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Home Xometry Community Industrial Design 3D Printing Tolerances for Assembly

3D Printing Tolerances for Assembly

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Hello, I have a fairly general question, but need some insights/experience:

How can I determine the optimal tolerances for 3D printed parts to ensure they fit perfectly in a three-piece case assembly? I’m considering using FDM or SLS technologies for the case and need to account for possible post-processing (e.g. painting) and material shrinkage. The case will be used for an electronic device, so precision and durability are crucial. This is a custom device that will not go into mass production, so injection molding is not efficient for a production of max. 50-70 pieces per year.

Specific guidelines or rules of thumb for these technologies would be very helpful, especially to achieve a tight fit and structural integrity.

Thanks!

Stefan

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Solved by Nikolaus Mroncz

Hello Mr. Meyer,

for precise parts, I would definitely prefer SLS. Here you can safely process parts. Even the basic accuracy is already very good. Xometry also offers free project consultation for corporate customers. You could then discuss your specific project, start test parts, try these out and change them if necessary, before you go into a higher quantity. The customer does not need to take shrinkage into account. The manufacturing process is designed to achieve nominal masses, there are slight deviations here, which can then be corrected in another run.

Best regards

Niko

    • S
      Hello, I have a fairly general question, but need some insights/experience:

      How can I determine the optimal tolerances for 3D printed parts to ensure they fit perfectly in a three-piece case assembly? I’m considering using FDM or SLS technologies for the case and need to account for possible post-processing (e.g. painting) and material shrinkage. The case will be used for an electronic device, so precision and durability are crucial. This is a custom device that will not go into mass production, so injection molding is not efficient for a production of max. 50-70 pieces per year.

      Specific guidelines or rules of thumb for these technologies would be very helpful, especially to achieve a tight fit and structural integrity.

      Thanks!

      Stefan

      Automatically translated from: Deutsch

      See original
      0
      Reply
    • Xometry Engineer

      Hello Mr. Meyer,

      for precise parts, I would definitely prefer SLS. Here you can safely process parts. Even the basic accuracy is already very good. Xometry also offers free project consultation for corporate customers. You could then discuss your specific project, start test parts, try these out and change them if necessary, before you go into a higher quantity. The customer does not need to take shrinkage into account. The manufacturing process is designed to achieve nominal masses, there are slight deviations here, which can then be corrected in another run.

      Best regards

      Niko

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      Reply
      Link copied
      • S
        Nikolaus Mroncz

        Hello Mr. Mroncz,

        I will try to proceed with SLS.

        Thank you very much!

        0
        Reply
        Link copied
3D Printing Tolerances for Assembly
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