of the completed assembly. The geometric feature
variations accumulate statistically and propagate kinematically in a similar manner to the
dimensional variations of the components in the assembly.
The Direct Linearization Method (DLM) for assembly tolerance analysis provides a
method for estimating variations and assembly rejects, caused by the dimensional variations
of the components in an assembly.
Tolerance analysis of mechanical assemblies is an essential step in the design and
manufacturing of high quality products. The appropriate allocation of tolerances among the
separate parts in an assembly can result in lower costs per assembly and higher probability of
fit, reducing the number of rejects or the amount of rework required on components.
Analyzing the cumulative effects of component tolerances on critical clearances or fits in the
assembly is necessary to guarantee that the product will function properly.
Besides dimensional variations, the fluctuation in manufacturing conditions can also
cause geometric feature variations, such as the variation of the form of a feature as compared
to perfect form, for example. The geometric feature variations of a part can affect the position
and orientation of mating parts, and therefore, have the possibility of greatly affecting the
final assembly due to the accumulation of individual geometric feature variations. Since this
variation is inevitable in manufacturing, it must be carefully controlled in order to produce
assemblies which function properly.

Figure 1. Kinematic adjustment due to component dimensional variations

The two-component assembly shown in Figure 1 demonstrates the relationship between

dimensional variations in an assembly and the small kinematic adjustments which occur at
assembly time. The assembly has three component dimensions that vary, two on the tapered
groove and one on the cylinder, as shown. The variations in the three dimensions have an
effect on the distance U. U is important to the function of the assembly and will be referred to
as an assembly resultant.
The parts are assembled by inserting the cylinder into the groove until it makes contact on the
two mating surfaces. For each set of parts, the distance U will adjust to accommodate the
current value of dimensions A, R, and . The assembly resultant U1 represents the nominal
position of the cylinder, while U2 represents the position of the cylinder when the variations
are present. This adjustability of the assembly describes a kinematic constraint, or a closure
constraint on the assembly.
Figure 2 illustrates the same assembly with exaggerated geometric feature variations. For
production parts, the contact surfaces are not really flat and the cylinder is not perfectly
round. The pattern of surface waviness will differ from one part to the next. In this

Figure 2. Adjustment due to geometric shape variations

assembly, the cylinder makes contact on a peak of the lower contact surface, while the next
assembly may make contact in a valley. Similarly, the lower surface is in contact with a lobe
of the cylinder, while the next assembly may make contact between lobes.

Local surface variations such as these can propagate through an assembly and accumulate
just as dimensional variations. Thus, in a complete assembly model all three sources of
variation, that is, dimensional and geometric feature variations and kinematic adjustments,
must be accounted for to assure realistic and accurate results.
Definitions
The geometric feature tolerances defined by ANSI Y14.5M-1982 fall into five main groups,
according to Foster [1992]:
1. FORM A form tolerance states how far an actual surface or feature is permitted to
vary from the desired form implied by the drawing. It includes flatness, straightness,
circularity and cylindricity.
2. PROFILE A profile tolerance states how far an actual surface or feature is permitted
to vary from the desired form on the drawing and/or vary relative to a datum or
datums. Profile of a line and profile of a surface are the only two types of profile
tolerance.
3. ORIENTATION An orientation tolerance states how far an actual surface or feature is
permitted to vary relative to a datum or datums. It consists of perpendicularity,
angularity and parallelism.
4. LOCATION A location tolerance states how far an actual size feature is permitted to
vary from the perfect location implied by the drawing as related to a datum, or
datums, or other features. This category includes position and concentricity.
5. RUNOUT A runout tolerance states how far an actual surface or feature is permitted
to vary from the desired form implied by the drawing during full (360) rotation of the
part on a datum axis. A runout can be either a circular runout or a total runout.

SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT GEOMETRIC FEATURE CONTROLS:

Geometric feature controls allow the designers to specify limits on the form or
orientation of a feature on a part, which are not available through the use of size tolerances
alone.
The conditions under which it is appropriate to use geometric feature tolerancing:
1. Whenever part features are critical to function or interchangeability.
2. Whenever functional gaging techniques are desirable.
3. Whenever datum reference frames are desirable in order to ensure consistency
between manufacturing and gaging operations.
4. Whenever computerization techniques in design and manufacturing are desirable.
5. Whenever the standard interpretation or tolerance is not already implied.
Tolerance Representation
Schemes for tolerance representations or characterizations in an assembly have been
developed with the increasing use of solid modeling tools in product design. These schemes
can be generally classified into three groups:
1. Set theoretic model
2. Offset zones

3. Parametric zones
The set theoretic model of tolerances describes a variational class of objects (or parts) which
is defined by the tolerances applied to the nominal object. This variational class is modeled as
a set of points in 3-D space, which contains the nominal object but does not force any part of
the object's real boundary to be in an exact position [Shah & Miller 1990]. The set theoretic
model has not been implemented because it is difficult to mathematically describe objects in
terms of its theory [Robison 1989].
Offset zones are created by offsetting the nominal boundary of a part by an amount equal to
the tolerance on either side of the nominal [Requicha 1983]. Offsets are obtained for the
maximum material condition (MMC) and for the least material condition (LMC). The
difference between these two zones comprises the tolerance zone, an envelope within which
the boundary of the part must lie [Shah & Miller 1990]. This method seems to lend itself to
the use of "go-no go" gages to check the tolerance condition of a part. A disadvantage of this
method is that it assumes that all surfaces remain in the same orientation as the nominal
surface. It has not be used to model variations in the orientation of a surface, such as
angularity [Robison 1989].
A parametric zone or space is composed of a set of parameters or dimensions and constraints
which describe the nominal shape of the geometry [Hillyard & Braid 1978, Martino &
Gabriele 1989]. Tolerances are treated as small variations in these parameters. This type of
tolerance model is closely related to the variational geometry approach for CAD modelers
[Shah & Miller 1990, Guilford & Turner 1993]. The advantage of this model is that it uses
the constraints and parameters of the geometry to create a set of equations which may be
solved to determine any unknown dimensions or variations [Gupta & Turner 1993].
A combination of parametric zone and offset zone for representing tolerances in an assembly
has been recently proposed by Gilbert [1992]. They use the 4x4 homogeneous transformation
matrix to contain the nominal relations between parts and variations allowed by the
tolerances in an assembly tolerance model. Most geometric feature variations, except for
form tolerances, can be represented by this method.
The assembly tolerance analysis model adopted by this paper is a parametric zone type. It is
composed of a vector-based method for modeling 3-D mechanical assemblies, which utilizes

vectors to represent dimensions between critical part features and includes a set of kinematic
joint types to represent mating conditions between parts at the contact locations [Chase, Gao
& Magleby 1994]. This method also includes guidelines for identifying a valid set of vector
loops to ensure that the tolerance model is complete. This method lays the vector-loop-based
assembly tolerance model over the solid model, and can be connected with a tolerance
analysis package to solve for the variations on the desired dimensions or clearances. This
model is also capable of including component geometric feature tolerances.
Characterizing Geometric Feature Variations
The geometric feature variations defined in the ANSI standard must be modeled so that their
effects will be reflected in the tolerance model of the assembly. By analyzing the assembly
constraint equations, the effects of the geometric feature variations on the assembly or
kinematic variables can then be estimated. In the vector-loop-based assembly tolerance
model, this is done by modeling the geometric feature variations with zero length vectors
having specified variations or tolerances, placed at the contact point between mating surfaces.
These zero length vectors are considered as independent variation sources to the dimensional
variations in the assembly. The direction in which they introduce variation into an assembly
depends on the type of contact which exists between the surfaces. For this reason, geometric
feature tolerances of components in an assembly are related to the joint types through which
the geometric feature variations are propagated.
Geometric Feature Tolerance Modeling in 2D
The kinematic joint type and geometric feature tolerances on the parts in contact are the key
elements in analyzing the effect of the geometric feature tolerances on assembly variations.
The commonly used kinematic joint types in 2-D space are modeled in Figure 4 [Chase, Gao
& Magleby 1994, Chun 1988]. The effect of the geometric feature tolerances associated with
each of the joints may result in translational variation or rotational variation. This
translational or rotational variation is usually smaller than the size tolerances on the same
parts.

