Basic Drawing and Plane

Geometry
Kishan Gunesegeran
Inti International University
Introduction

 Drawing is the principal means of communication in engineering.

 It is used to import idea, convey information as well as specify shapes and
often said to be the language of engineer.
 This topic will focus on basic engineering drawing concepts such as pencil
work, compass work, lettering and application of lines in drawing.
 This topic includes definitions of geometric terms and geometric
constructions of importance in technical drawing,
 The topic suggests simplified methods of construction and points out practical
application.
Objectives in Engineering Drawing

 Learners who practice and learn proper manipulation of their drawing

instruments will eventually be able to draw accurately by habit and to give
their full attention to problems at hand
 The following are important objectives learners should strive to attain ;
a) Accuracy : No drawing will be of maximum usefulness if it is not accurate.
The engineer or designer cannot achieve success in professional
employment if the habit of accuracy is not acquired.
b) Speed : Time is money in the industry. There is no demand for slow drafters,
technicians or engineers. However, speed is not attained by hurrying; it is an
unsought by-product of intelligent and continuous work. It comes with study
and practice
c) Legibility : Drawing is a means of communication. Therefore, it must be clear
and legible to serve its purpose well.
d) Neatness : all drawings must be accurate, legible and clear. Untidy drawings
are the results sloppy and careless methods and are unacceptable.
Items required for drawing

 Drawing board  Protractor

 Drawing sheet  French curves

 Mini-drafter/drafting machine/  Drawing pencils
T- square
 Eraser
 Instrumentbox containing
 Drawing clip/pin/adhesive
compass, divider, etc.
tape
 Scales
 Sharpener
 Protractor
 Duster
Paper Size

A2
A1
A4
A3 A6
A5 A8
A7
1.1 Pencil Work

 High quality drawing pencils as shown in figure below should be used in

engineering drawings.
 Alternatively, many types of
mechanical pencils are
available with refill leads of
conventional size in all
grades.

 Compared to normal drawing

pencils, mechanical pencils
have advantages in
maintaining a constant length
of lead while permitting to
use of a lead practically to
the end, as well as being
easily refilled with new leads.

 Figure below shows

Lead Grade of Drawing Pencil
 Drawing pencils are made of graphite with the addition of either a polymer
binder or kaolin (Clay) in varying amounts to make 18 grades from 9H, which
is the hardest, to 7B the softest. Table below shows the lead grade of pencils
and their descriptions
Lead Grade
Hard – 9H, 8H, 7H, 6H, 5H and 4H
Medium – 3H, 2H, H, F, HB & B
Soft – 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B & 7B
Description
These grades are commonly used for extreme
accuracy drawings. They are used for light
construction lines, guidelines for lettering and
accurate geometrical constructions of work in
which accuracy is of prime importance
These grades are for general purpose work in
technical drawings. The softer grades such HB and
B are used for technical sketching, lettering,
arrowhead and other free hand work
These leads are very soft and useful for drafting.
Their use is such work results in smudged, rough
lines that are hard to erase and the lead must be
sharpened continually.
Lettering
 The essential features of lettering in engineering drawings are legibility,
uniformity and the ability to be produced rapidly.
 Legibility and speed are achieved by the use of a block, single stroke style
which may be either upright or sloping.
 Students are recommended to use the upright style as it is easier to produce.
 Suitable alphabets and figures are shown below.
 This model should be consulted frequently in the early stages until the
character forms are memorized.

Single-Stroke Gothic
Most common font used in drafting
Approved Gothic lettering for Engineering
Drawings
Reasons for using single-stroke Gothic
lettering
 Saves time in production
 Easy to read and provides drawing consistency
 Easier to learn and use

