I was designing a PCB while seeing a schematic diagram of an IC. And I noticed it had written 10uF(10%). Now, if I got to a store and ask for a 10uF capacitor, would it make any difference? I mean are there 15% and 20% capacitors too?
Yes there are 20%s, they are cheaper than the 10%
Thanks for the info.
It may be possible to replace it by a 20µF 50% if that tolerance is cheaper.
The percentage is the tolerance. A 10% 10uF capacitor can be 9-11uF. Everything in electronics has a tolerance.
Most capacitors are not critical and it's usually OK to go higher and often you can go lower (but in some circuits they are critical). A big part of engineering is knowing what's critical and what's not.
Can we see the schematic, and maybe a link to the datasheet for the IC?
If they've said 10%, then you probably shouldn't go any "wider" than that - they're telling you that it needs to be within 10% of that nominal value (10uF).
In general, you'd be OK with a "tighter" tolerance - but not "wider"
As @jim-p said, a "wider" tolerance (eg, 15%, 20%) is usually cheaper; conversely a "tighter" tolerance (eg, 5%) tends to be more expensive.
Thanks everyone, I went to the shop and they only had 10% so that was easier for me.
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