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What should the hole tolerance for a .375 DIA. dowel pin be in order to be a slip-fit? 1

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MrFrench24

Mechanical
Joined
Feb 5, 2013
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6
Location
US
Hi,

I have an alloy steel dowel pin of .375 DIA. that I am inserting into an aluminum housing. Can someone help me with the hole tolerance that is needed in order for it to be a slip-fit? Any reference (URL, book, etc.) of where you found your answer is always welcome. Thank you very much!
 
MrFrench24,

A slip fit under what conditions? Obviously, due to the CTE mismatch existing between your steel pin and aluminum bore, the fit condition will change with temperature.

As a general rule, it is usually easier to control the tolerance of a ground steel pin than a drilled/reamed aluminum hole. So bias your tolerance allowances accordingly.
 
desertfox,

Your post helped a lot! Thanks!


tbuelna,

It is under normal room temperature conditions, ~70 Fahrenheit. Yes I understand that it is easier to control the tolerance of the ground steel pin, thank you!

--
 
Depends how critical the application, of course. A rough rule of thumb in the machine shop is to use a 0.3760 reamer for a 3/8 dowel pin. The pin should actually measure ~0.3752.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
 
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