Computer-aided tolerance charting

We present a simplified approach of deriving the working dimensions between surfaces of a workpiece during tolerance charting. Unlike other methods, it does not require any representation of the machining sequence. The dimensional chains are first formulated into a matrix and it is then solved by applying the Gauss elimination technique. We also describe an elegant method of deriving the balanced tolerances of a workpiece during tolerance charting. The process links between surfaces are derived by using a special tracing technique. With the process links obtained, the balanced tolerances are solved by using a separate mathematical model. An example is used to illustrate the method.