Topic: Would you say that drafting rules taught in classroom still apply?

[Josh Nieman]

For instance, when I was drawing at the board when I first learned to draft, there were a great many more rules to follow than in the workplace.

Examples:

1)  When dimensioning, I had learned to place the first dimension line 3/4" (iirc) from the object being dimensioned, and each dimension line after that 3/8" further out.  We wrote 1/16" text though.  Of course, we did our drafting on 8.5x11 paper due to budgetary constraints, so the teacher had created a standard to suit.  I just find that no where I have worked, do we constrain ourselves to such a rule.  I try to space dimensions equally and provide a little more gap between the first row and object being dimensioned, but I don't measure it at all.

2)  All caps, or only first letter caps?  I find it's mostly archies that use lower case letters aside from the first letter, but I've seen some non-archies use lettering with the first letter cap'd only, as I write here.  I personally can't stand drawings that are NOT IN ALL CAPS.  THAT'S HOW TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, IN MY MIND.

Do these rules stand in your office?  Are there any other rules and stipulations once taught as "Proper drafting practice" that just don't hold water anymore?  I'm curious...

If you find that there are many rules not paid attention to anymore, do you think it's because we've gone far from the drawing board where a technical drawing was a true piece of art, to a mechanized drawing factory CAD software platform... or simply because time is money and business sacrifice certain things where it's profitable.

[Dinosaur]

They still apply but they are observed primarily on a personal level rather than a set standard.  That said, many years past while working hand drafting at a global engineering firm with the initials B & V, graphic standards were strictly enforced.  All text for example MUST be lettered with the aid of an Ames device set to a special size etched on by a supervisor and all said text was to be in upper - lower case style at the prescribed slant.  We were given 2 weeks to master this standard or the rest of our abreviated tenure was spent washing cars and proof reading specs.

1 > I rarely use dimensions doing land development work, but when I do use them I use the conventions you described although our text is minimum 0.08 plotted per legal requirements with 0.10 preferred.  You don't have to measure to get the spacing either - there is a setting in the dimstyle to make it so.

2 > All caps most of the time but when we have a lengthy description or dedication statement, and a large set of construction notes we have to use lower case to just get them to fit, but in the sentence case style also reads better.

[Josh Nieman]

Yikes... that was one thing I hated using... the Ames lettering guide... I was so overjoyed once the teacher said "Josh, you're doing pretty good with your lettering, why don't you give me your guide and we'll see how it goes, and at that point it was even harder, at first to maintain good lettering, but I got used to it and it went faster.

[Dinosaur]

We had one grizzled old architect who used a very heavy gage aluminum wire he had worked into a point for use in his ames rather than the standard 4H or 6H graphite - just enough showed to prove he was actually using the thing.

[CADaver]

Still have a 9H SM guideline pencil  (I think its really a nail wrapped in wood)  Its only been sharpened a couple of times and its nearly forty years old.  Its fun to watch someone take it out of my pencil cup and try to write something with it.

We have standards here, but mostly they are controlled programmatically.

[dan19936]

1)  When dimensioning, I had learned to place the first dimension line 3/4" (iirc) from the object being dimensioned, and each dimension line after that 3/8" further out.  We wrote 1/16" text though.  Of course, we did our drafting on 8.5x11 paper due to budgetary constraints, so the teacher had created a standard to suit. I just find that no where I have worked, do we constrain ourselves to such a rule.  I try to space dimensions equally and provide a little more gap between the first row and object being dimensioned, but I don't measure it at all.

That drives me nuts, I space dims 3/8", but no where have I worked does that either. Also Autocad doesn't accept the implied offset of typing 3/8" & enter, for some reason the spacing doesn't stick to orthagonal. So I have a series of keyboard macros that offset the last dimension pick point by 3/8" times dim scale.

I'm an architect, text in construction documents is ALL CAPS, in presentation it is Sentence Case.

[Bob Garner]

Lineweight remains incredibly important for a "readable" drawing.  Whenever I can, I space my dimensions starting at 3/4" away from the object, and subsequently at 3/8".  I usually lay out these spaces with construction lines and just snap the dims to these.  I like purty drawings as well as correct ones.

But I no longer have to learn to center the object on the drawing sheet - remember how difficult this was to do?

Bob

[Josh Nieman]

Lineweight remains incredibly important for a "readable" drawing.  Whenever I can, I space my dimensions starting at 3/4" away from the object, and subsequently at 3/8".  I usually lay out these spaces with construction lines and just snap the dims to these.  I like purty drawings as well as correct ones.

But I no longer have to learn to center the object on the drawing sheet - remember how difficult this was to do?

