Statistical Tolerance Analysis—A Survey on Awareness, Use and Need in German Industry

The importance of geometric deviations of components for the aesthetic and functional quality of products has been undisputed for decades. So, it is not surprising that not only have numerous researchers devoted themselves to this field, but also commercial software tools for the analysis and optimization of tolerance specifications (currently already fully integrated in 3D-CAD systems) have been available for around 30 years. However, it is even more surprising that the well-founded specification of tolerances and their analysis using a so-called statistical tolerance analysis are only established in a few companies. There is thus a contradiction between the proclaimed relevance of tolerances and their actual consideration in everyday business life. Thus, the question of the significance of geometric deviations and tolerances as well as the use of statistical tolerance analysis arises. Therefore, a survey among 102 German companies was carried out. The results are presented and discussed in this paper.