Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113

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Computer-Aided Design
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cad

Review

A comprehensive study of three dimensional tolerance

analysis methods
Hua Chen a , Sun Jin a,b, , Zhimin Li a , Xinmin Lai a,b
a
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacture for Thin-walled Structures, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

highlights
Introduce four major 3D tolerance analysis models briefly.
Make a comprehensive comparison and discussion between them.
Expound the connotation of 3D tolerance analysis.
Present a perspective overview of the future research about 3D tolerance analysis.

article info abstract

Article history: Three dimensional (3D) tolerance analysis is an innovative method which represents and transfers
Received 29 October 2013 tolerance in 3D space. The advantage of 3D method is taking both dimensional and geometric tolerances
Accepted 27 February 2014 into consideration, compared with traditional 1/2D tolerance methods considering dimensional
tolerances only. This paper reviews four major methods of 3D tolerance analysis and compares them based
Keywords: on the literature published over the last three decades or so. The methods studied are Tolerance-Map
3D tolerance analysis
(T-Map), matrix model, unified JacobianTorsor model and direct linearization method (DLM). Each
T-Map
Matrix
of them has its advantages and disadvantages. The T-Map method can model all of tolerances and
Unified JacobianTorsor their interaction while the mathematic theory and operation may be challenging for users. The matrix
Direct linearization method model based on the homogeneous matrix which is classical and concise has been the foundation of
Comparison some successful computer aided tolerancing software (CATs), but the solution of constraint relations
composed of inequalities is complicated. The unified JacobianTorsor model combines the advantages
of the torsor model which is suitable for tolerance representation and the Jacobian matrix which is
suitable for tolerance propagation. It is computationally efficient, but the constraint relations between
components of torsor need to be considered to improve its accuracy and validity. The DLM is based on the
first order Taylors series expansion of vector-loop-based assembly models which use vectors to represent
either component dimensions or assembly dimensions. Geometric tolerances are operated as dimensional
tolerances in DLM, which is not fully consistent with tolerancing standards. The results of four models
with respect to an example are also listed to make a comparison. Finally, a perspective overview of the
future research about 3D tolerance analysis is presented.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
2. 3D tolerance analysis models ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
2.1. T-Map (Tolerance-Map) model ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Corresponding author at: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacture for Thin-walled Structures, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. Tel.: +86 021
34206306; fax: +86 021 34206306.
E-mail address: jinsun@sjtu.edu.cn (S. Jin).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cad.2014.02.014
0010-4485/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113
2.2. Matrix model..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
2.3. Unified JacobianTorsor model.............................................................................................................................................................................
2.4. DLM method...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
3. Discussion and comparison ...............................................................................................................................................................................................
4. Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................................................................................................
References...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
1. Introduction
The objective of tolerance analysis is to check the feasibility
and quality of assemblies or parts for a given GD&T scheme. The
results of tolerance analysis include worst case variations and
statistical distribution of functional requirement, acceptance rates,
contributors and their percent contributions, and the sensitivity
coefficients with respect to each contributor. Tolerance analysis is
an essential part for mechanical design and manufacturing because
it affects not only the performance of products but also the cost.
Tolerance analysis, including tolerance representation and tol-
erance propagation (tolerance transfer), can be classified into
many categories based on the analysis objective and analysis ap-
proach, as shown in Fig. 1. According to dimensionality, there
are one dimensional (1D), two dimensional (2D) and three di-
mensional (3D) tolerance analyses. Three approaches are applied
for 1/2/3D tolerance analysis, i.e., worst case (deterministic case),
statistical case and Monte Carlo simulation. Rigid and flexible tol-
erance analysis are two different models in the light of analysis ob-
jective. The former is surface-based and needs shape closure only,
such as engines tolerance analysis; the latter is point-based and
needs shape and force closure simultaneously, such as auto-bodies
tolerance analysis where the finite element method (FEM) is used
to take the deformation into consideration [14]. The division into
part level and assembly level is another classification. The stack-
up effect of assembly can be described by virtue of assembly func-
tion explicitly or implicitly, depending on the assembly method
and sequence, as well as the property of components [5]. Toler-
ance analysis runs through the whole process of the product, in-
cluding design, process planning, manufacturing, inspection, but
the objective may be different in each phase. For example, the tol-
erance scheme, i.e., conventional (parametric) and geometric toler-
ance will be selected and specified, and then tolerance analysis for
functional requirement will be carried out in design phase. Mean-
while, besides manual analysis, computer aided tolerancing soft-
ware (CATs), such as VisVSA R
, 3DCSR
and CETOLR
are applied to
tolerance analysis successfully [69]. To be sure, the classification
of tolerance analysis will be more and more complicated with the
development of mechanical design and manufacturing.
Over the last thirty years, a large amount of fundamental re-
search efforts has been given to explore the mathematical basis
for tolerance analysis. For tolerance representation, the models or
concepts include variational geometry [1012], variational class
[13,14], virtual boundary [15,16], feasibility space [17,18], vecto-
rial approach [19], virtual joints [20], degree of freedom (DOF)
[2123], Tolerance-Map (T-Map) [24,25], topologically and tech-
nologically related surfaces (TTRS) [26], infinitesimal matrix [27],
matrix [2830], small displacement torsor (SDT) [31,32], and pro-
portioned assembly clearance volume (PACV) [33,34]. Similarly,
for tolerance propagation, the approaches or methods consist of
the linearization method [35], system moments [36,37], quadra-
ture [3840], reliability index [41,42], the Taguchi method [43,44],
Monte Carlo simulations [45,46], network of zones and datums
[47], kinematic formulation [48], the direct linearization method
(DLM) [49,50], Jacobian matrix [51,52], state space [53,54], and the
variational method [55]. It is worth noting that the partition of two
categories mentioned above is approximate and based mainly on
5
7
9
10
11
12
12
their strong suits, because there is no boundary between the toler-
ance representation and propagation for these models, such as the
TTRS [56].
As new generations of tolerancing standards, i.e., ASME Y14.5-
2009 [57] and ISO 1101 [58] were released and popularized, ge-
ometric tolerances are generally accepted as industry practices.
The traditional 1/2D tolerance analysis models are insufficient to
meet the ever-tightening and increasingly complex requirements
of tolerance analysis in various fields [59]. More specifically, varia-
tions of a feature caused by geometric tolerances are three dimen-
sional, which cannot be considered by 1/2D methods. Researchers
and engineers need a new method that can analyze how those geo-
metric tolerances are represented and propagated in three dimen-
sional space urgently. It is the 3D tolerance analysis method. Let
us take a combustion engine as an example, as shown in Fig. 2.
The translational and rotational variations of piston accumulated
by geometric and dimensional tolerances of crank-link parts have a
significant impact on the compression ratio. In addition, tolerances
of parts affect not only the dimensional quality of assembly, but
also other qualities such as frictional work [60,61] and sealing.
Finding out the mapping relationship of tolerance between parts
and functional requirements and performance indexes is impor-
tant to engine design. 3D tolerance analysis methods will offer a
significant clue for understanding the role of every tolerance of
parts in the variation stream (gray boxes in Fig. 2).
The 3D tolerance analysis is an innovative method which repre-
sents and transfers tolerance in 3D space. Geometric tolerances and
dimensional tolerances, as well as the interaction between them
in the tolerance zone can be taken into consideration by 3D toler-
ance analysis methods. Moreover, abundant results, i.e., the trans-
lational and rotational variations of target feature are obtained in
these methods. Many models have been developed for 3D toler-
ance representation and propagation since 1990s. Portman [27]
introduces a spatial dimensional chain where the individual
error is represented as an infinitesimal matrix to model the tol-
erance propagation. Fleming [47] illustrates the geometric rela-
tionships by a network of zones and datums connected by arcs to
which constraints are assigned. The effects of these constraints are
calculated through the network between nodes. Rivest et al. [48]
propose a kinematic formulation which exploits the kinematic
character of a toleranced feature relative to its datum. These three
methods are preliminary explorations of 3D methods. Laperrire
and Lafond [20,51] use virtual joints for tolerance representa-
tion and the Jacobian matrix for tolerance propagation. Davidson
et al. [24] present a T-Map representing all possible variations of
size, position, form, and orientation for a target feature. Desrochers
and Rivire [29] represent the variations of a feature with a dis-
placement matrix and transfer them with a homogeneous matrix.
An SDT model introduced by Clment et al. [31] uses six small dis-
placement vectors to represent the position and orientation of an
ideal surface in relation to another ideal surface in a kinematic way.
Desrochers et al. [62] put forward a unified JacobianTorsor model
which combines the advantages of the torsor model and the Jaco-
bian matrix. Chase et al. [50] introduce a DLM based on the first
order Taylors series expansion of vector-loop-based assembly
models which use vectors to represent either component dimen-
sions or assembly dimensions. Some models mentioned above
have been applied extensively by virtue of CATs.
 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113
Fig. 1. Categories of tolerance analysis.
Fig. 2. The mapping relationship of tolerances between parts and functional
requirements and performance indexes in engines.
The purpose of this work is to discuss four typical methods of
3D tolerance analysis, i.e., the T-Map model, the matrix model, the
unified JacobianTorsor model and DLM, all of which are research
hotspots recently. The TTRS theory is also introduced because it is
the basis of the matrix and torsor models. Although several review
papers have introduced these methods briefly [6370], it is the first
time to put them together to make a comparison in 3D context. It
should be noted that the concept of 3D here emphasizes tolerance
representation and propagation in three dimensional space, other
models, such as the state space model which focuses on tolerance
transfer with a state space method, the variational method which
pays close attention to variation propagation of fixtures with total
deterministic locating (321 scheme), are not discussed because
they are point-based tolerance schemes where variations caused
by geometric tolerances are not three dimensional.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 gives
an overall introduction of these 3D tolerance analysis models.
Section 3 makes a comprehensive discussion and comparison
between them. Finally, conclusions with a perspective overview
of the future research about 3D tolerance analysis are given in
Section 4.
3
2. 3D tolerance analysis models
2.1. T-Map (Tolerance-Map) model
The T-Map R
(Patent No. 6963824) model developed by David-
son et al. [24] is a hypothetical Euclidean volume of points, the
shape, size, and internal subsets of which represent all possible
variations in size, position, form, and orientation of a target fea-
ture. A T-Map is a convex set resulting from a one-to-one mapping
from all the variational possibilities of a feature within its toler-
ance zone, constructed from a basis-simplex and described with
areal coordinates.
The areal coordinates use areal parameters to describe the
position of a point in a reference triangle. Given three fixed points
1 , 2 , 3 , called basis points that are chosen in Euclidean space,
the position of any point is uniquely determined by the linear
equation:
= 1 1 + 2 2 + 3 3 (1)
where 1 , 2 , 3 are areal coordinates about , and have the
relation 1 + 2 + 3 = 1. Either one or two of these coordinates
will be negative when is chosen outside 1 2 3 .
In order to illustrate the modeling process of T-Map, here we
consider a cross-section of a round bar with a size tolerance t on
its length, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3(a) shows the tolerance zone
ABCD where all points of the end face must lie in, and the Cartesian
coordinate system. Assuming a perfect round plane with diameter
d and no thickness, the possible displacement of this plane is the
tolerance zone, i.e., the volume limited by the planes 1 and 2 , and
the cylindrical diameter of the bar. The plane would translate along
the z axis and rotate around the x axis freely on two dimensional
occasions where the plane is always parallel to the x axis. The
plane 3 in Fig. 3(a) represents the greatest clockwise tilt of the
perfect plane in tolerance zone. After that, the two dimensional
set of planes in Fig. 3(a) defined by three basis planes 1 , 2 , 3
are mapped to the areal coordinates, as shown in Fig. 3(b). Any
end plane of the round bar that satisfies the size tolerance and is
parallel to the x axis will be represented by expressed as Eq.
(1). Especially, the points on the line-segment 1 2 in Fig. 1(b)
represent the parallel planes that are perpendicular to the z axis in
Fig. 1(a) and lie between 1 and 2 . The points on the line-segment
1 3 in Fig. 1(b) correspond to these planes in Fig. 1(a) that are
parallel to the x axis, pass through point B, and lie in the tolerance
zone between 1 and 3 . Similarly, the points on the line-segment
2 3 in Fig. 1(b) correspond to these planes in Fig. 1(a) that are
4 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113

Fig. 3. Modeling process of the T-Map for a round bar with a size tolerance.

