GPS Basic

View Projection
Options
ISO GPS

Linear Size
GEOMETRICAL PRODUCT

Dimensions
Non-Size
SPECIFICATIONS

Datum System
Ultimate Pocket Guide
A Companion to the ISO 1101:2012
and Related Geometrical Tolerancing
Geometrical

Standards
Tolerances
Tolerances
General
Workpieces
Non-Rigid
Workpiece
Edges
Appendices

Alex Krulikowski
 ISO GPS
(Geometrical Product Specifications)

Ultimate Pocket Guide

A companion to
ISO 1101:2012 and related
Geometrical Tolerancing Standards

By Alex Krulikowski

www.etinews.com
1-800-886-0909
1-734-744-5940

Copyright ©2015 Effective Training Inc.

an SAE INTERNATIONAL company
 CONTENTS

Introduction............................................................... iv
Acronyms, abbreviations, and letter symbols............v
Conventions used in this book.................................. vi
Acknowledgements................................................. viii
1 - GPS Basics ...................................................................................1
2 - View Projection Options ................................................................5
3 - Linear Size ....................................................................................9
4 - Non-Size Dimensions ..................................................................27
5 - Datum Systems ...........................................................................39
6 - Geometrical Tolerances ...............................................................69
7 - General Tolerances ...................................................................115
8 - Non-Rigid Workpieces ...............................................................121
9 - Workpiece Edges ......................................................................125
10 - Appendices:
A - ASME / ISO Comparison..................................................133
B - ISO Geometrical Tolerancing Chart..................................139
C - Ambiguous Non-Size Dimensions....................................141
Front cover:
Symbol Index................................................................inside fold
Tab Index....................................................................outside fold

Back cover:
List of ISO Standards Referred to in This Guide..........inside fold
About the Author.........................................................outside fold

Credit is gratefully given and acknowledgement made for the use of

symbols, definitions, and concepts from ISO GPS standards. Definitions
used are reproduced or paraphrased from the list of ISO standards listed
on the back cover inside fold.

This pocket guide covers topics from many ISO standards; however, it is
not a replacement for the standards. In numerous places throughout this
guide, the relevant ISO standards are listed. The reader should consult
the actual ISO standards for definitive drawing interpretation.

ISO, International Organization for Standardization website:

http:www.iso.org
 INTRODUCTION

About This Pocket Guide

All of the information in this pocket guide is based on ISO GPS
standards published as of January 1, 2015. A list of these ISO
standards and their current release dates are shown in a chart on
the inside of the back cover. Where a standard is referenced in this
guide, only the standard number is shown; the date is the current
release date shown in the chart.
The purpose of this pocket guide is to simplify the interpretation
of engineering drawings. This book will guide you on which ISO
standards apply to a drawing and what the notations on the drawing
mean. It allows you to easily look up information on a topic without
having to navigate through numerous ISO standards.
Each topic covered is followed by a reference to the appropriate
ISO GPS standard (and sometimes clause) in italics so you can find
additional information.

The ISO GPS (Geometrical Product Specifications) Ultimate Pocket

Guide is not intended for standalone use. You should consult the
ISO standards referenced for a complete and authoritative explana-
tion of the concepts shown.
The pocket guide contains the most common rules, symbols, and
concepts in the ISO GPS System. The information in the pocket
guide is meant to be a quick reference for drawing interpretation of
the most common dimensioning and tolerancing applications. Refer
to the standards referenced for less common GPS tools.
This guide also includes several features to help the reader quickly
find information:
• The pages are thumb indexed.
• There is a symbol index on the inside front cover of the book.
• Author’s comments are intended to help engineers apply or
interpret tolerancing in a cost-effective manner. Each com-
ment appears in a highlighted box with a caution symbol.

