Use this quick reference to find definitions of common GD&T symbols and terms. Our full color Pocket Guide is a great resources for your desk, orkbench or !ocket. "e sure to check out our GD&T Ti!s# Straightness $ a condition here an element of a surface or an a%is is a straight line.
Flatness $ is the condition of a surface ha&ing all elements in one !lane.
Roundness $ describes the condition on a surface of re&olution 'cylinder, cone, s!here( here all !oints of the surface intersected by any !lane.
Cylindricity $ describes a condition of a surface of re&olution in hich all !oints of a surface are equidistant from a common a%is.
Profile of a Line $ is the condition !ermitting a uniform amount of !rofile &ariation, ether unilaterally or bilaterally, along a line element of a feature.
Profile of a Surface $ is the condition !ermitting a uniform amount of !rofile &ariation, ether unilaterally or bilaterally, on a surface.
All Around Symbol $ indicating that a tolerance a!!lies to surfaces all around the !art.
Angularity $ is the condition of a surface, a%is, or center!lane, hich is at a s!ecified angle from a datum !lane or a%is.
Perpendicularity $ is the condition of a surface, a%is, or line, hich is )* deg. +rom a datum !lane or a datum a%is.
Parallelism $ is the condition of a surface, line, or a%is, hich is equidistant at all !oints from a datum !lane or a%is.
Position Tolerance $ defines a ,one ithin hich the a%is or center !lane of a feature is !ermitted to &ary from true 'theoretically e%act( !osition.
Concentricity $ describes a condition in hich to or more features , in any combination, ha&e a common a%is.
Symmetry $ is a condition in hich a feature 'or features( is symmetrically dis!osed about the center !lane of a datum feature.
Runout $ is the com!osite de&iation from the desired form of a !art surface of re&olution through on full rotation '-.* deg( of the !art on a datum a%is.
Total Runout $ is the simultaneous com!osite control of all elements of a surface at all circular and !rofile measuring !ositions as the !art is rotated through -.*.
Maximum Material Condition (MMC $ is that condition of a !art feature herein it contains the ma%imum amount of material ithin the stated limits of si,e. That is/ minimum hole si,e and ma%imum shaft si,e.
Least Material Condition (LMC $ im!lies that condition of a !art feature of si,e herein it contains the least 'minimum( amount of material, e%am!les, largest hole si,e and smallest shaft si,e. 0t is o!!osite to ma%imum material condition.
Regardless !f Feature Si"e (RFS $ the condition here the tolerance of form, runout or location must be met irres!ecti&e of here the feature lies ithin its si,e tolerance.
Pro#ected Tolerance $one $ a!!lies to a hole in hich a !in, stud, scre, etc., is to be inserted. 0t controls the !er!endicularity of the hole to the e%tent of the !ro1ection from the hole and as it relates to the mating !art clearance. The !ro1ected tolerance ,one e%tends abo&e the surface of the !art to the functional length of the !in, stud, and scre relati&e to its assembly ith the mating !art.
Tangent Plane $ indicating a tangent !lane is shon. The symbol is !laced in the feature control frame folloing the stated tolerance.
Free State %ariations $ is a term used to describe distortion of a !art after remo&al of forces a!!lied during manufacture.
&iameter $ indicates a circular feature hen used on the field of a draing or indicates that the tolerance is diametrical hen used in a feature control frame.
'asic &imension $ used to describe the e%act si,e, !rofile, orientation or location of a feature. 2 basic dimension is alays associated ith a feature control frame or datum target. 'Theoretically e%act dimension in 03O(
Reference &imension $ a dimension usually ithout tolerance, used for information !ur!oses only. 0t does not go&ern !roduction or ins!ection o!erations. '2u%iliary dimension in 03O(
&atum Feature $ is the actual com!onent feature used to establish a datum.
&imension !rigin ( 3ignifies that the dimension originates from the !lane established by the shorter surface and dimensional limits a!!ly to the other surface.
Feature Control Frame $ is a rectangular bo% containing the geometric characteristics symbol, and the form, runout or location tolerance. 0f necessary, datum references and modifiers a!!licable to the feature or the datums are also contained in the bo%.
Conical Taper ( is used to indicate ta!er for conical ta!ers. This symbol is alays shon ith the &ertical leg to the left.
Slope ( is used to indicate slo!e for flat ta!ers. This symbol is alays shon ith the &ertical leg to the left.
Counterbore)Spotface ( is used to indicate a counterbore or a s!otface. The symbol !recedes the dimension of the counterbore or s!otface, ith no s!ace
Countersin* ( is used to indicate a countersink. The symbol !recedes the dimensions of the countersink ith no s!ace.
&epth)&eep ( is used to indicate that a dimension a!!lies to the de!th of a feature. This symbol !recedes the de!th &alue ith no s!ace in beteen.
S+uare ( is used to indicate that a single dimension a!!lies to a square sha!e. The symbol !recedes the dimension ith no s!ace beteen.
,umber of Places ( the 4 is used along ith a &alue to indicate the number of times a dimension or feature is re!eated on the draing.
Arc Length ( indicating that a dimension is an arc length measured on a cur&ed outline. The symbol is !laced abo&e the dimension.
Radius ( creates a ,one defined by to arcs 'the minimum and ma%imum radii(. The !art surface must lie ithin this ,one.
Spherical Radius ( !recedes the &alue of a dimension or tolerance.
Spherical &iameter ( shall !recede the tolerance &alue here the s!ecified tolerance &alue re!resents s!herical ,one. 2lso, a !ositional tolerance may be used to control the location of a s!herical feature relati&e to other features of a !art. The symbol for s!herical diameter !recedes the si,e dimension of the feature and the !ositional tolerance &alue, to indicate a s!herical tolerance ,one. Controlled Radius ( creates a tolerance ,one defined by to arcs 'the minimum and ma%imum radii( that are tangent to the ad1acent surfaces. 5here a controlled radius is s!ecified, the !art contour ithin the crescent$sha!ed tolerance ,one must be a fair cur&e ithout flats or re&ersals. 2dditionally, radii taken at all !oints on the !art contour shall neither be smaller than the s!ecified minimum limit nor larger than the ma%imum limit.
'et-een ( to indicate that a !rofile tolerance a!!lies to se&eral contiguous features, letters may designate here the !rofile tolerance begins and ends. These letters are referenced using the beteen symbol 'since 6))7( or the ord beteen on draings made to earlier &ersions of the 3tandard.
Statistical Tolerance ( is the assigning of tolerances to related com!onents of an assembly on the basis of sound statistics 'such as the assembly tolerance is equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the indi&idual tolerances(. "y a!!lying statistical tolerancing, tolerances of indi&idual com!onents may be increased or clearances beteen mating !arts may be reduced. The increased tolerance or im!ro&ed fit may reduce manufacturing cost or im!ro&e the !roduct8s !erformance, but shall only be em!loyed here the a!!ro!riate statistical !rocess control ill be used. Therefore, consideration should be gi&en to s!ecifying the required 9! and :or 9!k or other !rocess !erformance indices. &atum Target $ is a s!ecified !oint, line, or area on a !art
Target Point ( indicates here the datum target !oint is dimensionally located on the direct &ie of the surface.
(Centre de Physique Des Houches 3) Yves Meyer (Auth.), Françoise Axel, Denis Gratias (Eds.) - Beyond Quasicrystals - Les Houches, March 7-18, 1994-Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (1995) PDF