Component tolerance design for minimum quality loss and manufacturing cost

Optimal tolerance designs imply the tolerance assignments by which products are produced with a minimum total cost. In this paper, both the manufacturing cost and the quality loss of assemblies are considered as part of total cost in determining their component tolerances. A systematic design procedure is given for products with either symmetric or asymmetric loss function. Under the new arrangement, the problem of tolerance assignment can be solved by a single optimization process. The software necessary to complete the tolerance design can be installed on a standard personal computer. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.