• Author’s comments are the author’s tips, opin-

ions, and insights, and are not part of the ISO
GPS standards.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material
in the pocket guide. However, I know from experience that a few
errors may have slipped through the final stages of production. I
apologize in advance, for any inconvenience this may cause. If you
find an error, please send me an email at alexk@etinews.com, and I
will correct it in the next printing for the benefit of all readers.

iv
 ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND
LETTER SYMBOLS

ACS Any cross section 64

ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers 21
CT Common tolerance 18
CZ Common zone 56
GD&T Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing 133
GPS Geometrical product specifications 1
ISO International Organization for Standardization 1
IT International tolerance grade 68
LD Minor diameter 68
LE Line element 71
LMC Least material condition 39
LMR Least material requirement 54
LMS Least material size 55
LMVC Least material virtual condition 55
MD Major diameter 68
MMC Maximum material condition 39
MMR Maximum material requirement 54
MMS Maximum material size 54
MMVC Maximum material virtual condition 54
NC Not convex 71
RPR Reciprocity requirement 69
TED Theoretically exact dimension 25

v
 CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS BOOK

Practical Interpretations
The drawing interpretations in this guide are “practical interpreta-
tions” that show the requirement (tolerance zone shape, size, and
location) and the real surface of the part within the tolerance zone.

Terms and Definitions

The definitions for the terms in this guide are paraphrased from ISO
standard definitions. For the exact definition of a term, please see
the appropriate ISO standard.

Line Conventions
The chart below lists the line conventions used in this book.

vi
View Projections
Unless otherwise specified, the view projection method in the fig-
ures is first angle projection.

Separators for Non-Whole Number Dimensions

In this pocket guide, a decimal point is used as a separator for non-
whole number dimensions. In industry, a comma can also be used
as a separator.

Projection Lines
In accordance with ISO 129:1988, projection lines are shown on
drawings with no visible gap between the part outline and the pro-
jection line.

vii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I want to thank a very special person who has brought im-
mense happiness into my life. Pat is my best friend and wife. Pat’s
support, help, and encouragement are unwavering. Our love grows
deeper every day.
I would also like to recognize the employees at Effective Training.
As always, they put forth a superb effort in turning my notes and
rough sketches into a book that is going to help many engineers
around the world. Matthew Pride created the graphics and cover de-
sign, and Katherine Palmer formatted the guide and edited the text.
Last, but not least, I would like to give credit to the book’s proofread-
ers. They made numerous improvements to the technical contents
and readability of the book.
Todd Barnett Dan Meyers
Sadiq Ali Basha G Mary E. O’Donnell
Jim Beary Gili Omri
Elizabeth Burkett Curtis A. Pawloski
William Caldwell Jim Pearson
Roy Cross Beata Schoenberg
Joe Dalton Ganesan Somasundaram
Don Holder Glen Voglesong
Evan Janeshewski Bart Vos
Doug Keller
 Datum Systems 39
DATUM SYSTEMS
Introduction
In the ISO GPS standards system, datums and datum systems are
used on technical drawings. The ISO standards that cover datums
and datum systems are 5459 for datum indications and 2692 for
MMC & LMC datum indications.
To obtain repeatable measurements (for orientation or location) of
workpiece features, the workpiece must be positioned in a specific
relationship to a coordinate system. The use of a datum system al-
lows the positioning of a workpiece to a coordinate system in a spe-
cific relationship.
Since workpiece features are imperfect, the relating of the work-
piece to a coordinate system must include the sequence in which
the workpiece features are to be related to the planes (or other ele-
ments) of a datum systems. This sequence is indicated in the datum
references of tolerance frames.
This section shows the drawing indications for datum applications
and the workpiece with the resulting datums indicated. It does not
include the processes or methods of extraction, filtering, or asso-
ciation.

Datum Systems
Degrees of Freedom
A workpiece has six degrees of freedom in space: three translation-
al and three rotational. The three translational degrees of freedom
are X, Y, and Z.

Datum System
A datum system is a set of two or more datums (situation features -
see page 42) established in a specific order so that they orient and
locate tolerance zones and virtual condition boundaries relative to
a coordinate system. See Figure 5.1 for the symbols used in the
datum system.