Lettering is drawing, not writing

Recommended Strokes for Vertical
Uppercase Letters
Lettering Rules
1. The type of lettering recommended by ANSI for mechanical drafting is single stroke
gothic (vertical freehand lettering).
2. The minimum recommended lettering size on engineering drawings is .125 inches
(1/8”).
3. All dimension numerals, notes and other lettered information should be the same
height except for titles, drawing numbers and other captions. Titles and subtitles,
for example, may be .25 inches (1/4”) high.
4. The composition or spacing of letters in words and between words in a sentence
should be such that the individual letters are uniformly spaced with approximately
equal background areas. This requires the letters such as I, N or S be spaced
slightly father apart from their adjacent letters than L, A, or W.
5. A minimum recommended space between letters in words is approximately .0625
inches (1/16”).
6. The space between words in a note or sentence should be about the same at the
height of the letters. The horizontal space between sentences in a note or
paragraph should be equal to twice the height of lettering.
Spacing of Lettering
Lettering Rules Continued
7. All notes should be lettered horizontally on the sheet.
8. Most industries prefer that drafters produce lettering that looks the same form
one drawing to the next. Also, when drawing changes are made, the individual
making the change should attempt to match the lettering on the original
drawing.
9. Always use an AMES lettering guide to draw horizontal guidelines that are
spaced equal to the height of the letters.
10. Use 2H, H, or F pencils for lettering. Try them all, but use the one that gives
you the best results.
11. Many drafters prefer using a .5 mm automatic pencil for lettering.
Lettering Rules Continued
12. Place a clean paper under your hand when lettering to prevent smudging.
13. As a rule of thumb, curved letters can be placed close together and straight
letters should be placed further apart.
14. When making curved letters, push the guidelines; that is, let the thickness of the
stroke go slightly beyond the guideline. This technique will help make the curved
letters appear the same height as the other letters.
15. The tops of letters and numbers such as B, C, E, F, G, K, R, S, X, Z, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8,
and 9 should be drawn smaller so the letters do not appear top heavy.
16. If your letters are wiggly or if you are nervous, try pressing hard to make you lines
straighter. If you are pressing too hard, try to relax the pressure. Also try making
each letter as rapidly as possible. This tends to eliminate wiggly letters. If your
lead is too hard, wiggly letters could result; try a softer lead.
Use a Piece of Clean Paper to Prevent
Smudging
Spacing of Fractions and Decimals
 Lettering in Engineering Drawing
Lettering is used to provide easy to read and understand
information to supplement a drawing in the form of notes
and annotations.

Lettering is an essential element in both traditional drawing

and Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing

Thus, it must be written with:

Legibility – shape & space between letters and words.
Uniformity – size & line thickness.
 Types of Lettering
The two types of lettering are:
1. Vertical Lettering
2. Inclined Lettering

vertical letters inclined letters

Conventions for Lettering
• Use all CAPITAL LETTERS.

• Use even pressure to draw precise, clean lines.

• Use one stroke per line.

• Use kerning to eliminate excessive space between letters. –

[kerning refers to adjusting the space between characters,

especially by placing two characters closer together than
normal. Kerning makes certain combinations of letters, such
as WA, MW, TA, and VA, look better.]
Conventions for Lettering (cont.)
• Always Skip A Space Between Rows Of Letters.

• Always Use Very Light Guide Lines.

• Fractions Are Lettered Twice The Height Of Normal Letters.

• Fraction Bars Are Always Drawn Horizontal.

Application of Lettering
Lettering in Engineering Drawings is used in writing
Title Blocks which play a crucial role in drawings, they
are used to record all of the important information
necessary for the working drawings.

What does the Title Block contain?

• Title of the drawing. • Symbol denoting the method of
• Drawing Number. projection.
• Scale. • Initials of staff who designed, checked
• Name of the firm. & approved.

Other uses of lettering include Dimensions and Notes

on the engineering drawing.
Placement of text on Engineering Drawings
 Guidelines
Extremely light horizontal lines that are necessary to regulate
the height of letters.

In addition, light vertical or inclined guidelines are used to keep

the letters uniformly vertical or inclined.

Guidelines are absolutely essential for good lettering.

After lettering has been completed, the guidelines are not erased.
 Spacing
Should be UNIFORM

L IN E S
LET T ERS

LINES AND LETTERINGS

Examples of Common Mistakes
in Lettering
Lettering style not uniform LEtTErING

Lettering height not uniform

LE TTERING
Lettering inclination not uniform LETTERING

Lettering thickness not uniform LETTERING

Lettering space not uniform LET T E R ING

Line Works in Engineering Drawing
 In general, good draughtship in an art obtained through experience and improved
by constant practice.

 The correct choice and use of instruments, layout and clarity of views and
neatness and legibility of printing give a drawing character and the professional
appearance associated with good draughtsmanship

 However, the fundamental element of good draughrsmanship is line work and in

student drawings, poor line work is a very common feature.

 Therefore, the application of various types of lines is an important aspect of

engineering drawing.
Type of lines

 There are various types of lines used in engineering drawing which represent
their application in drawings.
 BS 308: part 1 :1972 recommends the use of different types of lines as
illustrated in figure down.
 It can be seen that each type has a clearly defined application and it is
strongly recommended that students learn and apply these recommendations.
 However, there are also line conventions which are endorsed by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) as shown in figure below with illustration
of various application.
illustration of various
application.
illustration of various
application.
Uses of different types of lines in a given drawing
Examples of good and poor drawing techniques for
lines and arcs
Standards – set of rules that govern how technical
drawings are represented..

Drawings are dimensioned using an accepted set of

standards such as placing the dimension text such that it
is read from the bottom of the sheet.
Dimensioning

 Indicating on a drawing, the size of the object and other details

essential for its construction and function, using lines, numerals,
symbols, notes, etc.

 Dimensions indicated on a drawing should be those that are essential

for the production, inspection and functioning of the object and should
not be mistaken as those that are required to make the drawing of an
object.
Dimensioning of an
object is accomplished
by dimensioning each
element to indicate its
size (size dimensions)
and
relative location
(location dimensions)
from a center line,
base line or finished
surface.
Each feature is
dimensioned
and positioned
only once.

