Whatever is the manufacturing method you are following; it is important to remember the environment or the assembly your part is going to go in and/or function and 3d printing tolerances always need to be considered.
For 3d printing the tolerances might differ depending on the manufacturing method used. Hence, it is important to understand all the elements that may affect the final dimensions of
the printed part.
Before we go through each 3d printing technology and its tolerance bands, lets discuss the main 3d printing characteristics.
▪ Thickness layer: Is the laid layer by the 3d printer in μm (micrometers)
▪ Wall thickness
: the minimum wall thickness (in mm) that a 3d CAD object should have to be able to be printed
▪ Part shrinkage: is the % of shrinkage the actual 3d printed part will end to have due to
heat of the process and/or walls being too thin
▪ Clearance: is the gap between two or more parts so they can move and/or function
together without clashing
▪ Tolerance: Is the acceptance range of how much deviation from the nominal value a
part can be acceptable. For example, a part can have 50mm width ±0.5mm, which
means the width of the part is acceptable when printed from 49.05mm to 50.05mm.
Table of 3D printing tolerances per printing method
Further suggested reading you might be interested in:
PETG versus ABS, a profound 3D printing filament comparison
Resin 3D Printing Simple Explanation and Guide
Some external sources you might be interested in:
https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/key-design-considerations-3d-printing/
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/