Figure 4. Kinematic joint and feature datum types in 2-D space

Figure 5 illustrates how a flatness tolerance zone can affect two mating parts differently when
viewed in 2-D. The cylinder on the left illustrates a translational variation, while the block on
the right exhibits the rotational variation, due to the same geometric feature variation. The
translation of the planar joint is reflected in the dimension variations, except for runout and
concentricity. So, the nature of the contact between mating surfaces determines how feature
variations propagate through an assembly.
The rotation variation for the block on a plane surface in Figure 5 is related to the flatness
tolerance zone and the contact length of the block, in this case, the horizontal dimension of
the block. This contact length is called characteristic length.

(13)
where is the rotational variation caused by the flatness in a planar joint. The
translational variation is /2 where is the width of the tolerance band.

Figure 5. 2-D effects of geometric feature tolerance

If the translational variation caused by the geometric feature tolerance is represented by T
and rotational variation by R, all the possible combinations of the geometric feature
tolerances with the kinematic joint types can be summarized in Table 1. The empty cells in
the table mean that the corresponding geometric feature tolerance and kinematic joint
combination does not apply.
Table 1 Rotational and translational variations associated with
corresponding geometric feature tolerance-kinematic joint combinations in 2-D

A debatable point is whether or not rotational variations should also include a translation
normal to the surface. That is, does a block on a plane exhibit both rotation and translation
due to surface variations? The answer depends on how the surface is manufactured and how it
will be inspected. If there is a size dimension normal to the plane, say, describing plate
thickness, the size variation will probably include translation variations. If the inspection for
size involves area contact between the instrument and the surface, the highest waviness peak
would determine the size. Thus, waviness would be included in the size.

Geometric Tolerances

For many in the manufacturing sector, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is a
new subject. DuringWorldWar II, the United States manufactured and shipped spare parts
overseas for the war effort. Many of these parts were made to specifications but would not
assemble. The military recognized that producing parts that do not properly fit or function is a
serious problem since lives depend on equipment that functions properly. After the war, a
committee representing government, industry, and education spent considerable time and
effort investigating this defective parts problem; this group needed to find a way to insure
that parts would properly fit and function every time. The result was the development of
GD&T.
Ultimately, the USASI Y14.51966 (United States of America Standards
Institutepredecessor to the American National Standards Institute) document
was produced on the basis of earlier standards and industry practices.
The following are revisions to the standard:
_ ANSI Y14.51973 (American National Standards Institute)
_ ANSI Y14.5M1982
_ ASME Y14.5M1994 (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)

What Is GD&T?
GD&T is a symbolic language. It is used to specify the size, shape, form, orientation, and
location of features on a part. Features toleranced with GD&T reflect the actual relationship
between mating parts. Drawings with properly applied geometric tolerancing provide the best
opportunity for uniform interpretation and cost-effective assembly. GD&T was created to
insure the proper assembly of mating parts, to improve quality, and to reduce cost. GD&T is a
design tool. Before designers can properly apply geometric tolerancing, they must carefully
consider the fit and function of each feature of every part. GD&T, in effect, serves as a
checklist to remind the designers to consider all aspects of each feature. Properly applied
geometric tolerancing insures that every part will assemble every time. Geometric tolerancing
allows the designers to specify the maximum available tolerance and, consequently, design
the most economical parts. GD&T communicates design intent. This tolerancing scheme
identifies all applicable datums, which are reference surfaces, and the features being
controlled to these datums. A properly toleranced drawing is not only a picture that
communicates the size and shape of the part, but it also tells a story that explains the
tolerance relationships between features.

