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Carmine Castiglia
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ISOFits
ISO 286:1988 System of Limits and Fits
ISO 286 standardizes the way designers assign and designate tolerances to holes and shafts and, in particular, mating hole / shaft assemblies.  It consists of a number of formula-defined tables and the rules for applying them.  Below I offer a layman's explanation of the ISO system of "Limits and Fits":
  1. The system consists of three primary tables:
    1. The "IT Tolerance" table.  This table indicates the total tolerance to be applied to either a shaft or a hole diameter.  The range of sizes covered is divided into a number of groups spanning from 0 to 3150 mm.  For each group of sizes, as many as 20 different tolerance "grades" are specified, labeled IT01, IT0, IT1, IT2, and so on up to IT18.

    2. The "Shaft Fundamental Deviations" table.  This table indicates the deviation or offset from basic (nominal) size; the way in which the tolerance (see above) is applied to the shaft diameter.  Once again, the range of sizes is divided into groups spanning 0 to 3150 mm.  For each of these size groupings, there are 28 deviation "zones", labeled "a" to "zc".

      Given a shaft of "Basic Size" 13 mm, a deviation zone of "d" (-50 um), and a tolerance grade of IT8 (27 um), we end up with a shaft size/tolerance designated as "13 d8" which will measure 12,950 to 12,923 mm in diameter, the deviation of -50 um having been applied to the basic size and then the tolerance of 27 um applied negatively (because this is a shaft; it would be applied positively for a hole).  This shaft has a total tolerance of 27 um, an "upper deviation"  (abbreviated as "es") of -50 um and a "lower deviation" (ei) of -77 um.

    3. The "Hole Fundamental Deviations" table works in essentially the same way except the zones are specified as "A" through "ZC".  In fact, throughout the system, hole features are identified with upper-case characters while shaft features are identified with lower-case characters.  A hole of basic size "13 D8" will have a diameter of 13,050 to 13,077 mm, an "ES" or upper deviation of 77 um and an EI of 50 um.
  2. A "Fit" consists of a hole and shaft combination which has been designed taking into account goals such as the amount of clearance or interference ("press fit") required and the relative manufacturing techniques and costs associated with producing the hole and shaft.  Fits are designated as Clearance, Interference, or Transition:
    1. For a Clearance fit, the hole, even at its smallest possible diameter, is always larger than the shaft even when at its maximum diameter.

    2. An Interference fit is characterized by a hole which is always smaller than it's mating shaft.

    3. A Transition fit will, depending on the actual diameters of the hole and shaft, be either a clearance or an interference fit.  At one range of extremes (hole near maximum size and shaft near minimum), a clearance fit exists.  At the other extreme (hole near minimum, shaft near maximum), an interference fit occurs.
  3. A "Fit" may be (but does not need to be) "Hole basis" or "Shaft basis".  This would indicate that one side of the hole (or shaft) is dimensioned at its nominal or basic size.  In other words, the fundamental deviation is zero.  The "h" and "H" deviation zones are the basis zones.

  4. Given all of the above, a typical hole/shaft "fit" might be designated as "22 H11/g9".  This fit would be a "Clearance, Hole-basis" fit and look like the following:

Feature Specification
   
Hole Designation: 22 H11
Total tolerance: 130 um
ES (upper deviation): 130 um
EI (lower deviation): 0 um
Limits of size (LMC / MMC): 22,130 / 22,000 mm
   
Shaft Designation: 22 g9
Total Tolerance: 52 um
es (upper deviation): -7 um
ei (lower deviation): -59 um
Limits of size (LMC / MMC): 21,993 / 21,941 mm

Do some math and we see that this fit has a maximum clearance ("Smax") of 189 um and a minimum clearance (Smin) of 7 um.
 

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