Fig. 5. (a) A half section of the T-Map for a round bar with a form tolerance and a
size tolerance. (b) A half section of the T-Map for a round bar with an orientation
tolerance and a size tolerance.

Fig. 4. A plane in the Cartesian frame of a tolerance zone.

parallel to the x axis, pass through point C , and lie in the tolerance
zone between 2 and 3 .
The three dimensional tolerance zone at the end of the round
bar is obtained by a full sweeping operation around z axis with the
rectangle ABCD in Fig. 3(a). Therefore, the three dimensional T-Map
is modeled by revolving the triangle in Fig. 3(b) a full turn around
the line 1 2 , it is a right-circular dicone shown in Fig. 3(c). It
should be mentioned that the areal coordinates can also be used to
identify points in three dimensional space where four basis points
are non-coplanar. The points 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 in Fig. 3(c) are selected
to establish a tetrahedron of reference
for three dimensional area
coordinates in the T-Map. Setting i = 1, any end plane of the
round bar that satisfies the size tolerance will be represented by
the linear equation:
= 1 1 + 2 2 + 3 3 + 4 4 . (2)
The transformation from T-Map in Fig. 3(c) to Cartesian coordi- Fig. 6. An assembly of two round bars for the T-Map.
nates in Fig. 3(a) is worth mentioning. Presuming a plane in the
Cartesian coordinates, as shown in Fig. 4, its position can be de- tolerancing standards, the flatness tolerance zone is defined by two
scribed by the equation px + qy + rz + s = 0. p, q, r are the di- parallel planes with the distance t1 . Its position and orientation
rection cosines in which r is approximately equal to 1 because the are not constrained within the size tolerance zone. The internal
rotation displacement of the plane shown in Fig. 3(a) around the triangular sub-set drawn with a dashed line in Fig. 5(a) represents
z axis is smaller than other two rotation displacements in the tol- the flatness tolerance while the hatched triangle corresponds
erance zone, and s is the absolute distance from the plane to the to positions that the flatness tolerance zone can occupy. The
origin of coordinates. Therefore, the planes in the tolerance zone Minkowski sum of the sub-set of the dashed triangle and the
are distinguished by the coordinates p, q and s only. q in Fig. 3(b) is hatched triangle is the tolerance t. Similarly, the parallelism
obtained by assigning dimension or length on q in Fig. 3(a) because tolerance zone is defined by two parallel planes which are parallel
q is dimensionless. The lateral dimension t of q axis in Fig. 3(b) is to planes 1 and 2 with the distance t2 , represented by the
t = d(t /d) = d tan() = dq = q . p is obtained in the same way dashed triangle in Fig. 5(b). Because the parallelism tolerance zone
as q . Consequently, the transformation of any plane in the toler- can only translate up or down within the tolerance zone t, the
ance zone of Fig. 3(a) from areal coordinates to Cartesian coordi- Minkowski sum of sub-set of dashed triangle and its translational
nates is: zone shown in Fig. 5(b) is a truncated map along the q axis.

p 0

0 0 t /d 1
In order to illustrate the tolerance propagation of T-Map, a
q 0 0 t /d 0 2 simple assembly composed of two parts is shown in Fig. 6 as an
r = 1 . (3) example. Part 1 is a round bar. Part 2 consists of two round bars
1 1 1 3
s t /2 t /2 0 0 4 separated by an offset b. They are assembled end to end coaxially.
The functional surface is the upper face of the bar with diameter d2
It should be stressed that a T-Map for a single part is always in part 2. The dimensions and tolerances of assembly can be seen
convex. This property allows the usage of fundamental principles in Fig. 6. The coordinate frames are similar to Fig. 3.
of convex sets, such as Minkowski sums and differences. The variations of orientation in the tolerance zone of part 1 are
We continue to use the round bar shown in Fig. 3 as an objective amplified and cause positional variations of the functional surface
to illustrate the modeling process of form and orientation tolerance because of the offset b. The accumulation T-Map depends on the
for T-Map, but now a flatness tolerance t1 and a parallelism offset b and the diameters d1 and d2 since functional requirements
tolerance t2 which is relative to a datum plane (another end of for the target face in the assembly control the assignment of
bar) are specified besides the size tolerance t. According to the tolerances to the individual parts. Here we only consider the
 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113 5

only seven elementary surface types, as shown in Table 1. The com-

binations of surfaces are called TTRS when two surfaces belong to
the same part or Pseudo-TTRS when two surfaces belong to two dif-
ferent parts [80]. The reference elements are classified by the con-
cept of minimum geometric datum element (MGDE) [81]. Thirteen
relative positioning constrains of basic components of the MGDE,
i.e., point, line and plane are defined, as shown in Table 1. The con-
cept of functional requirements is also declared in the wake of the
TTRS [82].
The 4 4 homogeneous matrix D including a 3 3 rotational
matrix and a 3 1 translational matrix is chosen here to represent
the relative displacement of a feature within tolerance zone:
Fig. 7. (a) q -s sections of the accumulation and functional requirement T-Maps for
the assembly when b = 0. (b) q -s section of two operand dicones for the assembly
C C S C + C S S S S + C SC

u
when b = 0.
S C C C + S SS C S + S S C v
S (4)
C S CC w
0 0 0 1
where , , are rotational displacements around the x, y, z axes
respectively; u, v, w are translational displacements along the
x, y, z axes respectively; C is the abbreviation of cos() and S is sin().
Tolerance is only meaningful in directions other than those
that leave a surface invariant with respect to itself [83], so every
parameter in the matrix can be seen as a micro DOF that leaves
the feature non-invariant. Let us take a planar surface shown in
Fig. 8 as an example, the ideal plane without form tolerance and
thickness can translate along the x axis and rotate around the y and
Fig. 8. A planar feature in a tolerance zone. z axes in the tolerance zone. In other words, a plane has three non-
invariant degrees, i.e., , and u within its tolerance zone. Another
condition where d1 > d2 . The T-Maps of part 2 and functional three displacements (, v and w ) are invariant and set to zero.
requirements in which the aspect ratios are unity are selected Therefore, Eq. (4) can be simplified for the planar non-invariant
to be constructed on the basis tetrahedron 1 2 3 4 in Fig. 3(c). matrix D (see Eq. (5)). Non-invariant displacement matrix of the
When b = 0, the half-section of the accumulation (solid line) other five surfaces can be seen in Table 1.
and functional requirement (dashed line) T-Maps are shown in C C S C S

