We’re all under the same constraints and demands in the manufacturing industry. Efficiency and production are keys to beating the competition. At LDB we focus on designing better parts and machines that achieve the same quality at a reduced cost. We also have a proprietary manufacturing process that allows us to achieve the best results using better machining capability. This is the first in a series that explores the cost benefit analysis of functional tolerance.

The most functional piece of the puzzle is successfully calibrating tolerances to find the breathing room necessary to develop an innovative solution that dominates your market. At LDB, we’ve learned there is money to be saved when scrutinizing tolerances.

But, how does this seemingly counterintuitive concept of increased tolerance lead to a more accurate production? First, we must look at what tolerance aims to accomplish. Since tolerance is defined as the acceptable deviation from the ideal surface - we must first ask ourselves what degree of error is tolerable?

What we have discovered is more than merely anecdotal evidence. Tolerance has decreased and costs have risen. That is because as the tolerance of parts has gotten smaller, the cost of manufacturing has increased. Basically what we have seen is yield goes down and scrap goes up, because the tolerances are actually tighter than production variability.

But knowing all this, why are tolerances getting tighter? Because expecting extreme performance from increasingly sophisticated parts requires steadily increased precision. That also means there is very little deviation of tolerance between these parts. LDB believes traditional geometric dimensioning and tolerancing aren’t enough. That’s why we believe in an equally sophisticated geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. In our next post, we’ll scratch the surface of functional tolerancing.