Review of dimensioning and tolerancing: representation and processing

Abstract

The paper surveys the current state of knowledge of techniques for representing, manipulating and analysing dimensioning and tolerancing data in computer-aided design and manufacturing. The use of solid models and variational geometry, and its implications for the successful integration of CAD and CAM, are discussed. The topics explored so far can be grouped into four categories: (a) the representation of dimensioning and tolerancing (D & T), (b) the synthesis and analysis of D & T, (c) tolerance control, and (d) the implications of D & T in CAM. The paper describes in detail the recent work in each group, and concludes with speculation on a general framework for future research.