A second-order tolerance analysis approach to statistical virtual assembly for rigid parts

Virtual assembly has become a popular trend in recent years and is used for various purposes, including selective assembly and adaptive tooling. Monte Carlo approaches based on Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations are commonly used for production applications. However, during the design phase, when testing different configurations and design options, a variational method is more suitable. This paper aims to test different implementations of the Method of System Moments applied to the second-order tolerance analysis method when actual distributions, which are non-centered and non-normal, are used as input for the simulation. The study reveals that the simulation results can significantly vary depending on the simulation settings in some cases. As a result, a series of best practices are highlighted to improve the accuracy and reliability of the simulation outcomes.