What is 3D tolerance analysis?
Any part in space will have 6 degrees of freedom. Translation along X, Y, and Z axes define three degrees of freedom. Rotation around X, Y, and Z axes define three degrees of freedom.1D tolerance stack up method determines variations in one direction whereas 2D tolerance stack up method determines variations in two directions. Predicting the impact of tolerances in 3 directions is known as 3D tolerance analysis. 3D tolerance analysis will provide more precise results than 1D or 2D tolerance stack up methods. Predicting the impact of orientation tolerances for simple geometry is quite tedious and almost impossible for complex geometries using 1D or 2D methods. There are several methods available for calculating orientation impact of tolerances. Trigonometry is one method that can help predict orientation impact of tolerances. Another method could be using similar triangle theorem. These methods can serve for simple geometries however for complex geometries they will not be enough.
How to perform 3D tolerance analysis?
3D tolerance analysis is performed using the software. In today’s market, several cad packages are available to perform 3D tolerance analysis. Few popular 3D tolerance analysis packages are CETOL, Varatech, and VisVsa. These tools will support linear and geometric tolerances. 3D tolerance analysis will provide results along with tolerance percentage contributions. The better optimization of tolerances is possible in 3D tolerance analysis.
What are the results obtained through 3D tolerance analysis?
The results are per worst case and statistical analysis. The worst case results are considering worst case scenario which may not be 100% practical. The results based on statistical tolerances accounts statistical benefits. The products are 3D in nature so you should not limit yourself to 1D or 2D tolerance stack up methods. There are several benefits of using 3D tolerance analysis over 1D or 2D tolerance stack up methods. Hope this blog clarifies about 3D tolerance analysis. Wish you very happy learning!!
