5-Day Tolerance Analysis Workshop

This advanced GD&T workshop is designed for individuals who require methods and techniques to perform tolerance analysis beyond the traditional techniques used for simple interchangeability. The typical audience for this workshop consists of design engineers, structural engineers, designers, drafters, drawing checkers, manufacturing engineers, or any personnel tasked to evaluate how parts and assemblies function together.

The course objective is to teach a variety of methods to analyze tolerance “stack-ups” for parts and assemblies. Tolerance concepts such as simple size tolerance accumulation will be introduced, although major emphasis is placed on analysis techniques for parts and assemblies whose design intent is specified by geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T). The workshop begins with a quick but comprehensive review of GD&T (based on the ASME Y14.5 Dimensioning and Tolerancing standard) to ensure all students have a solid foundation in GD&T concepts, followed by successively more advanced subject matter. Topics include Loop Diagrams for simple size stackups, “worst case” scenarios, statistical tolerancing, allocating tolerances, and most importantly, effects of GD&T controls using various material condition modifiers (“Bonus” and “Additional” tolerance).

Topics are first introduced using overhead transparency presentations that describe the desired concepts. Once the concept has been explained and demonstrated within the lecture; the class participants break into small groups assigned with a short class exercise to demonstrate their mastery of that concept. A variety of parts and assemblies are available to students for “hands-on” experience with actual hardware during class exercises.

Each student will receive a textbook, Tolerance Stack-up Analysis, by James D. Meadows. Students also receive a three-ring reference binder that contains class lecture material. Reading from the text will be assigned after each lecture. In addition, lecture quizzes and homework assignment (primarily consisting of actual drawings to be analyzed) are assigned.

This workshop is an intensive training program. Students are expected to read from the textbook during lunch and at night to prepare for the lecture quizzes. Homework is also assigned each evening. Those who desire to do well in this course will need to study two to six hours each day in addition to classroom time. Students are evaluated on lecture quizzes, homework, and a comprehensive final examination. Those who correctly complete 70% of the assignment receive a satisfactory completion certificate that certifies their competency in tolerance analysis. To best serve the participants, this course is limited to a maximum attendance of 22 students.

The five-day workshop is also offered as a public class held several times per year at various locations around the country. The public class is well suited for those companies that need training for limited numbers of students.