ECOR 1010

Lecture 5
Engineering Graphics - 1
 How Do Engineers Communicate?

• Engineers convey information in three

principal ways
– Written Documents
– Oral Presentations
– Graphically
• Sometimes a combination is needed

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 Importance of Engineering Graphics

• The majority of engineering information is

transmitted by graphical means
• But unambiguous written and verbal
communication is also central to successful
engineering communication

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 Example – Describing an Object
• Written Communication
– Made of metal, this tool has a handle and a heavy
irregular shaped head
– The handle has a rubber grip
– The length of the head runs perpendicular to the
handle
– The head has a rounded blunt end for impact, along
with two flattened stems formed by a tapered grove
at the opposite end
– The length of the tool is approximately 30 cm and it
weighs about 1 kg

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 A Picture is Worth ...
• Graphical Communication

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 The Point
• Obviously, graphics can convey some
information in an easier to understand way
• Imagine how difficult some things would be
without graphical communication:
– Advertising
– Instructions
– Education
– Engineering!

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 Advantages of Graphical
Communication
• Clear
• Concise
• Efficient
• Reduced Ambiguity

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Graphical Representation

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 Engineering Graphics
• Graphics is a universal language
• The earliest forms of written
communication were pictorial
– Egyptian Hieroglyphics
• Engineering graphics are directed
towards graphical problem solving
• A good drawing is “worth a thousand
words”
• Moreover, good engineering
graphics are self explanatory!

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Graphical Representation
• Practical engineering
problems stem from
problems associated with
the graphical representation
of ideas that have to be
turned into physical reality:
parts
• A visual image is formed in
the mind, reviewed,
modified, and ultimately
communicated to someone
else in the form of graphics
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 Graphical Representation
• It is crucial that the graphical representation
be clear and unambiguous
• The image must be precise and exact

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 Engineering Graphics & Geometry
• The word geometry means
“earth measure”
• Geometry as a science may
have begun in Egypt, to
measure the areas of fields to
assess taxes
• Calculus and algebra are
abstractions of geometry
– e.g., Pythagorean theorem
• Ancient Indian, Chinese,
Egyptian, Greek and Roman
builders, among others, used
graphics to solve complex
design problems associated
This image cannot currently be displayed.

with large structures

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 Technical Illustration
• Also called pictorial drawings,
technical illustrations are used to
describe products in catalogues, user,
and maintenance manuals
• Pictorial sketching is an important
engineering communication tool
• Useful to describe difficult to visualize
components or assemblies
• How to put components together –
NOT how to make them
• Three common types
– Perspective
– Oblique
– Isometric (Axonometric)

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Production Assembly Drawings

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 Pictorial Assembly Drawings

Pictorial assembly (exploded) drawing

Used to illustrate catalogues, user manuals, etc.

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 Perspective Projection
• In perspective projection the projectors intersect at
finite points, called vanishing points (VP)
• The representation on the projection plane may be
considered the view that would be seen by a single
eye at a known point in space (station point)
• The picture is formed on the projection plane by the
intersections of the projecting lines from the object
to the focal point of the eye

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 Perspective Projection
• Perspective projection is used primarily by
architects and commercial artists to describe
the external appearance of an object

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 Perspective Projection
• One-Point Perspective
– The projection plane is parallel to two principal axes. Receding lines
along one of the principal axis converge to a vanishing point
– A one-point perspective is used almost exclusively for interior-room
views. It gives the observer the illusion of looking into the room

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 Perspective Projection
• LenardoDa Vinci: The Last Supper employed
one-point perspective to focus the attention
of the viewer to the vanishing point (VP)

VP

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 Two-Point Perspective
– Often used in architectural renderings
– If the projection plane intersects exactly two principal
axes, a two-point perspective projection occurs
– In this perspective the visual rays converge at two
vanishing points

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 Perspective Projection
• Computer graphics two-point example

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 Perspective Projection
• If the projection plane is not parallel to any principal axis, a
three-point projection occurs with the visual rays converging
to three vanishing points

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 Perspective Projection
• M.C. Escher created
optical illusions using
three-point perspective
in “Ascending and
Descending”

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Perspective Projection

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Just because you can draw it does
not mean you can build it …

Penrose Triangle

Escher`s Waterfall 29
Just because you can draw it does
not mean you can build it …
or does it?