Bob

I hated that.  Especially when my instructor (lucky for me, I'm young enough to not have to have drafted on the board in my career) would say "Ok, students... here's a revision... add two holes here at [such and such dimensions]"  AFTER I'd already had most of the drawing complete, only to find that to fit the dimensions properly in line with everything else, and space them... in the end I didn't have enough room!!!!!!  This instructor did not let us cut-and-paste or use any "cheating" tricks that business may do in a pinch for a deadline.  He was like a drill sergeant in his methods.

I still maintain that he was the single best teacher I had in all my education of drafting, design, or related technology... and he was my high school teacher.

[CADaver]

This instructor did not let us cut-and-paste or use any "cheating" tricks that business may do in a pinch for a deadline.  He was like a drill sergeant in his methods.

?cheat?

[Josh Nieman]

This instructor did not let us cut-and-paste or use any "cheating" tricks that business may do in a pinch for a deadline.  He was like a drill sergeant in his methods.

?cheat?

Such as cutting out the drawing you want to keep and taping it to a new sheet with the border on it, so you can relocate the drawing... and then making a photocopy (obviously only applicable for  certain sizes)

We do that for stuff in our office at times.

[Dinosaur]

. . . Such as cutting out the drawing you want to keep and taping it to a new sheet with the border on it, so you can relocate the drawing... and then making a photocopy (obviously only applicable for  certain sizes)

We do that for stuff in our office at times.

15 - 20 years back, it was standard practice at one little shop I worked at to overlay a sheet with a survey or some other plan we wanted for a background onto an empty sheet, slice the old picture and the new window and tape it in.  We would sometimes make sepia copies of the result if we needed more than one.  If the original was good enough you might not even be able to tell on a good blueprint.  On occasion we would even build new sheets with 4 or 5 parts of other drawings just barely connected and run a sepia.

[CADaver]

Such as cutting out the drawing you want to keep and taping it to a new sheet with the border on it,

I thought you meant with a computer app.... 
waitastinkinminiute?? -you guys STILL fiddle with paper drawings like that??

[Josh Nieman]

We HAVE at last minute before scanning in full size prints, noticed a problem, and used white-out tape, or cut out and taped a correct detail/note text/whatever on to the sheet... which I don't see a problem with, these days (so long as you take proper steps to make sure that error is fixed in the DWG as well) because it helps meet those deadlines that loom at mere minutes away at times when you can't wait for more full size prints.  But in schooling, the drill sergeant would have had our heads if we tried cutting a corner like that.  I believe that's the best way to learn, though... learn the hardest way, so you're prepared for any situation you may be hired into.

I started this forum mostly out of curiosity, but also to get an idea of whether or not I'm being picky.  As I set up standard company styles for everything I kind of want to know how far to go... I'd like to see "pretty" drawings as well.  There are rules I was taught to follow and I believe that those small differences made for a more concise, clean, organized, and more legible drawing.  With dimensions scatted, the sheet looks chaotic and sometimes makes your eyes cross just looking at it, meaning that some notes or dimensions may be more easily overlooked.  Small things can make big differences.

I need to also get out the book on drawing weld symbols the proper way... I've noticed that each person has their own "standard" on sizing these... at least most of them use the right symbol... I had to teach one guy that not everything is a fillet... it was the only symbol he'd use.

Anyways... yay for Overtime!

[CADaver]

My my, the moderators have been busy  :kewl:

We HAVE at last minute before scanning in full size prints, noticed a problem, and used white-out tape, or cut out and taped a correct detail/note text/whatever on to the sheet... which I don't see a problem with, these days (so long as you take proper steps to make sure that error is fixed in the DWG as well) because it helps meet those deadlines that loom at mere minutes away at times when you can't wait for more full size prints.  But in schooling, the drill sergeant would have had our heads if we tried cutting a corner like that.  I believe that's the best way to learn, though... learn the hardest way, so you're prepared for any situation you may be hired into.

Around here a corner cut like that will get you knee-capped.  If you don't have time to do it right, you certainly won't have time to "fix" it later.  Doing it "wrong", then doing it right later, takes a lot longer than just doing it right.

There are rules I was taught to follow and I believe that those small differences made for a more concise, clean, organized, and more legible drawing.  With dimensions scatted, the sheet looks chaotic and sometimes makes your eyes cross just looking at it, meaning that some notes or dimensions may be more easily overlooked.  Small things can make big differences.

A drawing should be read as eaily as a story.  As the reader scans the drawing, a 3D model of the piece (or whatever) should begin to grow in his head, starting with the overall and working into finer and finer detail.  A well planned drawing is as important as a well planned project.

[Dinosaur]

My my, the moderators have been busy  :kewl: . . .

Yes, sinc had an excellent suggestion . . .