A Brief Analysis of Recent ISO Tolerancing Standards and Their Potential Impact on Digitization of Manufacturing

The publication of the latest edition of ISO 1101 in 2017 is a landmark event in the development of ISO tolerancing standards. It represents an important milestone in the evolution of ISO tolerancing standards powered by a synergy between technological developments in tolerancing (for specification) and metrology (for verification). The external forces that caused this synergistic evolution stem from digitization of manufacturing (also variously called Smart Manufacturing, Cyber-Manufacturing, Cyber-Physical Production Systems, and Industrie 4.0). This paper provides a brief analysis of a new set of customer-facing ISO tolerancing standards which, along with their promises and challenges, will have a significant impact on digitization of manufacturing.