I recently finished a decent-sized project where I had to define several ball bearing fits for

a prototype — all with different fitting arrangements. I have done this so many times, I
normally don’t think much about it. But this time I was training a young engineer and kind
of had a new-found respect for the number of steps that go into getting that “perfect fit”
the first time. Now, don’t get me wrong; when the new parts arrive for the first prototype
build, I’m pacing outside the lab doors, wringing my hands — just like everyone else. It
usually turns out ok. In this series, we will start by understanding the basic fit charts, then
move into understanding the application, then on to calculating residual clearance after
mounting, and finally, determine shaft and housing dimensions.

Let’s begin with the shaft and housing fit chart that you can find in most bearing catalogs.
An image search of “shaft and housing fit charts” will also pull up a few dozen versions
for you as well. I like this one from Koyo because it shows the tolerance lines (single plane
mean () diameter deviation) and clearly defines the clearance, transition and interference
fit zones. The bottom half of the chart is the shaft fit section and the top half is the housing
fits. Notice the shaft fit letters are in lower case in contrast to the upper case letters in the
housing section. The vertical location of the blocks is meant to represent the position of
the bearing relative to the shaft. Notice on the left, the f6 fit is a very loose fit, so the block
is dropped away from the lowest tolerance line. This indicates that an f6 shaft would never
interfere with the bearing. In contrast, the p6 fit on the other end would always be in
interference with the shaft. The vertical size of the block is meant to represent the size of
the tolerance range which is proportional to the standard international tolerance grade
(IT). Notice the 5 and 6 blocks are very short, while the 7 blocks are long. The 5 and 6
blocks are very tight precision, while the 7 blocks have a larger tolerance. The same rules
apply to the housing side in that things are just represented a little differently because a
clearance housing is larger than the bearing outer diameter, while a clearance shaft is
smaller than the bearing inner diameter. To summarize this chart, we start with the fit
letter designation (lower is looser), followed by the IT grade (larger number = larger
tolerance).
Now let’s have a look at an actual IT chart — usually tucked away in the back of most
bearing catalogs and readily available online. This is a great, underutilized resource and
can be used for anything — not just bearings. It is very handy to know what tolerances
you can hold for various parts of your system, particularly for shaft and housing fits. For
instance, a typical, turned housing bore will usually fall around an IT7 or IT8, while the
more precise ground shaft might be an IT6 or IT7. Most bearing catalogs recommend
tighter tolerances than we are going to hit in reality.
 Table 2 IT tolerances

Now let’s review a housing fit chart. If you haven’t been through this exercise before,
these charts do not mean much on their own. Right now, we are just learning how to
read them. As we saw on Chart 1, the lower letters are looser. All of the tolerances
listed on this chart are in microns µm. In the E column you will notice the tolerances are
all loose fits as indicated by the positive bilateral tolerances (+) and become tighter fits
and you move along the chart to the right.

What you are going to do here is take your mean housing dimension and add those
dimensions to it. For a 100 mm housing with an E6 tolerance, your housing is going to
be 100.072 – 100.094. If your housing department tells you to take a hike, they are
holding 50 µm, just jump back to your IT chart, look across the 100 mm line until you
see something close to 50 µm. So from Table 3 you need a column that ends in 8. Of
course these don’t have to be an exact match; we are eventually going to deviate. Just
to get started, it looks like an H8 might be a good match.
 Table 3 Housing bore diameter deviation

Now onto our shaft table. The same rules apply here; just keep in mind you are working
on a different diameter (an easy mistake to make). Ok — lets say we have a 60 mm
shaft and your shaft people say they can hold a 20 µm on a shaft without too much
trouble. Back to our IT chart. This time in the 60mm line we look for 20 µm and find that
value pretty close to an IT6 tolerance. Let’s say we need light interference fit this time.
We need our column to end in 6, so it looks like k6 might be a good starting point. Again
applying the tolerances to our mean shaft diameter of 60 mm, we have a shaft
dimension of 60.002 – 60.021. In reality, am I going to call that 60-60.02? Yes, but we
are just learning for now.

