Tolerancing
Here are some general tolerancing tips, picked up from work experience, in no particular order. Anyone is welcome to add to these or correct them if you see something inaccurate.
Tolerances should always be as large as possible for the part to still function
Overly tight tolerances are expensive, time consuming, and unnecessary
3D printed parts will shrink. A lot.
Online estimates are ~8% for ABS and ~3% for PLA but the actual amount will vary drastically based on the printer, settings, and the part itself.
If possible, part corners should be chamfered or filleted, especially for sharp/hard materials
For machined parts, a surface finish of 125 microinches (3.175 micrometers) is standard
Any holes to be tapped should be first made one size smaller than the tap size
I.e. for a #6 screw, one should drill a #5 hole before tapping with a #6 tap
Holes should be larger than the fasteners that go in them. The smallest diameters for a "normal" fit by ASME standards are listed below.
See ASME standard 18.2.8 for more information, or go to: https://mechanicalc.com/reference/fastener-size-tables
Designation | Nom. (in) | Nom. (mm) | Min. (in) | Min. (mm) |
#0 | 0.060 | 1.524 | 0.076 | 1.930 |
M1.6 | 0.063 | 1.600 | 0.071 | 1.800 |
#1 | 0.073 | 1.854 | 0.089 | 2.261 |
M2.0 | 0.079 | 2.000 | 0.094 | 2.400 |
#2 | 0.086 | 2.184 | 0.102 | 2.591 |
M2.5 | 0.098 | 2.500 | 0.114 | 2.900 |
#3 | 0.099 | 2.515 | 0.116 | 2.946 |
#4 | 0.112 | 2.845 | 0.128 | 3.251 |
M3.0 | 0.118 | 3.000 | 0.134 | 3.400 |
#5 | 0.125 | 3.175 | 0.156 | 3.962 |
#6 | 0.138 | 3.505 | 0.170 | 4.318 |
M4.0 | 0.157 | 4.000 | 0.177 | 4.500 |
#8 | 0.164 | 4.166 | 0.196 | 4.978 |
#10 | 0.190 | 4.826 | 0.221 | 5.613 |
M5.0 | 0.197 | 5.000 | 0.217 | 5.500 |
#12 | 0.216 | 5.486 | N/A | N/A |
M6.0 | 0.236 | 6.000 | 0.260 | 6.600 |
1/4" | 0.250 | 6.350 | 0.281 | 7.137 |
M8.0 | 0.315 | 8.000 | 0.354 | 9.000 |
GD&T should be added at some point
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