Dimensional and geometrical tolerance synthesis based on constrained optimisation: an industrial case

This paper develops a method for optimum tolerancing of components in assemblies. This approach, based on the solution of a constrained optimisation problem, has been applied to an industrial case of an opening door system. The equation to minimise is a manufacturing cost-tolerance function that describes the relationship between tolerance values and manufacturing cost. A set of equations, representing the constraints used in the optimisation problem, is formulated based on the design constraints and assembly requirements. The equations obtained for the optimisation problem are solved to determine the optimum tolerances satisfying all the assembly requirements and all tolerance constraints.