Summary

We learned that tolerances are an important factor in all forms of manufacturing and one that we must consider as we strive to manufacture our complex models effectively using 3D printing technology. While there isn’t a single correct approach to accommodating tolerances in designs, we learned that there are general strategies and common practices that can be employed to find success.

This chapter mentioned that the first step is to test and determine the tolerances that can be expected from the resources we have available to us. We learned that the type of printer, the type of material, and even the printing environment and CAM software settings can all change the achievable tolerances and accuracy. Creating test models and prototyping designs is an effective approach to determine these factors, as mentioned in this chapter.

We also learned that we can then incorporate these tolerances into our Tinkercad designs by accommodating them within our measurements. By...