u
Fig. 7(a) in which the accumulation T-Map is inscribed in the S C C S S 0
S . (5)
functional T-Map in order to avoid specifying excessively tight 0 C 0
tolerances on individual parts. ta and tf which are equal to t1 + 0 0 0 1
t2 represent accumulation tolerance and functional requirement
tolerance along the length direction. ta which is equal to t11 The matrix representation is completed by a set of inequalities
(d2 /d1 ) + t2 represents orientation tolerance of functional surface, defining the bounds of every component in the matrix. These
which is tighter than functional requirement. inequalities depend on the type of surface and tolerance. If more
However, it is somewhat complicated if b = 0. Assuming a ro- than one tolerance is specified on the same feature, their effects
tational angle q1 in the tolerance zone of part 1, s of T-Map of are calculated through the principle of effects overlapping. Taking
part 1 becomes s + bq1 which results in point 3 in Fig. 3(c) moves the four vertexes (A, B, C , D) into consideration, the bounds of the
downward by the amount bt11 /d1 and the opposite point 7 moves planar surface with t shown in Fig. 8 can be expressed by:
upward by the same amount. That is an oblique elliptic dicone
u C
tSL u(A,B,C ,D) tSU A A

truncated by the orientation tolerance t11 , shown by the dashed
uB CB

line in Fig. 7(b). When b (d1 d2 )/2, the point 3 in T-Map of part t /a t /a with =D (6)
1 is still within the functional T-Map, and the accumulation toler- t /b t /b uC
CC

uD CD
ance in the axial direction is t1 + t2 . When b > (d1 d2 )/2, the point
3 in T-Map of part 1 touches the line 1f 3f , and the accumulation where CA,B,C ,D are coordinates for points A, B, C , and D.
tolerance along the axial direction is t11 ((2b + d2 )/d1 1)+ t1 + t2 . Two types of datum reference frame (DRF) need to be identified
Besides round bars, T-Maps have been developed for other fea- for tolerance transfer in the matrix model when the assembly
tures, such as polygonal bars [25], axes [7173], angled faces [74], graph is created, i.e., global DRF (R) which is the evaluation
pointline clusters [75], and planar and radial clearance with a sta- reference of the functional feature and local DRF (Ri ) of each part
tistical way [7678]. T-Map can also be used for tolerance alloca- feature. The homogeneous matrix P which depends only on the
tion or synthesis, the detailed discussion is not within the scope of nominal geometry represents the transformation of the R to the Ri .
this paper. Given two points in Ri , the theoretical point M and the same point
M after a displacement in the tolerance zone, [MM ] represents
2.2. Matrix model the total displacement of the M because of matrix Di , which can be
expressed by:
MM = PR1 Ri MM R

The matrix model introduced by Desrochers and Rivire [29]
R
uses a displacement matrix D to describe the small displacements i
1
of a feature within the tolerance zone and the clearance between = PRRi M R [M]Ri
i
two features. Using the theory of the set of displacements by
Herv [79], Clment et al. [26,31,32] have proven that there are = PR
1
Ri (Di I ) [M]Ri . (7)
 6

Table 1
Constraints of TTRS and matrices.
Surface Non invariant MGDE TTRS Non invariant displacements matrix
displacements
General Prismatic Revolution Helical Cylindrical Planar Spherical

Tx,y,z C C S C + C S S S S + C SC u
General Point + line + plane Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj
Rx,y,z S C C C + S SS C S + S S C v
S C S CC w
0 0 0 1

Ty,z C C S C + C S S S S + C SC 0
Prismatic Line + plane Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj
Rx,y,z S C C C + S SS C S + S S C v
S C S CC w
0 0 0 1

Tx,y,z C C S C S u
Revolution Point + line Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj
Ry,z S C C S S v
0
S C w
0 0 0 1

Tx,y,z (Point + line) or C C S C S u
Helical Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj Ci/Cj
Rx (Line + plane) S C C S S v p
u = 2
0
S C w
0 0 0 1

Ty,z C C S C S 0
Cylindrical Line C11/C12/C13 C8/C9/C10 C4/C5
Ry,z S C C S S v
0
S C w
0 0 0 1

Tx C C S C S u
Planar Plane C6/C7 C3
H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113

Ry,z S C C S S 0
S 0 C 0

0 0 0 1

1 0 0 u
0 1 0 v
Spherical Tx,y,z Point C1/C2 0 0 1 w
0 0 0 1
Notice:
1. T and R represent the translation and rotation respectively, the subscripts of x, y, z represent the orientation.
2. C is the abbreviation of cos( ) and S is the abbreviation of sin( ).
3. u, v, w are three translational displacements along the x, y, z axes respectively.
4. C(onstraints)1: pointpoint, coincidence; C2: pointpoint, distance; C3: pointplane, distance; C4: pointline, coincidence; C5: pointline, distance; C6: planeplane, parallel, distance; C7: planeplane, angle; C8: planeline,
perpendicularity;
C9: planeline, parallel, distance; C10: planeline, angle; C11: lineline, coincidence;
C12: lineline, parallel, distance; C13: lineline, angle and distance.
5. Ci/Cj is the combination of C1C13 depending on the MGDE of two surfaces. For example, the Ci/Cj corresponding to revolution and spherical surface are the combinations of point and line, i.e., C1/C2, C4/C5, C11/C12/C13.
 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113 7

