Modules in

DRWN11E: ENGINEERING DRAWINGS AND PLANS

SESSION TOPIC 2: Use of the architectural and engineering scale

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the session you will:

1. Be familiar with what is a scale and be able to draw using a scale.
2. Know different technique in drawing a line and other figure.

KEY TERMS

CORE CONTENT

What is a scale?

a drawing scale allows real objects and/or subjects to be accurately represented at fixed

reduced and enlarged sizes, which can then be measured via a scale rule to determine
their real-world size.

Before studying this lesson about scale drawings, you should review the lesson
about solving proportions. Since it is not always possible to draw on paper the actual
size of real-life objects such as the real size of a car or an airplane, we need scale
drawings to represent the size like the one you see above.
In real-life, the length of a van may measure 240 inches. However, the length of a copy
or print paper that you could use to draw this van is a little bit less than 12 inches.
Since 240/12 = 20, you will need about 20 sheets of copy paper to draw the length of
the actual size of the van.
To use just one sheet, you could then use 1 inch on your drawing to represent 20
inches on the real-life object.
You can write this situation as 1:20 or 1/20 or 1 to 20.

Scale Drawings

A map cannot be of the same size as the area it represents.  So, the measurements
are scaled down to make the map of a size that can be conveniently used by users such
as motorists, cyclists, and bushwalkers.  A scale drawing of a building (or bridge) has
the same shape as the real building (or bridge) that it represents but a different size. 
Builders use scaled drawings to make buildings and bridges.
A ratio is used in scale drawings of maps and buildings.  That is:
The scale of a drawing = Drawing length: Actual length

Likewise, we have:
Map scale = Map Distance: Actual distance

A scale is usually expressed in one of two ways:

 using units as in 1 cm to 1 km
 without explicitly mentioning units as in 1: 100 000

Note:
A scale of 1: 100 000 means that the real distance is 100 000 times the length of 1 unit
on the map or drawing.

Example 1
Write the scale 1 cm to 1 m in ratio form.
Solution:
Example 2
Simplify the scale 5 mm: 1 m.
Solution:

Example 3
Simplify the scale 5 cm: 2 km.
Solution:

Calculating the Actual Distance using the Scale

If the scale is 1: x, then multiply the map distance by x to calculate the actual distance.

Example 4
A particular map shows a scale of 1: 5000.  What is the actual distance if the map
distance is 8 cm?
Solution:

Map distance = 8 cm
Let the actual distance be a cm.
Alternative Way:
Map distance = 8 cm

Calculating the Scaled Distance using the Actual Distance

If the scale is 1: x, then divide the actual distance by x to calculate the map distance.

Example 5
A particular map shows a scale of 1 cm: 5 km.  What would the map distance (in cm) be
if the actual distance is 14 km?
Solution:

So, the map distance is 2.8 cm.

Alternative Way:
So, the map distance is 2.8 cm.
Straight lines
Bisection of a line
Division into any number of parts
Division into proportional parts

Division according to given Ration

Convenient acute from AB. On AG, lay off AH equal to EF and AI equal to CD. Draw a line from
I to B and use a straightedge and triangle to project H to J on a line parallel to IB. The ration of
AB to AJ is the same as that of CD to EF.
Angles

You already know how to lay off an angle of given size with a protractor or
trigonometrically using the tangent or the chord method.

Transfer of an angle

Using geometric construction, you can lay off an angle equal in size to one that is
already drawn on another part of the same drawing or on different drawing. Figure 5-10
shows this procedure called transferring an angle. Here the draftsman desired to lay off
from O’ a line that would make an angle with B’O’ equal to angle BOA. Figure 5-10,
View A shows the first step, drawing an arc through OB and OA with O as center.
Figure 5-10, View B shows the second step, drawing an arc of the same radius from
B’O’, with O’ as a center. Next, Figure 5-10, View C shows measuring the length of the
chord of the arc between OB and OA ang laying off the same length on the arc from
B’O’. Figure 5-10, View D shows a line drawn from O’ through A’, making an angle with
B’O’ equal to angle BOA
Bisection of an Angle

To bisect an angle, mean to divide it in half. If you know the size of the angle you can
bisect it by simply dividing the size by 2 and laying off the result using a protector.

Geometric construction for bisecting an angle is shown in figure 5-11. To bisect the
angle AOB, first lay off equal intervals from O and OA and OB. With the ends of these
interval as centers, strike intersecting arcs of equal radius at P. Draw a line from O
through the point of intersection of the arcs, P. the line OP bisects angle AOB.

Practice Drawing
Refer to the attachment provided titled
Module 3 activity
 IN-TEXT ACTIVITY

Attachments:
 PDF Lecture/slides – Fundamental Concepts

Multi-media:
 Video/ Audio (prerecorded) materials

SESSION SUMMARY

Important notes:
 Scale

 Drawing  Division into proportional parts

 Straight line  Division according to given
 Bisection of a line ration
 Division into any number of
parts

 Angles

SELF ASSESSMENT

ACTIVITY 1

Name: ________________ SCORE: ______________

Major: ________________ Date: ________________

REFERENCES

K Venkata Reddy, Engineering Drawing