When Should GD&T Be Used?

Many designers ask under what circumstances they should use GD&T. Because GD&T was
designed to position size features, the simplest answer is, locate all size features
withGD&Tcontrols. Designers should tolerance parts with GD&T when
_ Drawing delineation and interpretation need to be the same
_ Features are critical to function or interchange ability
_ It is important to stop scrapping perfectly good parts
_ It is important to reduce drawing changes
_ Automated equipment is used
_ Functional gaging is required
_ It is important to increase productivity
_ Companies want across-the-board savings
When locating features with GD&T, there are three important advantages over the
coordinate tolerancing system:
_ The cylindrical tolerance zone
_ The maximum material condition
_ Datum specified in order of precedence
GEOMETRIC SYMBOLS

Form
Profile
Orientation
Runout
Location

Datum Systems:

Some types of tolerances refer to one or more datums in order to represent the
requirements on the shape. Datum systems are related datums that provide a reference system
for describing requirements on the product shape. Datum systems are defined by datum
entities and their corresponding datum feature entities.
Datum:
A datum is a theoretically exact geometric reference, such as an exact point, axis or
plane, to which toleranced features are related. A datum is the origin from which the location
or geometric characteristics of features of a part are established. A datum may be based on
one or more datum features of a part (Definition from ISO 5459-1981).
Since the datum is intended to be the idealized geometry, unbounded geometric
entities are used as the representation item. For a boundary representation solid model, these
entities are planes, lines, etc.
Datum features:
Datum features are tangible features of a part, for example a face that provides a
reference system for measurements of the actual part. Datum features must lie on the physical
boundary of the shape.
Datum targets:
A datum target designates a specific point, line or area of contact on a part that is used
in establishing a data reference frame (definition from ANSI Y14.5). It differs from a datum
feature in that it identifies a restricted region of a feature, i.e. a point, line or area of a surface
rather than a topological feature. Typically, two or more datum target elements are used to
define a datum.

Modified Datum Reference:

A reference to a datum can contain a modifier that specifies a condition, such as
maximum material condition. For example, a control frame whose visual representation is
depicted in figure is represented in a similar manner to an unmodified datum reference except

that instead of a datum reference, the subtype referenced modified datum is used. The
modifier attribute contains the condition information as a value of type limit condition.

IDENTIFICATION OF DATUM:

SUPPLEMENTARY SYMBOLS:

TOLERANCE FRAME VARIATIONS:

The tolerance frame can be divided into two or more compartments.
These compartments include from left to right.
The symbol for the feature to be toleranced.
The tolerance value If the tolerance zone is circular or cylindrical it is preceded with a
.

 When multiple datums are referenced in the tolerance box they are indicated as
below:

MAXIMUM MATERIAL INDICATION IN TOLERANCE FRAME:

The maximum material condition, when used, is indicated by a symbol placed after
the tolerance value, after the datum letter, or both as shown in the following figures.

If a single frame cannot convey sufficient information it is acceptable to stack

additional frames and/or provide additional notes.

POSITIONING OF FRAMES/DATUM CIRCLES:

The datum triangle is placed on a feature or on an extension of the outline (but clearly
separated from the dimension line) when the datum feature is the line or surface itself.

The datum triangle is place on the extension of a dimension arrow when the datum
feature is the axis or medium line. When two datums are indicated they relate to the common
axis of the two features. The datum triangle can replace a dimension arrow if there is not
enough room.

The datum can be located on the axes or median line when,

The axis or median line is clearly for a single feature.
The axis or median line is clearly formed by two features.
TERMS USED:

Actual Local Size - It the value of any individual distance at any cross section of a
feature of size.
Actual Mating Envelope of an External Feature of Size It is a similar perfect
feature counterpart of the smallest size that can be circumscribed about the feature so that it
just contacts the surfaces at the highest points.
Actual Mating Envelope of an Internal Feature of Size It is a similar perfect
feature counterpart of the largest size that can be inscribed within the feature so that it just
contacts the surfaces at their highest points.
Basic Dimension - A numerical value used to describe the theoretically exact size,
true profile, orientation, or location of a feature or datum target.