Each feature is
dimensioned
and positioned
where its
shape shows.
 Size dimensions – give the size of the component.

Solid:

 Every solid has three dimensions, each of the geometric shapes

making up the object must have its height, width, and depth
indicated in the dimensioning
Prism – most common shape

requires three dimensions - give

two dimensions on the

principal view and one dimension

on the other views.
Cylinder
Cone
– requires two dimensions
– diameter of the base
and
altitude on the same view
and
length – both are shown preferably
on the rectangular view.
Right pyramids

– requires three dimensions

– dimensions of the base and

altitude.
Spheres

– requires only one dimension

diameter.
Location dimensioning
 After the basic geometric shapes have been

 dimensioned for size, the location of each relative to the others must be given.

 Locations must be established in height, width and

 depth directions.

 Rectangular faces are positioned with reference to

 their faces, cylinder and conic shapes with reference to their center lines and
their ends.
Size and Location dimensioning
Terminology for
dimensioning practice
Dimension – numerical
value that defines
the size or geometric
characteristics of a
feature – size 3.5 mm
and space between
lines of text 1.5 mm.
Dimensions showing the
sizes of features, such
as width, height and
depths of the parts and
the diameter of the hole

Dimensions showing the

location and orientations
of features, such as
location of the center of
the hole
Dimension , Line and Gap
 Basic dimension – a numerical value defining theoretically exact size of a
feature.
 Reference dimension – a numerical value enclosed in parenthesis, provided
for information only and not directly used in the fabrication of the part – is a
calculated size used to show the intended design size of a part.
 Extension line – a thin, solid line perpendicular to a dimension line, indicating
which feature is associated with the dimension.
 Visible gap – there should be a visible gap of 1.5 mm between the feature’s
corners and the end of the extension line.
 Diameter symbol – φ - a symbol which precedes a numerical value, to indicate
that the dimension shows the diameter of a circle.
 Radius symbol – R 0.5
Dimension , Line and Gap
Leader line

 A thin, solid line used to indicate the feature with which a dimension, note, or
symbol is associated.

 Generally a straight line drawn at an angle that is neither horizontal nor

vertical.

 Terminated with an arrow touching the part or detail.

 On the end opposite the arrow, the leader line will have a short, horizontal
shoulder. Text is extended from this shoulder such that the text height is
centered with the shoulder line.
Dimension line
A thin, solid line that shows the extent and direction of
a dimension. Dimension lines are broken for insertion of
the dimension numbers.

Should be placed at least 10 mm

away from the outline and all
other parallel dimensions should

be at least 6 mm apart, or more

if space permits.
Arrows – 3 mm wide and should be 1/3rd as wide as
they are long - symbols placed at the end of dimension lines
to show the limits of the dimension. Arrows are uniform in
size and style, regardless of the size of the drawing.
Various types of dimension lines
Important elements of a dimensioning
Important elements of a dimensioning
Dimensioning of angles
Correct way of dimensioning
Aligned method Unidirectional method
Drawing of lines
 Drawing Horizontal Lines

i. Press the head of the T-Square firmly against the working edge of the board
with your left. (anybody Left handed)?
ii. Slide your hand to the position shown in below so that the blade is pressed
tightly against the papers
iii. Lean the pencil in the direction of the line at an angle of approximately 60`
with the paper
iv. Draw the line from left to right or right (2x anybody left handed)
Drawing of lines

 Drawing a vertical line

i. Use either the 45ͦͦ⁰ triangle or 30ͦͦ ͦ⁰ͦ x 60 ͦ⁰ͦ triangle to draw vertical lines
ii. Place the triangle on the T-Square with vertical edge on the left as shown
below
iii. Use your left hand (again anybody left handed?) to press the head of the T-
Square against the board
iv. Slide the hand to the position shown where it holds both the T-square and
triangle firmly in position and
v. Draw the line upward.
Compass Work
 The compass with pencil and inking attachment is used for drawing circles of
approximately 25mm radius or larger
i. Set off the required radius on one of the centre lines
ii. Place the needle point at the exact intersection of the centre lines as shown
below
iii. Adjust the compass to the required radius and
iv. Lean the compass forward and draw the circle clockwise while rotating the
handle between the thumb and forefinger.
Line Types and Styles

Dimension
Visible
and
Line Extension
Line
Hidden Cutting Plane
Line Line

Center
Line Section
Line
Phantom
Line Break Line
Line Types and Styles
Line Types and Styles
Line Types and Styles
Line Types and Styles
Line Types and Styles
 Line Types and Styles
Dimension lines

Phantom lines Path lines Center lines

Visible lines
Dimension lines Center lines

Section lines

Hidden
lines

Break lines
THE END