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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Tolerances and Measurement

Tolerance stack-up

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In mechanical engineering, tolerance stack-up means: A calculation of how the tolerances of several parts add up in an assembly, to check that a gap, fit or position stays within its limits in the worst case or the typical case.

In Turkish: tolerans zinciri analizi, tolerans yığılması, tolerans analizi

How it is used

Used in design reviews, especially for assemblies with many parts. Engineers do a worst-case or a statistical (RSS) stack-up, often in a spreadsheet or with special software. The result shows which tolerances must be tightened and which can be relaxed.

Example sentences

  1. The tolerance stack-up shows that the gap can drop to 0.1 mm in the worst case.

  2. Before you tighten every tolerance on the drawing, do a proper tolerance stack-up.

Common collocations

  • worst-case stack-up
  • statistical tolerance analysis
  • RSS method
  • stack-up analysis
  • toleranceThe allowed amount of variation in a dimension or property, for example ±0.05 mm. A part is acceptable if its measured value falls inside this range.
  • GD&TShort for geometric dimensioning and tolerancing: a system of drawing symbols that controls the form, orientation, location and runout of features relative to datums.
  • fitThe relationship between the sizes of two parts that go together, such as a shaft and a hole, which decides whether they slide freely or are pressed tightly together.
  • assemblyA group of parts joined together to form a unit, or the process of putting parts together. A smaller unit inside it is called a subassembly.
  • dimensionA measurement of size or position on a part, such as a length, width, diameter or the distance between two holes, shown as a number on a drawing.

More terms: Tolerances and Measurement

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