Brian McKay and Ahmad Abas in Perth Austrialia 30

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 Oblique Projection
• Front face of object is parallel to the viewer,
therefore that face is true size
• Projection lines do not converge to a vanishing
point

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 Oblique Projection
• Parallel projectors are at an
oblique angle (i.e., not 90o)
to the paper plane
• Used to give an indication of
depth
• Presents the exact shape of
one face
• Lack of perspective
foreshortening makes it
easier to compare sizes

Foreshortening is a technique used in perspective to create the illusion of

an object receding strongly into the distance or background. 34
 Isometric Projection
• Parallel lines remain
parallel instead of
converging to a
vanishing point
• Axis are each 120
degrees apart
• Special case of
Axonometric projection
– Viewed so as to reveal
more than one side

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 Isometric Projection
• Isometric projection uses parallel
projectors (orthogonal projection),
but it shows more than one face of
the object (axonometric)
• The x-, y- and z-axes have the
same metric: a unit (say, a cm)
along the x-axis is equally long
along the y- and z-axes
• In a cube, all edges in the 2D
picture have the same length
• The projected cube is also
symmetric; all sides are
rhombuses (a rhombus is a
parallelogram with sides that are
equal in length)

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•
Isometric Sketching
Isometric projection uses parallel
projectors (orthogonal projection),
but it shows more than one face of
the object (axonometric)
• The x-, y- and z-axes have the
same metric: a unit (say, a cm)
along the x-axis is equally long
along the y- and z-axes
• In a cube, all edges in the 2D
picture have the same length
• The projected cube is also
symmetric; all sides are
rhombuses (a rhombus is a
parallelogram with sides that are
equal in length)

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Isometric Sketch Paper

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 Orthographic Projection
• The most important graphical drawing method
• 2D representations of a 3D object
• Extensively used in Engineering
• Useful when technical information is needed
• They enable parts to be made
• Often an isometric view is included with the
standard views

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 Orthographic Projection
• Orthographic projection is the geometric
backbone of a technical drawing
• In order for the technical drawing to be useful,
many conventions must be followed
– The information in the drawing has to be clear and
concise
– Conventions apply to things like object placement,
line types, and dimensioning

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 Orthographic Projection
QH

QF
QP
Three orthographic
projections of a point
in 3D space

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Orthographic Projection
 Third-Angle Orthographic Projection

Third-Angle Projection
• The object is placed in the third
quadrant and then viewed from
the first quadrant
• Projection planes are between
the observer and object
• Used in Canada, U.S., and Britain
• First-Angle Projection used in
Europe
• The top view is placed over the
front view; the right-side view is
to the right of the front view

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 First-Angle Orthographic Projection

First-Angle Projection
• The object is placed in the first
quadrant and viewed from the
first quadrant
• The object is between the
observer and projection planes
• Used in most of the world
• The top view is placed below the
front view. The right-side view is
to the left of the front view

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First Angle

Third Angle
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 Symbol for FIRST ANGLE
• Wide end is next to
the circle

Symbol for THIRD ANGLE.

• Narrow end is next to the
circle.
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We use Third-Angle Projection

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 Orthographic Projection
• The bracket in the figure is a
simple part, but describing
it with words is difficult
• Is it hard to make a 3D
drawing of it?
• Not if you know how to
project it orthographically!
• Orthographic projection
represents different views
separated by 90o as the
viewer moves around it

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 Orthographic Projection
• Orthographic projection
involves projecting views of an
object onto the sides of an
imaginary rectangular glass
box
• The projectors in any one view
are parallel to each other and
perpendicular (orthographic,
or orthogonal) to the
projection planes (the sides of
the rectangular glass box)

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 Orthographic Projection
• Six principal views can
be drawn in
orthographic projection
• Imagine a glass box with
the views projected
onto its six planes

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Orthographic Projection
Opening the box into a single plane (the front plane)
gives the six views

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Orthographic Projection

Canada & US
 Three-View Drawings
• We use third-angle
projection
• Three-view drawings
typically, though not always,
consist of top, front, and
right-side views
• Imagine the object is placed
in the box and
orthographically projected
onto the three planes
• The box is then opened into
the frontal plane

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 Hidden
line

Three-View Drawings
Width, Height, and Depth dimensions can be represented,
giving enough information to construct the object

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Arrangement of Views
•The three views must be arranged according to the
projection convention (first-angle or third-angle)
•Top and side views are projected from and aligned
with the front view
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 Selection of Views
• The most descriptive view is
usually selected to be the
front view
• The remaining views are
selected such that they
contain the fewest hidden
lines
• If a tie occurs (say between
the left and right-side
views) use the conventional
view (top or right-side)

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Selection of Views

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Selection of Views

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 Assignment

• Read Chapters 12 & 14

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