Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing

Presented to: Dr. Ahmed Mahrous

Report By: Mahmoud Hanafy Mahmoud
What Is GD&T?
GD&T is the overarching language used in design, manufacturing and quality inspection. GD&T
combines a set of symbols, rules and principles to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding
how a feature or part is defined. When a design engineer hands off a drawing to a machinist, they need a
common technical language for communicating exactly what must be done. GD&T is a system to regulate
and determine that communication.

Why Is GD&T Important?

GD&T is very important to the engineering world. It is critical for anyone seeking employment in the
mechanical engineering field to understand it. Whether you are an automotive engineer or a CNC
machinist, knowing the basics of GD&T is paramount to having success in your industry.
Designers, engineers, machinists, inventors and CNC operators all need a grasp of GD&T knowledge to
communicate clearly with each other.

GD&T Symbols:
Geometric Characteristics Symbol Description
Straightness Symbol that is used to ensure that a part is uniform across a surface or
feature.
Flatness symbol that references how flat a surface is

Circularity symbol that describes how close an object should be to a true circle

Cylindricity symbol is used to describe how close an object conforms to a true cylinder.

Profile of a line Symbol that specifies how much that cross-section could vary from a true
curved radius.
Profile of a surface Symbol that describes a 3-Dimensional tolerance zone around a surface

symbol that requires the referenced surface or line to be perpendicular or 90°

Perpendicularity from a datum surface or line.

Angularity symbol that describes the specific orientation of one feature to another at a
referenced angle.
symbol that describes a parallel orientation of one referenced feature to a
Parallelism datum surface or line

Symmetry Symmetry is a 3-Dimensional tolerance that is used to ensure that two

features on a part are uniform across a datum plane.
True Position Tolerance that specifies how far a feature location can vary from its True
Position
Concentricity a tolerance that controls the central axis of the referenced feature, to a datum
axis.
Circular run-out Runout is the total variation that the reference surface can have, when the
part is rotated around the datum’s true axis.
Total run-out Total runout controls both the amount of variation in the surface as the part
is rotated, but the amount of variation in the axial dimension.
Example:

Datum

Symbol Tolerance Value