How to calculate tolerances
As mentioned, tolerances can vary based on several factors, so we will be looking at general strategies for the most common instances as we consider how to calculate them for our designs.
Determining tolerance based on printer type
The first thing we need to do is determine the general tolerance of our 3D printers as this will have an impact on the tolerances to expect for our designs. In Chapter 10, we looked at three of the most common types of 3D printing techniques, FFF, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), and Stereolithography (SLA). We will be comparing the tolerances between these techniques, as shown in Figure 12.3:
Figure 12.3: Comparing tolerances between common 3D printing techniques
FFF is the most affordable extrusion-type 3D printing technique, but it is also on the lower end in terms of accuracy. In general, FFF printers have a tolerance of +/- 0.5%, or about 0.5 mm or 0.02 in. This means that a model 3D printed...
