• The basic skills/topics discussed below lead up to preparing, and understanding a complete set of drawings.
• The purpose of working drawings is to,
- describe the exact geometry of parts
- indicate other details associated with drawings (for example, material)
- show how parts are assembled
- indicate manufacturing preferences
• generally, the drawing package will include a number of items,
- a drawing (one a separate sheet with a separate title block) for each part
• a typical working drawing package will contain,
- assembly drawings (and a Bill of Materials)
• Most of the important details are put in this block. Each block is individualized to a company, but generally they include,
- company name, and division if applicable
- the number of parts required
• The block is typically located in the bottom right hand corner of the drawing
• The drawing title, and drawing number are commonly printed in large fonts
• this is a process whereby a drawing is reviewed for completeness, accuracy, etc.
• modern CAD systems, especially solid modeler should reduce the emphasis on checking the drawings. Some of the main features checked for in manual drawings are,
- appearance - this can be a large issue for hand drawn work
- within standards - legal and corporate
- clarity - all description, dimensions, etc should be well understood
- completeness - sufficient dimensions, etc should be present for production
- redundancy - redundant information should be eliminated unless essential
- manufacturability - the cost and feasibility of production should be considered. are tolerances sufficient/excessive, are other steps sufficient for product life.
• When a drawing has reached production, it is considered final, but changes are frequently made.
• It is very important that drawing changes are dealt with properly. This means,
- all changes are recorded on the drawing, and new drawings made
- all old drawing must be collected, or marked void (failure to do this can lead to very expensive mistakes)
- when a drawing has been changed a number of times, it should be redrafted.
• Computer CAD systems still do not sufficiently deal with problems such as these, and often rely on the previous manual drafting systems to process these updates. But, software is available, and is being developed for product information management (PIM) that will deal with these changes in a manner suitable for CAD.
• An important list on most drawings is a Bill of Materials, this is a list of all required materials/parts required to make to part depicted in the drawing.
• This is sometimes given on separate sheets, or on the drawing itself
• The typical (but not the only) order for listing parts on a BOM is,
2. specialty purchase (e.g. roller bearings)
3. standard purchased hardware (e.g., washers)
• These are used to specify an assembly with,
- a drawing of the assembled part
• Hidden lines are typically omitted from these drawings. Details may also be omitted if they have no bearing on the product
• assembly instructions may also be included in these drawings to guide workers
• full section assembly drawings are often used
• dimensions not included unless essential
• Small blow-up bubbles are often used to emphasize details
• The parts can be identified using,
• these are basically the same as assembly drawings, except that there are components that have already been assembled.
• Modern equipment is complex and is assembled in stages. The final assembly might be something like an automotive body welding shop, whereas a sub-assembly might be the car radio.