Call 1.800.886.0909 for geometrical tolerancing assistance

 40 ISO GPS Ultimate Pocket Guide

Symbols Used in the Datum System

Datum Systems

Figure 5.1 Symbols and modifiers used in the datum system

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 Datum Systems 41
Datum Feature Indicator Symbol
The datum feature indicator symbol is used to indicate a datum fea-
ture on a drawing. See Figure 5.2

Figure 5.2 Datum feature indicator

Datum Systems
Referencing Datum Features in a Tolerance Frame
When tolerance frames reference datum features, they indicate the
sequence for relating the workpiece features to the datums. The tol-
erance frame is read from left to right. See Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3 Indications of datum features in a tolerance frame

Call 1.800.886.0909 for geometrical tolerancing assistance

 66 ISO GPS Ultimate Pocket Guide

Examples of Planes and Cylinders as Datum

Features
When a plane that is perpendicular to a cylinder and the cylinder
are both used as datum features, they can be referenced as a da-
tum system or as a common datum. When referenced as a datum
system, the primary datum reference determines the orientation of
the workpiece to the datum reference frame. When referenced as a
common datum, the workpiece is balanced between the associated
features. See Figure 5.30.
Datum Systems

Figure 5.30 Examples of a plane and a perpendicular cylinder

as datum features
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 Datum Systems 67
Locked or Released Degrees of Freedom in
a Datum System
When a single datum or common datum is established, it constrains
one or more degrees of freedom. The resulting datum is a plane,
point, line, or combination thereof. The datum is a reference for lo-
cating or orienting a tolerance zone.
The default condition is that a single datum or common datum locks
all possible degrees of freedom that it can. If it is not required for
a datum feature to lock all possible degrees of freedom of a da-
tum feature reference; modifying symbols (PL, SL, PT, ><) may be
added to indicate which degrees of freedom are locked by the datum
feature.
When a datum is established from a complex surface, the datum
consists of a plane, a line, and a point.
Several examples of indicating modifiers for locking or releasing
degrees of freedom are shown in Figure 5.31.

Locking and releasing degrees of freedom are only intro-

duced here. See ISO 5459 for additional rules.

Datum Systems

Figure 5.31 Examples of locked or released degrees of freedom

Call 1.800.886.0909 for geometrical tolerancing assistance

 68 ISO GPS Ultimate Pocket Guide

Threads, Splines and Gears as Datum Features

Where a single datum feature is a screw thread, spline, or gear, and
no modifier indicates otherwise, the default for establishing the da-
tum is the pitch diameter. Where it is desired to use the major diam-
eter [MD] or minor diameter [LD] to establish the datum, a modifying
symbol must be indicated near the datum indicator. See Figure 5.32.

Figure 5.32 Indicating major or minor diameter of a datum

feature
Datum Systems

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ISO GEOMETRICAL PRODUCT
SPECIFICATION (GPS)
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
ISO GPS Quick Reference Software
Search ISO GPS standards quickly and easily with the ISO GPS
Quick Reference Software package. Interactive tools and
user-friendly navigation allow for effortless access of more than
250 geometrical tolerancing topics, including full-color detailed
graphics, and ISO Standard references.

ISO Geometrical Tolerancing Reference Guide

The ISO Geometrical Tolerancing Reference Guide is an
in-depth resource for interpreting standard-compliant technical
drawings that use ISO 1101:2004 and its companion standards.
Quickly and easily look up information on a topic without
having to navigate through numerous ISO standards.

ISO Geometrical Tolerancing Workshop

This ETI-exclusive course teaches the proper techniques of
identifying requirements for standard-compliant drawings and
recognition of geometrical tolerances based on ISO standards.
The course combines information from dozens of ISO standards
into a logical understandable topic. Offered in live training
format.

ASME to ISO Standards Comparison Workshop

This ETI-exclusive course provides learners with a thorough
standards comparison of symbols, feature control frames,
tolerances, form controls, datums, and more. The workshop
explains the major differences between the ASME and ISO
standards in a concise, easily understood manner. Offered in
live training format.

ETI is an international supplier of GD&T and geometrical

tolerancing training software, books, resources, and teaching
materials. To find out more about ETI products and services, or
to schedule an onsite workshop, call 1-800-886-0909, or visit
www.etinews.com.

PD027104