Distortion budget: how it propagates through the build

Allocating dimensional change across rough machining, heat treat, finish, EDM, and nitriding so the cavity tolerance survives the build.

6 min readLesson 6 of 13

Knowledge check

A 500 mm by 500 mm H13 cavity block is rough machined, vacuum hardened to 48 HRC, EDM finished, and gas nitrided. The print calls for 0.05 mm flatness across the cavity face. Where in the sequence is most of that 0.05 mm likely to be eaten, and what single decision in the routing reclaims it?