The equation above gives the range of displacements of the ith

feature in the global DRF that is allowed by the tolerance zone.
More points are necessary to specify the constraints that keep the
feature inside the bounds of the tolerance zone. Taking the planar
surface shown in Fig. 8 as an example, the additional constraints of
points A, B, C and D are:

tSL (Di I ) MA,B,C ,D

Ri
x tSU (8)


where x represents the directional vector of tolerance zone.
It should be mentioned that other geometric tolerances, such
as orientation tolerance, also can be modeled by Eq. (8) through
the arithmetic operation of some vertex points according to the
tolerancing standards. Moreover, a cylindrical clearance zone can
be viewed as an equivalent concentricity tolerance in the matrix
model.
Fig. 9. The assembly of two round bars for the matrix model.
For convenience, the assembly in Fig. 6 is also used to demon-
strate the tolerance analysis of the matrix model, as shown in Fig. 9
where three local DRFs (R1 , R2 , R3 ) and one global DRF (R0 ) are
specified. The assembly graph is shown in Fig. 10. The functional
requirement is the displacement of point a along the z axis in the
global DRF, which is equal to za/D1 + za/D2 . Two matrices D1 and
D2 which are similar to Eq. (5) are established for tolerance repre-
sentation of the upper surface relative to the under surface of two
round bars. With Eq. (7), we can obtain the two displacements of
point a: Fig. 10. Assembly graph of the matrix model.

za/D1 = u1 + b cos(1 ) sin (1 )

+ l2 (cos(1 ) cos(1 ) 1) (9)
za/D2 = u2 . (10)
The constraints of the components of D1 under the tolerance t1 and
t11 with respect to four vertexes of part 1 are:

u1 + (d1 cos(1 ) sin(1 ))/2

u1 d1 sin(1 )/2

t1
t
1
(11) Fig. 11. Small displacement torsor of a surface.
2 u1 (d1 cos(1 ) sin(1 ))/2 2
u1 + d1 sin(1 )/2

The torsor, also known as small displacement torsor (SDT), is
d1 cos(1 ) sin(1 )

t11 t11 . (12) a small displacement screw used to represent the position and
d1 sin(1 ) orientation of an ideal surface or its feature (axis, centerline, plane)
in relation to another ideal surface with a kinematic way [34]. As
The constraints of the components of D2 under the tolerance t2
shown in Fig. 11, at a given point O on nominal surface S0 , the SDT
with respect to four vertexes of part 2 are:
of variational surface S1 from S0 can be expressed as:
u2 + (d2 cos (2 ) sin(2 ))/2

u

u2 d2 sin(2 )/2

t2
t
2
T = 1/0 1/0 = v

(13) (14)
2 u2 (d2 cos(2 ) sin(2 ))/2 2
w
u2 + d2 sin(2 )/2

where 1/0 is the rotational vector around the axis including three
where t1 /2 u1 t1 /2, t2 /2 u2 t2 /2, t11 /d1 1
specific vectors, i.e., , and indicate the vectors around the
t11 /d1 , t11 /d1 1 t11 /d1 , t2 /d2 2 t2 /d2 , t2 /d2 2
axes x, y and z in the local reference system respectively; likewise,
t2 /d2 .
Standard optimization algorithms, such as simplex, can be
1/0 is the translational vector and u, v, w are three specific vectors
along the axes x, y and z respectively.
applied to solve this problem.
The relative translation between two surfaces at any point M in
The statistical method of the matrix model for tolerance anal-
Euclidean space can be obtained by a linearization rule in terms of
ysis can be found in [30]. It is worth mentioning that some CATs
based on the matrix model have been developed and applied suc- 1/0 and a cross product of 1/0 and vector OM.
cessfully, such as CATIA.3D FDT R
[6] and FROOM [68,69].
u y + z



dM = 1/0 + 1/0 OM = v + x z . (15)
2.3. Unified JacobianTorsor model w x + y
The unified JacobianTorsor model introduced by Desrochers The SDT is well suited to not only 3D tolerance representation
et al. [62] combines the advantages of the torsor model which but also 3D metrology [84,85]. It should be noted that the SDT
is suitable for tolerance representation and the Jacobian matrix for tolerance representation is the first order approximation of
which is suitable for tolerance propagation. Tolerance analysis of the matrix model introduced in the previous subsection [86]. The
this model is in a kinematic way because of the concept of torsor rotation angles in Eq. (4) can be simplified by sin( ) and
which is also on the basis of TTRS. cos( ) 1 because the angles are very small in the tolerance zone.
8 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113

Then the 3 3 rotational matrix can be written as: the expression of which can be written as follows:
u, u
1

v, v

1 . (16)


1 w, w

,

And the small displacement of any point M can be obtained by:
u, u ,

u 1 x

v, v

dM = v + 1 y ,
w, w
w 1 z FE1
.

..

,

= [J]FE1 [J]FEn (20)
y + z

u


= v + x z .

u, u

(17) ,

w x + y

v, v

,
w, w
FR
Generally, the constraints of components of SDT depend on

,

the type of tolerance and feature. The SDT used for tolerance

representation of planar and cylindrical surfaces, as well as their


,

joints (clearance) has been studied deeply. Seven types of surface
and their screws are listed in [86]. The concept of non-invariant of

the matrix model is also effective in the SDT model. , v and w in ,
FEn
Eq. (14) that have no effect on tolerance analysis of the plane shown where FR represents the functional requirement; (, ) is the
in Fig. 8 can be set to zero to reduce the scale of computational tolerance interval where must lie in, other vectors follow the
work. same way. The interval arithmetic is incorporated into Eq. (20)
Tolerance representation with SDT is concise and intuitionistic, to allow tolerance analysis to be performed on a tolerance zone
but it is difficult for tolerance transfer [64,65]. Therefore, Jacobian basis rather than on a point basis.
matrix is introduced into tolerance analysis. The assembly graph of Fig. 9 with the unified JacobianTorsor
The Jacobian method is a linear arithmetic formulation applied model is shown in Fig. 12, including two internal FEs and one
in series robot system, mapping the displacement or velocity of contact FE. The target feature is the upper face of the bar with
joints to end joint. Laperrire and Lafond [20,51] bring it into diameter d2 in part 2. All coordinate frames are in the middle of
tolerance analysis by introducing the concept of functional pairs the tolerance zone or contact zone. The contact pair between part
expressed by a set of virtual joints. 1 and part 2 is considered as zero because there is no clearance
There are two types of functional pairs in the assembly, i.e., in- between two contacting planes. With Eq. (20), the final expression
ternal pair and contact or kinematic pair. The former is composed of the unified JacobianTorsor formulation about the assembly in
of two functional elements (FEs) on the same part; the latter is Fig. 9 is:
made up of two FEs on different parts if there is a physical or po-
(u, u)

1 0 0 0 l2 b

1 0 0 0 0 0

tential contact between them. (v, v)

0 1 0 l2 0 0



0 1 0 0 0

0



The Jacobian matrix for ith FE can be expressed as: (w, w)

0 0 1 b 0 0



0 0 1 0 0

0


=
(, ) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0


..