Table 4 Shaft diameter deviation

It was previously stated that an essential principle is that the actual profiles
of both the nut and bolt threads must never cross or transgress the
theoretical profile. Practically, to make a thread, tolerances must be applied
to ensure that this essential principal always applies. Tolerance of screw
threads is complicated by the complex geometric nature of the screw thread
form. Clearances must be applied to the basic profile of the threads in order
that a bolt thread can be screwed into a nut thread. For the thread to be
made practically there must be tolerances applied to the main thread
elements.

Usually nut threads have a tolerance applied to the basic profile so that it is
theoretically possible for the nut thread profile to be equal to the theoretical
profile. Bolt threads usually have a gap between the basic and actual thread
profiles. This gap is called the allowance with inch-based threads and the
fundamental deviation with metric threads. The tolerance is subsequently
applied to the thread. Since for coated threads the tolerances apply to
threads before coating (unless otherwise stated), the gap is taken up by the
coating thickness. After coating, the actual thread profile must not
transgress the basic profile of the thread.

A full designation for a metric thread includes information not only on the
thread diameter and pitch but also a designation for the thread tolerance
class. For example a thread designated as M12 x 1 - 5g6g indicates that the
thread has a nominal diameter of 12mm and a pitch of 1mm. The 5g
indicates the tolerance class for the pitch diameter and 6g is the tolerance
class for the major diameter.

A fit between threaded parts is indicated by the nut thread tolerance

designation followed by the bolt thread tolerance designation separated by a
slash. For example: M12 x 1 - 6H/5g6g indicates a tolerance class of 6H for
the nut (female) thread and a 5g tolerance class for the pitch diameter with
a 6g tolerance class for the major diameter.

A tolerance class is made up of two parts, a tolerance grade and a tolerance

position.
A number of tolerance grades have been established for the pitch and crest
diameters (the crest diameter is the minor diameter in the case of a nut
thread and the major diameter in the case of a bolt thread. Tolerance grades
are represented by numbers, the lower the number the smaller the
tolerance. Grade 6 is used for a medium tolerance quality and a normal
length of thread engagement. Grades lower than 6 are intended for fine
tolerance quality and/or short lengths of thread engagement. Grades higher
than 6 are intended for coarse tolerance quality and/or long lengths of
thread engagement.

There are:
5 tolerance grades (grades 4 to 8) available for the minor diameter of the
nut thread.
3 tolerance grades (grades 4,6 and 8) for the major diameter of the bolt
thread.
5 tolerance grades (grades 4 to 8) for the pitch diameter tolerance of the nut
thread.
7 tolerance grades (grades 3 to 9) for the pitch diameter tolerance of the
bolt thread.
 Tolerance positions are indicated by letters, upper case letters for nut
threads and lower case letters for bolt threads. The tolerance position is the
distance of the tolerance from the basic size of the thread profile.

For nut threads there are two tolerance positions, H with a zero fundamental
deviation (distance of the tolerance position from the basic size) and G with
a positive fundamental deviation.

For bolt threads there are four tolerance positions, h has a zero fundamental
deviation and e, f, and g negative fundamental deviations. (A positive
fundamental deviation indicates that the size for the thread element will be
larger than the basic size. A negative fundamental deviation indicates that
the size for the thread element will be smaller than the basic size.

One practical problem that is often encountered is what thread tolerance to

apply to a tapped hole. The standard tolerance classes of 6g for the bolt
thread and 6H for the nut thread are typically included on a drawing as
default. A problem that sometimes occurs is that on long thread
engagements (that are frequently used for tapped holes in soft materials)
there can be an interference between the nut thread and the screw thread
as the screw is rotated into the tapped hole. There can be a slight mis-match
in the thread pitch between the internal thread and the external thread
necessitating a wrench to rotate the fastener to the bottom of the thread i.e.
it can't be freely rotated. The standard tolerance classes apply strictly only
when a relatively short length of engagement is used (such as with a nut
which is typically 0.8d where d is the thread size). The pitch diameter
tolerance must be able to accomodate pitch and flank angle errors which can
sometimes only be done by changing the tolerance position say from a H to
a G for the internal thread (since standard screws - 6g - are wished to be
used). Failure to change the tolerance position can result in thread seizure
and damage especially if high speed tools are being used for the tightening
process.

An example of such a seizure problem is illustrated below: