4/5/2019 Hole quality defined : CompositesWorld

Hole quality defined

In the aerospace industry, drilled hole quality is defined by ISO 286: System of Limits and Fits, a
coordinated system of hole and shaft tolerances that is used in both engineering and production.

Sidebar Post: 5/1/2014

GINGER GARDINER

Related Topics:

Aerospace Composites Machining and Drilling

In manufacturing — and the prerequisite engineering — it is not possible to make components to

an exact size every time. Thus, the amount the actual molded component’s size may deviate from
the target dimensions must be known and listed along with its nominal measurements. A
component’s maximum and minimum permissible size are known as its limits and their difference
is termed the tolerance. These definitions also apply to the holes drilled to accommodate fasteners
when joining multiple components to form an assembly.

ISO 286: System of Limits and Fits is a coordinated system of hole and shaft tolerances that is
used in both engineering and production. It is defined and maintained by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO, Geneva, Switzerland), an independent, nongovernmental
organization that comprises members from the national standards bodies of 161 countries. The
ISO 286 standard states, “hole basis fits [as opposed to shaft basis fits] have four preferred hole

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tolerances (H11, H9, H8, and H7).” Hole basis fits are used when holes are made with standard
machine tools (drills, reamers or end mills). The above hole tolerances are used to indicate the
precision of drilled holes in aerostructures.

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Fig. 1 shows a typical hole size and tolerance designation where size is most commonly given in
milimeters (mm). The smaller the IT number, the more precise the hole diameter. Cutting-tool
manufacturers often use H8, H7, etc. interchangeably with IT8, IT7, etc., to describe the precision
of drilled holes.

According to Dr. Peter Mueller-Hummel, senior manager for the aerospace and composites
business unit of Mapal (Aalen, Germany), “the standard for drilled hole tolerance in aerospace
metals is H7, meaning that the diameter does not vary more than .010 mm [0.0004 inch or 0.4
mil].” He notes that the hole tolerance in The Boeing Co.’s (Chicago, Ill.) 787 Dreamliner program
was initially relaxed to H8, or ±0.018 mm (0.0007 inch or 0.7 mil), but because the holes being
drilled still could not consistently meet that, the tolerance was dropped again to H9 at ±0.04 mm
(0.002 inch or 2.0 mil).

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The other measure of hole drilling precision given is CPK, or Cpk, which is defined as process
capability index, a statistical tool that measures the ability of a process to meet specifications. It
compares the process data distribution — e.g., hole diameter — to the specification limits and
predicts future performance. A CPK >1.3 is required for “reliable and safe” drilling operations in
aerostructures, according to Mueller-Hummel, and 1.7 is necessary for OEM qualification (a
higher number indicates better performance). Thus, the CPK of 2.4 that Mapal reports for its new
tool in the dry drilling of a wingbox assembly’s stacked materials is impressive.

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