(, ) 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 1 0

. [Win ]33 ([Ri0 ]33 [RPti ]33 )

i
[R0 ]33 [RPti ]33 ( , ) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
..
FR FE1 FE2

[J ]FEi = (18)
.
(0 , 0 )


.. (0 , 0 )


[0]33 . ([R0 ]33 [RPti ]33 )
i
(t1 /2, t1 /2)



(t11 /d1 , t11 /d1 )


where R0i represents the local orientation of ith frame with

(t11 /d1 , t11 /d1 )


respect to 0th frame that is the global reference system; [RPTi ] is
(0 , 0 )

FE1 . (21)


a projection matrix designating the unit vectors along local axes (0 , 0 )


respectively for tolerance
zone tilted according to the direction


(0 , 0 )

of tolerance analysis; Win is a skew-symmetric matrix allowing

(t2 /2, t2 /2)

the representation of the vector
among
the ith and nth frame (end (t11 /d2 , t11 /d2 )

point), defined in Eq. (19); R0i Win reflects the leverage effect

(t11 /d2 , t11 /d2 )

when the small rotations of FE are being multiplied by terms of the (0 , 0 )

FE2
Jacobian matrix.
As can be seen, the orientation tolerance mainly limits the
rotational displacements of the upper surface of part 1. We only
0 dzin dyni

focus on the value along the z axis of FR in this paper. The result
Win 33 dzin dxni