Dimension - A numerical value expressed in appropriate units of measure and used to

define the size, location, orientation, form, or other geometric characteristics of a part.
Engineering Drawing It is a document that communicates a precise description of
a part. This description consists of pictures, words, numbers, and symbols.
Equal Bilateral Tolerance - A tolerance where the allowable variation from the
nominal value is the same in both directions.
Feature - A general term applied to a physical portion of a part, such as a surface,
hole, or slot.
Feature Control Frame - A rectangular box that is divided into compartments within
which the geometric characteristic symbol, tolerance value, modifiers, and datum references
are placed.
Feature of Size It is a cylindrical or spherical surface, or a set of two opposed
elements or opposed parallel surfaces, associated with a size dimension.
Feature of Size Dimension - A dimension that is associated with a feature of size.

Fixed Fastener Assembly - Where the fastener is held in place (restrained) into one
of the components of the assembly.
Fixed Fastener Formula: H = F + 2T.
T = position tolerance diameter;
H = MMC of the clearance hole; F = MMC of the fastener.

Floating Fastener Assembly - Where two (or more) components are held together
with fasteners (such as bolts and nuts), and both components have clearance holes for the
fasteners.
Floating Fastener Formula: T = H - F
T = position tolerance diameter (for each part);
H = MMC of the clearance hole; F= MMC of the fastener.
Functional Dimensioning - A dimensioning philosophy that defines a part based on
how it functions in the final product.
Functional Gage - A gage that verifies functional requirements of part features as
defined by the geometric tolerances.
Go Gage - A gage that is intended to fit into (for an internal feature of size) or fit over
(for an external feature of size) the feature of size.

Least Material Condition (LMC) It is the condition in which a feature of

size contains the least amount of material everywhere within the stated limits of size.

Maximum Material Condition (MMC) It is the condition in which a feature

of size contains the maximum amount of material everywhere within the stated limits of size.

No-Go Gage It is a gage that is not intended to fit into or over a feature of size. A
No-Go gage is made to the LMC limit of the feature of size.
Primary Datum It is the first datum plane that the part contacts in a dimensional
measurement.

Projected Tolerance Zone It is a tolerance zone that is projected above the

part surface.
Tolerance - The total amount that features of the part are permitted to vary from the
specified dimension.
Tolerance Analysis Chart It is a means of graphically displaying the limits of a
part as defined by the print specifications.
Tolerance of Position Control - A geometric tolerance that defines the location
tolerance of a feature of size from its true position.
True Position It is the theoretically exact location of a feature of size as defined by
basic dimensions.
True Profile - The exact profile of a part feature as described by basic dimensions.
Unequal Bilateral Tolerance - A tolerance where the allowable variation is from the
target value and the variation is not the same in both directions.
Unilateral Tolerance - A tolerance where the allowable variation from the target
value is all in one direction and zero in the other direction.
Virtual Condition (VC) - A worst-case boundary generated by the collective effects
of a feature of size specified at MMC or at LMC and the geometric tolerance for that material
condition.
Worst-case Boundary (WCB) It is the general term to refer to the extreme
boundary of a feature of size that is the worst-case for assembly. Depending upon the part

dimensioning, a worst-case boundary can be a virtual condition, inner boundary, or outer

boundary.
Zero Tolerance at MMC - A method of tolerancing part features that includes the
tolerance geometric value with the feature of size tolerance and states a zero at MMC in the
feature control frame.
THE POSITIONAL TOLERANCE FEATURE CONTROL FRAME.

Geometric Control Symbol

Diametric or Linear Tolerance
Material Condition Symbol
Primary Datum Reference Plane
Secondary Datum Reference Plane
Tertiary Datum Reference Plane

Maximum Material Condition

Least Material Condition

Material Condition Symbols

Regardless of Feature size

Projected Tolerance
Free State Condition