A robust design approach to determination of tolerances of mechanical products

Tolerance specifications of design parameters influence both functional performance and manufacturing cost of products. Product functional performance is usually affected by uncertainties of design parameters, robust design can make product functional performance insensitive to those uncertainties. Based on the robust design method and the cost-tolerance models, a mathematical model has been developed for describing the relationships among functional performance, manufacturing costs, design parameters and tolerances. A new robust optimization method has also been developed to determine tolerances and design parameters simultaneously. This new approach has been used for determining design parameters and tolerances of a coating head of printing machinery. (C) 2010 CIRP.