How to Calculate True Position (2024)

Electrical engineers design and build electrical devices such as printed circuit boards and associated mechanical components. The first step in this process is producing a computer-aided design drawing that outlines the locations of wires, bonding pads and drilled holes. True position is the deviation of a feature on the product from its theoretical position on a drawing, and this position can be calculated using simple formulas.

Carrying Out Measurements

The first step in determining the true position is to carry out measurements on the product and compare these measurements to the original drawings. This process makes use of standard engineering tools, including micrometers, height gauges and calipers.

An Example in Carrying Out Measurements

Suppose a product consists of a single plate with a single drilled hole. In the following measurements, the plate origin (0,0) in standard Cartesian (x,y) coordinates is assumed to be on the bottom left-hand side of the plate. A caliper can be used to determine the position of the closest and farthest points of the hole on the x and y axes. For the sake of this example, assume that the closest and farthest measurements on the x axis are 15 mm and 20 mm, and the closest and farthest measurements on the y axis are 35 mm and 40 mm.

An Example in Calculating Hole Centerline

The centerline of a hole is calculated using the closest and farthest measurements of the hole on each of the coordinate axes. To calculate the centerlines on each axis use the following formula: center line = closest position + (farthest position – closest position)/2. Following the example in section 2, the center lines of the single hole on each axis are as follows: center line on x axis = 15 + (20 – 15 )/2 = 17.5 mm, and center line on y axis = 35 + (40 – 35)/2 = 37.5 mm.

An Example in Calculating True Position

True position is the deviation between the theoretical position on a drawing and the actual position, measured as the centerline, on the final product. True position can be calculated using the following formula: true position = 2 x (dx^2 + dy^2)^1/2. In this equation, dx is the deviation between the measured x coordinate and the theoretical x coordinate, and dy is the deviation between the measured y coordinate and the theoretical y coordinate. Following the example, if the theoretical coordinates of the drilled hole are (18 mm, 38 mm) then the true position is: true position = 2 x ((18 – 17.5)^2 + (38 – 37.5)^2)^1/2 = (0.25 + 0.25)^1/2 = 0.71 mm.

How to Calculate True Position (2024)

FAQs

How to Calculate True Position? ›

True position can be calculated using the following formula: true position = 2 x (dx^2 + dy^2)^1/2. In this equation, dx is the deviation between the measured x coordinate and the theoretical x coordinate, and dy is the deviation between the measured y coordinate and the theoretical y coordinate.

How to manually measure true position? ›

To measure true position manually, a dial indicator and fixture must be used. The dial indicator measures the distance or displacement of a surface or feature, while the fixture holds the part in a fixed position and orientation.

How to calculate the true position of a hole in GD&T? ›

The true position is calculated as twice the 3D distance between the measured and the nominal point. This True Position value represents a sphere around the Nominal Point which contains the Actual Point.

How do you calculate true position bonus tolerance? ›

Bonus tolerance explained: As the size of the pin departs from MMC toward LMC, a bonus tolerance is added equal to the amount of that departure. Bonus tolerance equals the difference between the actual feature size and the MMC of the feature. In this case, Bonus Tolerance = MMC-LMC=25-15=10.

What is true position on a surface? ›

By true position, we mean the ideal position of the feature according to design. The idea is that, for a feature, there is a true position that we desire. We define datum planes and axes as references to define the exact placement. Then, we mark the true positions of the features of size using basic dimensions.

What is the true position formula? ›

True position can be calculated using the following formula: true position = 2 x (dx^2 + dy^2)^1/2. In this equation, dx is the deviation between the measured x coordinate and the theoretical x coordinate, and dy is the deviation between the measured y coordinate and the theoretical y coordinate.

What is the position formula? ›

When something travels from one point to the other, this is known as displacement. Presuming the golf ball moves from position x1 to position x2. position formula is represented as. △ x = x 2 – x 1.

What is the 3 2 1 rule in GD&T? ›

The 3-2-1 rule says: – The primary datum feature has at least 3 points of contact with its datum plane. – The secondary datum feature has at least 2 points of contact with its datum plane. – The tertiary datum feature has at least one point of contact with its datum plane.

What is the true profile in GD&T? ›

The surface profile tolerance zone consists of two parallel planes, bilaterally disposed on each side of the ideal curved surface (aka the true profile). Both planes follow the shape of the ideal surface and the distance between them is the tolerance limit for the callout.

How do you calculate position? ›

The Formula for the Position is Represented as:

\[\Delta x = x_2 - x_1\], Where x1 is the first position of the body, x2 is the second position after undergoing displacement, And Δx is the rate of change in the displacement.

How do you calculate acceptable tolerance? ›

TOLERANCE - Usually provide as a percentage of the expected value. It can be plus or minus. Tolerance = (Measured Value - Expected Value)/Expected Value. In the above case the Tolerance is (75.1-75.0) / 75 = 0.13%.

How to calculate mmc of a hole? ›

So, for a shaft with an outer diameter of 10 + - 0.1, the maximum material condition is 10+0.1 = 10.1, this is the size that results in the shaft being at its heaviest condition. But for a part with a hole with a diameter of 10+-0.1, the maximum material condition is when we have the smallest hole.

What is the true position of a hole? ›

True position falls under the location category of tolerances, and as such requires datums so you can locate your features to something. Typically for a hole the primary datum is the surface perpendicular to the axis of the hole, and the secondary and tertiary datums are the sides of your part.

How to calculate GD&T tolerance? ›

Next to the dimensions, a tolerance value needs to be specified with the minimum and maximum acceptable limit. The tolerance is the difference between the minimum and maximum limit. For example, if we have a table that we would accept with a height between 750 mm and 780 mm, the tolerance would be 30 mm.

What is the true position requirement? ›

The true position requirement specifies the accuracy of the position in relation to the datum (reference plane or line). Within 0.1 mm dia. The center of the circle indicated by the indication arrow must be within a circle with a diameter of 0.1 mm.

How do you measure the true position of a plane? ›

Using a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)

Set the reference plane and put the stylus on the measurement point on the target. The measurement result is instantly displayed on the screen. Cartesian coordinates can also be measured, and composite true position can be output with a single measurement.

How do you measure a positional tolerance? ›

To calculate, you find the deviation between the actual position and true position using the formula: Position tolerance = |Actual position - True position|. The result indicates how much the feature can deviate from the ideal position while still being acceptable.

How do you calculate how accurate something is? ›

You can calculate the accuracy in five steps:
  1. Calculate the true positives (TP)
  2. Compute the true negatives (TN)
  3. Calculate the false positives (FP)
  4. Estimate the false negatives (FN)
  5. Apply the accuracy formula: accuracy = (TP + TN) / (TP + TN + FP + FN)
May 22, 2024

How is position measured? ›

A measure of position determines the position of a single value in relation to other values in a sample or a population data set. Unlike the mean or the standard deviation, descriptive measures based on quantiles are not sensitive to the influence of a few extreme observations.

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