= 0 (19) shows w must lie in the interval of [((t1 + t2 )/2 + bt11 /d1 ), ((t1 +
dyni dxni 0 t2 )/2 + bt11 /d1 )]. It should be pointed out that the bt11 /d1 of the
result is the so called leverage effect caused by the small rotational
where dzin = dzn dzi , dyni = dyn dyi , dxni = dxn dxi . displacement t11 /d1 and the offset b.
The SDT model is suitable for tolerance representation while the The statistical method of the unified JacobianTorsor model
Jacobian matrix is suitable for tolerance propagation. The unified where Monte Carlo simulation is applied has been developed
JacobianTorsor model combines the advantages of both methods, [8789]. Moreover, the unified JacobianTorsor model can also be
 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113
Fig. 12. Assembly graph of the unified JacobianTorsor model.
Fig. 13. An example of kinematic joints.
used for redesign of assembly tolerance where the contribution
of each FE can be calculated [90], and geometrical variations
management in a multi-disciplinary environment [91].
2.4. DLM method
The DLM (Direct Linearization Method) proposed by Chase
et al. [49,50] is based on the first order Taylors series expansion
of the assembly kinematic constraint equations with respect to
both the assembly variables and the manufactured variables in
assembly. The assembly equations expressed by the vector-loop-
based assembly models which use vectors to represent either
component dimensions or assembly dimensions take three main
sources of variation into account in a mechanical assembly. They
are dimensional variations and geometric feature variations which
are the results of the natural variations in manufacturing processes,
and kinematic variations are small adjustments between mating
parts that occurred at assembly due to the dimensional and
geometric variations in manufacturing phrase.
It is the kinematic variations which result in implicit assembly
functions. As shown in Fig. 13, the kinematic variable F depends on
the variables , R, t and H, and the position of contact points a and
b which are called kinematic joints (dashed rectangles). Kinematic
joints describe motion constraints at the contact points between
mating parts. There are six common joints in 2D assemblies and
twelve common joints in 3D assemblies.
The vectors in a matrix form are arranged in chains or loops
representing the accumulation of variations mentioned above in
vector-loop-based assembly models. Firstly, ignoring the geomet-
ric tolerances, the assembly constraints with the vector-loop-
based assembly models can be expressed as a concatenation of
homogeneous transformation matrices:
R1 T1 R2 T2 Ri Ti Rn Tn Rf = H (22)
where Ri is the rotational transformation matrix between the vec-
tors at node i; Ti is the translational matrix of vector i; Rf is the
9
Fig. 14. The effects of flatness tolerance t at the kinematic joint b of Fig. 13.
final closure rotational transformation matrix with the global DRF;
H is the resultant matrix which is equal to the identity matrix for a
closed loop, or the final gap or clearance and its orientation for an
open vector loop.
Eq. (22) describes a series of rotations and translations to trans-
form the local coordinates from vector-to-vector until it has tra-
versed the entire vector loop and returned to the starting point. It
is important to note that the rotational value of Ri is always relative
to the prior vector. It is a positive angle when the rotational direc-
tion is same as the prior vector. It is a negative angle, otherwise.
Although smaller than dimensional variations, the accumula-
tion and propagation of geometric feature variations are similar to
dimensional variations. In the vector-loop-based assembly mod-
els, geometric tolerances are considered by placing at the contact
point between mating surfaces with zero length vectors having
specified variations or tolerances. In other words, the geometric
tolerance associated with each joint may result in an independent
translational variation or rotational variation or both. It should be
pointed out that the effect of feature variations in 3D depends upon
the joint types and which joint axis you are looking down. Fig. 14
shows the effects of flatness tolerance t at the kinematic joint b
of Fig. 13. Fig. 14(a) represents a translational variation in the xy
plane while Fig. 14(b) represents a rotational variation in the xz
plane. There are three variations in all at this joint where another
rotational variation around the z axis is not shown, which implies
the DOF of kinematic motions and the DOF of feature variations are
mutually exclusive.
All the possible combinations of geometric feature tolerances
with kinematic joint types in 2D space and 3D space can be seen
in [92].
Assuming a geometric feature tolerance is added to joint i,
assembly constraint equation (22) can be rewritten as:
R1 T1 R2 T2 Rig Tig Ri Ti Rn Tn Rf = H (23)
where Rig Tig is the transformation matrix caused by geometric
tolerance of ith feature.
It is complex to solve Eqs. (22) and (23) because they are
nonlinear equations. But the approximate solution with the DLM
method is accurate enough for tolerance analysis. The first order
Taylors series expansion of assembly constraint equations for a
closed loop can be written as:
1H C = A 1X + B 1U + F 1 = [0] . (24)
And for an open loop is:
1H O = C 1X + D 1U + G 1 (25)
where 1HC is the vector of clearance variations in a closed loop
and 1HO is the vector of assembly variations in an open loop;
1X is the vector of variations of dimensional variables; 1U is
the vector of variations of assembly variables; 1 is the vector
of variations of geometric feature variables; A and C are the first
order partial derivatives of the dimensional variables in the closed
loop and open loop respectively; B and D are the first order partial
derivatives of the assembly variables in the closed loop and open
10 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113
loop respectively; F and G are the first order partial derivatives of
the geometric feature variables in the closed loop and open loop
respectively.
Among Eqs. (24) and (25), 1U is obtained by solving these two
equations. For the closed loop, 1U is given in Eq. (26) if B is a full-
ranked matrix and in Eq. (27) if B is a singular matrix.
1U = B1 A 1X B1 F 1 (26)
1U = (BT B)1 BT A 1X (BT B)1 BT F 1. (27)
From Eqs. (25) to (27), we can obtain the 1U in the open loop
as:
1U = (C D B1 A) 1X + (G D B1 F ) 1 (28)
1 T
1U = C D BT B B A 1X
T 1 T
+ GD B B B F 1. (29)
Tolerance accumulation of DLM can be estimated with a worst
case way and a statistical way, as shown in Eqs. (30) and (31).
m n
|Sij | Tij
TW = |Sijd | Tijd +
j =1 j =1
m 2 2 points, which lead to different results with respect to different
n
|Sij | Tij
TS = |Sijd | Tijd +
j =1 j =1
where Sijd and Sij are sensitivity matrices of dimensional variables
and geometric variables respectively, which are the coefficients
of the 1X and 1 in Eqs. (26)(29); m and n are the number of
dimensional and geometric variables respectively.
Let us continue to take the assembly shown in Fig. 9 as the
example to demonstrate the computational process of DLM. That is
an open loop where the assembly constraint equations are explicit
because no adjustable elements exist. The geometric tolerance t11
involves a rotational variable around the x axis in part 1 which
is equal to t11 /d1 . According to Eq. (23), the resultant vector along
the z axis at point a is l1 + l2 cos() + b sin(). From Eq. (25),
the stack-up variation along the z axis is (t1 + t2 cos())/2 +
(b cos() l2 sin()) . considered to improve the accuracy of results and conform to the
The second order tolerance analysis (SOTA) method where
the second order Taylors series expansion of the assembly
kinematic constraint equations is taken into account by Monte
Carlo simulation has been developed to enhance the accuracy of
DLM [93].
Because the derivatives of the assembly function with respect
to both the assembly and manufactured variables are more readily
from the vector model, the DLM is more computationally efficient
over other models for tolerance analysis. Owing to the long-term
