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General Surface Profile Callout

We have had a difference of opinion here at the shop that I work at and I'd like to get the opinion of some people that have been in this field for a while, because I know there are people out there that have a better understanding of GD&T than I do.
Let's say you have a CAD part model with a general profile tolerance ("Unless otherwise specified, all part features are subject to a surface profile tolerance zone of .020 with respect to the primary datum A, secondary datum B, and the tertiary datum C") and a specified thickness tolerance of +/-.010. You have a wall on this part that the model clearly shows does not have a constant thickness from one side to the other. Do you tolerance both sides of the wall according to the general profile tolerance, or do you hold one side to the general profile tolerance and then the other side to the thickness callout in spite of the fact that the thickness is not constant? Obviously if you hold both sides to the general profile tolerance, you have a potential for the thickness to run as high as +.020 if both sides of the wall were at top tolerance, but I don't see how you can hold it to a thickness tolerance when you don't have a constant thickness to hold.

Opinions? If you can back up your opinion with a specific aspect of the GD&T standard instead of "here's what I think" that would be even better...
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  • My general rule: Unless it is specifically called out otherwise, non-constant thickness surfaces get the profile tolerance on both sides.


    I have seen a few parts come through (usually older parts that are print-based with a CAD for reference purposes only) that do specify that the surface profile tolerance only applies to one side and the thickness applies to the other, but it's a pretty rare callout. But I have inspectors that I work with that, in my opinion, have basically taken that callout as an industry standard in spite of the fact that you don't see it very often. I tend to agree with you...if it's not specifically called out otherwise, I believe the surface profile tolerance applies to both sides on a non-constant thickness. But I'm not so egotistical as to believe that my opinion is the end-all and be-all of the issue, so I wanted to get some input on the subject from some people other than the ones I currently work with Slight smile.
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  • My general rule: Unless it is specifically called out otherwise, non-constant thickness surfaces get the profile tolerance on both sides.


    I have seen a few parts come through (usually older parts that are print-based with a CAD for reference purposes only) that do specify that the surface profile tolerance only applies to one side and the thickness applies to the other, but it's a pretty rare callout. But I have inspectors that I work with that, in my opinion, have basically taken that callout as an industry standard in spite of the fact that you don't see it very often. I tend to agree with you...if it's not specifically called out otherwise, I believe the surface profile tolerance applies to both sides on a non-constant thickness. But I'm not so egotistical as to believe that my opinion is the end-all and be-all of the issue, so I wanted to get some input on the subject from some people other than the ones I currently work with Slight smile.
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