Can we talk about the 0.0002 tolerance spec on aerospace jobs?

I found out last week that some aerospace parts need tolerances down to 0.0002 inches. That's tighter than a human hair. Is that actually necessary for function or is it just CYA engineering? I've been running production parts at +/-0.005 for years and wondering if I'm just in the wrong niche.

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_fisher2418d ago

Is that hair tolerance actually making planes safer, or just adding cost?

burns.jenny18d ago

Seems like just another thing that sounds good on paper but probably doesn't matter in practice. Most pilots have been landing planes just fine without measuring hair lengths for decades. This feels like the FAA making busy work to justify their own existence. Real safety probably comes from maintenance checks and pilot training, not a ruler. If a 1/16th inch difference in some gasket is really that critical then the design has bigger problems.

milaw1418d ago

Yeah I read somewhere that commercial jets literally have thousands of those tight tolerance parts lol.