research by association for the development of computer-aided
tolerancing software (ADCATS), DLM has been applied on CATs
successfully, such as CETOL 6 Sigma R
. heavily depends on the users expertise and experience to obtain
3. Discussion and comparison
So far, we have listed four 3D tolerance analysis methods partic-
ularly based on the literature published over the last three decades
or so. And a simple example has been used to demonstrate the anal-
ysis process of these models. Each of them has its advantages and
disadvantages. This section discusses and compares them in detail.
The T-Map based on area coordinates cannot only model all
3D variations of a feature, such as size, orientation and form, but
also model completely and precisely the interactions of them. It is
completely compatible with the ASME/ISO standards for geometric
tolerance and suitable for tolerance synthesis. The size and shape
of the accumulation map are controlled by the dimensions and
shapes of target surfaces in assembly, which gives expression to
the connotation of 3D tolerance analysis. However, the Minkowski
operation for tolerance propagation is not straightforward and
not suitable for computation by hand, and the calculation of
clearance for two planar surfaces or the pin-hole assembly has
been developed in 1D situation only. In other words, T-Map has not
yet been fully developed. A mass of efforts is still needed to study
the algorithms of sensitivities of contributors and their percent
contributions, as well as the statistical arithmetic. Moreover, the
T-Map for axes is four dimensional, which is difficult for illustration
in 3D situation. A better method for the visualization of higher
dimensional maps is needed.
The matrix model uses a displacement matrix to describe the
small displacements of a feature within the tolerance zone and the
clearance between two features. This model, completed by a set of
inequalities defining the bounds of the tolerance zones, reproduces
the measurable or non-invariant displacements associated with
various types of tolerance. It is very efficient for computation
and can be integrated into CAD systems easily. The statistical
method for the matrix model has also been developed which brings
the constraint relations between the translational displacements
(30)
and rotational displacements into computation by Monte Carlo
simulation. But the analysis objective and constraint objective are
(31) points. The optimization may be difficult when lots of inequalities
are obtained. In addition, it is unable to take the form tolerance into
account.
The unified JacobianTorsor model combines the advantages of
the torsor model which is suitable for tolerance representation and
the Jacobian matrix which is suitable for tolerance propagation.
To overcome the limitations and difficulties of point-based
approaches, the interval arithmetic is brought into the model to
allow tolerance analysis to be performed on a tolerance zone
basis rather than on a point basis. Tolerance analysis of this
model is in a kinematic way because of the concept of torsor.
It is more suitable for the representation and propagation of
clearance in 3D situation. The statistical method and tolerance
allocation for this model have also been studied. Nevertheless, the
constraint relations between the components of torsor need to be
tolerancing standards better. As with the matrix model, the unified
JacobianTorsor model cannot deal with the form tolerance too.
The DLM is based on the first order Taylors series expansion
of the assembly kinematic constraint equations with respect to
both the assembly variables and the manufactured variables in
an assembly. Three main sources of variations, i.e., dimensional
variations and geometric feature variations, as well as kinematic
variations, are distinguished and represented by the vector-loop-
based assembly models. Although all types of tolerance can be
modeled, and the results of statistical case and worst case can
be calculated efficiently with the sensitivity matrix, this method
correct results. More specifically, how to define the joint types and
the effects of geometric variations are dependent of users choices.
Meanwhile, the relationship between the geometric tolerance
and the dimensional tolerance needs continuous optimization to
coincide with the tolerancing standards better.
The difference and comparison between four models with six
items are listed in Table 2. The symbol represents unknown
or unable to calculate based on the published literature. and
 represent point-based and surface-based respectively. w and
represent the variation of target surface along the z axis and around
the x axis in the assembly depicted in Fig. 6 respectively.
The results of four models corresponding to the assembly
shown in Fig. 6 are listed in Table 3 where only the condition of
 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113
Table 2
Comparisons of four models.
Worst case Statistical case
w w
T-Map
Matrix
Unified JacobianTorsor
DLM
Table 3
Comparisons of the results of four models with a worst case.
Results
T-Map t1 + t2 + t11 ((2b + d2 )/d1 1)
Matrix t1 + t2 + 2b cos(t11 /d1 ) sin(t11 /d1 ) + 2l2 (cos(t11 /d1 ) sin(t11 /d1 ) 1)
Unified JacobianTorsor t1 + t2 + 2bt11 /d1
DLM t1 + t2 cos(t11 /d1 ) + 2(b cos(t11 /d1 ) l2 sin(t11 /d1 )) t11 /d1
b > (d1 d2 )/2 is considered. It should be noted that the result of
the matrix model is obtained by ignoring the constraint inequal-
ities because the symbolic parameters impede the optimization.
Residual gaps between 3D and 2D which is t1 + t2 are approxi-
mated and simplified. As can be seen, the residuals reflect the prop-
erty of 3D tolerance which takes the structure of assembly and the
geometric tolerance into consideration. This is a significant differ-
ence of tolerance analysis between 3D and traditional 1/2D meth-
ods. The result of T-Map depends on not only the shapes of target
surface but also the diameters of bars in the assembly. Because the
rotational variation aroused by the orientation tolerance t11 is very
small, the results of the matrix model and DLM can be approxi-
mated and simplified as ((t1 + t2 )/2 + bt11 /d1 ), which is the result
of the unified JacobianTorsor model.
The rotational displacement can be obtained by the T-
Map model and the unified JacobianTorsor model because these
two models are surface-based approaches. More specifically, the
accumulation maps illustrated in Fig. 7 express both translational
and rotational variations of functional surface. Similarly, Eq. (21)
of the unified JacobianTorsor model includes all of translational
and rotational variations of functional surface. However, the result
of the matrix model is the variation of point a on functional
surface. The pose of a point in space is described by position
rather than orientation. If another point of functional surface is
selected as the target objective, the result may be different. So does
the DLM. Compared with point-based approaches, the advantages
of surface-based models include: (1) the results reflect not only
position but also orientation of the analytic objective clearly in 3D
space; (2) the variations caused by selection of different points are
avoided.
4. Conclusion
The discussion and comparison have been given in the previous
section where our subjective judgment comes into play. More
details about these models, as well as the differences between
them are left to the readers. Generally, each of these tolerance
analysis models has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it is
up to the users to make the wise choice according to the analysis
objective and condition.
We would like to conclude this paper by presenting a perspec-
tive overview of the future research about 3D tolerance analysis
which is considered to be challenging but promising.
(1) Working conditions of the assembly, such as deformation be-
cause of force and temperature, and variation of joint due to
lubricating medium, need to be taken into account to improve
the reliability. The combustion engine is a typical example,
11
Sensitivity and Geometric tolerance Objective Application (CATs)
percent contribution
Form Orientation Position


