Quote:
Originally Posted by Kube
It actually does cost more to hold tolerances tighter.
You've all heard of the military paying $600 for a hammer that you and I can buy at Lowes for $15.
There's a lot of truth to that scenario.
I did a lot of tool making for government supplied parts. Some of the tolerances we had to hold were well, just plain stupid. That drove the costs way up.
One that I recall not so fondly was the cap that subsequently was mated to the dipstick for Abrams (sp?) tanks.
The cap itself had to be perfectly round within .003" TIR. While that may sound easy to make, it isn't. Give me .020" and I'll be pounding them out as fast as you can blink.
then, the dipstick itself... the markings had to be within .005" (+/- .0025"). Okay, i get why they need to be quite accurate but on an engine that holds twenty some gallons of oil, give me .020" and again, easy, peasy.
My point is, it does cost more to tighten up tolerances.
The guy having the stuff made is well aware of this and makes a choice. Less profit and a better part or more profit and well, poopy?
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Understood that super tight tolerances raise the cost. But, from your experience, how much extra would it cost to hold, say, a 1/32" tolerance on those headlight bezels over the 3/16" tolerance accepted by Bob Drake?