The Behind Story

Challenge: Friction Fit Assembly

Solution: Tolerance Testing of Laser Cutter and 3D Printer

This cute little dwarf house was not easy to build. Without the use of glues or adhesives, the interface between the 6 parts had to be assembled through friction fit. To ensure a proper fit, I first modeled the design in Fusion 360. Next, I designed a tolerance test of varying widths for the conjoining pegs. This allowed me to test the correct dimensioning that would overcome the machinery’s production specs and ensure a proper friction fit. In the case of a laser cutter, extra material is removed because it is cutting out the design of a bigger piece, so you would have to add dimension to overcome the material loss. Vice versa for a 3D printer, more dimensions may be added, so a reduction in dimensions ensured a friction fit to the wooden base.