Residual between 3D and 2D
2bt11 /d1 + (d2 /d1 1)t11
2bt11 /d1
2bt11 /d1
2bt11 /d1
which endures high temperature and high pressure and forced
liquid lubrication when it works. There is no doubt that the ge-
ometric feature and joint (clearance) are different to the static
condition. Pierre et al. [94] integrate the thermomechanical
strains into the SDT model and Zhang et al. [95] take the work-
ing condition into the unified JacobianTorsor model, which
can be seen as the preliminary work. The interaction between
the temperature and force and lubrication aggravates the dif-
ficulties of the analysis process.
(2) The constraints between translational and rotational vectors of
3D tolerance analysis models should be optimized further in
order to conform to the tolerancing standards better and en-
hance the accuracy, because they depend on each other in the
tolerance zone. According to the envelope principle, and
must shrink to zero when u arrives at its limited position for a
planar feature in the tolerance zone, as shown in Fig. 8. There-
fore, it should be wrong to take both the limited values of trans-
lation and rotation into computation simultaneously. The uni-
fied JacobianTorsor model and DLM cannot deal with these
constraints. Other 3D models which are not discussed in detail
in this paper also need to consider the constraints.
(3) The mathematic models of tolerance analysis, especially the
tolerance propagation for form tolerance and runout tolerance
which includes circular runout and total runout, still need a
large deal of research. The position and orientation of form tol-
erance are random in a tolerance zone (see Fig. 5(a)), which
means the form tolerance is not deterministic in tolerance
propagation. Meanwhile, the role of form tolerance heavily de-
pends on the users expertise and experience, which is illus-
trated in DLM. Approximately, a runout tolerance can be seen
as the combination of form tolerance and positional tolerance,
which is more complex than form tolerance.
(4) The existing 3D models focus on connections in series mainly.
The solution of tolerance representation and propagation for
parallel connections in the assembly will greatly reduce the
gap between 3D models and reality. F shown in Fig. 13 de-
pends on the variables , R, t and H, and the transfer route
which passes point a or point b or both. Most often, a se-
ries route passing one of two points is selected for tolerance
propagation. However, there are two routes that participate
in tolerance propagation actually. It is complicated for parallel
connections because there are interactions between them.
(5) The sensitivity and percent contribution of tolerance are very
useful for tolerance optimization, especially in a statistical
case. Some of 3D tolerance analysis methods, such as T-Map
and the matrix model, still lack suitable algorithm to calcu-
late them. Moreover, for a feature specified by more than one
12 H. Chen et al. / Computer-Aided Design 53 (2014) 113
tolerance, the algorithm for separating and calculating each of
them has not been presented by far.
Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper is supported in part by
grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(Grant Nos. 51121063, 51175340) and the National Science &
Technology Pillar Program during the 12th Five-year Plan Period
(Grant No. 2012BAF06B03). The authors are grateful for these
financial supports.
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