As a precision engineering and stamping professional, Thomas Engineering Company specializes in working with extremely close tolerances to develop parts with high functioning accuracies down to exact specifications. In order to produce high-quality parts at such a tight level of precision, it’s necessary to spend significant time planning and testing each part before finalizing the design. TEC offers advanced rapid prototyping in Minneapolis, MN, to work with our customers during the prototyping process, forming parts at very close tolerances.

Because we specialize in precision metal stamping, we frequently work with material thicknesses of .001″ to .125” and are forced to handle tight tolerances, often running as close as ±.0002. Understanding these tolerances is critical to fully visualize the level of precision at which our engineers operate.

Mechanical Tolerances:

In mechanical engineering, tolerances are a limit in space. This limit is connected to the pre-designed clearance between two parts or two sections of a part. Mechanical tolerances serve as set boundaries during the manufacturing of a part. Because complete exactness is impossible if a part is to function in the real world, there has to be some measurement of fluctuation taken into account.

The greater the tolerance, or allowance in variation of a part, the lower the precision at which a part will function. Working with extremely tight tolerances allows TEC engineers to produce highly precise parts for the automotive, electronics, and medical industries.

Working with such tight tolerances for the production of a final part is helped along the way with our rapid prototyping services. Using computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems, our engineers can quickly design and produce a prototype part using tolerances that will provide the most accurately-functioning part possible.

For more information about our capabilities with close tolerances and working with our team to develop your unique part using our services for rapid prototyping in Minneapolis, MN, contact Thomas Engineering Company at (763) 533-1501 today.