ALPHABET OF LINES

Object Lines (A, fig. 3-1). Object or Visiblel lines represent the visible edges or outlines of an object.

Hidden Lines (A, fig. 3-1). Hidden lines are made of short dashes which represent hidden edges of an
object.

Center Lines (B, fig. 3-1). Center lines are made with alternating short and long dashes. A line through the
center of an object is called a center line.

Cutting Plane Lines (B, fig. 3-1). Cutting plane lines are dashed lines, generally of the same width as the full
lines, extending through the area being cut. Short solid wing lines at each end of the cutting line project at
90 degrees to that line and end in arrowheads which point in the direction of viewing. Capital letters or
numerals are placed just beyond the points of the arrows to designate the section.

Dimension Lines (A, fig. 3-1). Dimension lines are fine full lines ending in arrowheads. They are used to
indicate the measured distance between two points.

Extension Lines (A, fig. 3-1). Extension lines are fine lines from the outside edges or intermediate points of a
drawn object. They indicate the limits of dimension lines.

Break Lines (C, fig. 3-1). Break lines are used to show a break in a drawing and are used when it is desired
to increase the scale of a drawing of uniform cross section while showing the true size by dimension lines.
There are two kinds of break lines: short break and long break. Short break lines are usually heavy, wavy,
semiparallel lines cutting off the object outline across a uniform section. Long break lines are long dash
parallel lines with each long dash in the line connected to the next by a "2" or sharp wave line.

Alphabet of Lines

Object Line: Thick lines about .6mm(.032in) that show the visible edges of an object.

Center Line: Lines that define the center of arcs, circles, or symmetrical parts. They are half as thick as an object line.

Construction Line: Very lightly drawn lines used as guides to help draw all other lines and shapes properly. Usually
erased after being used.

Hidden Line: Lines used to show interior detail that is not visible from the outside of the part.

Leader Lines: Leader lines are used to show dimensions of arcs, circles and to help show detail. An arrow head is
used to point to the part you are dimensioning and the line comes off the arrow point usually at a 45 degree angle. At
the end of this line a horizontal line is drawn with a note at the end telling information about what is being pointed at.

Extension Lines: Lines used to show where a dimension starts and stops on an object. Used with dimension lines to
properly dimension

an object. The line is 1/16” away from the part as to not get confused with the object lines

Dimension Lines: Lines that are used to show distance. Arrows are drawn on the ends to show where the dimension
line starts and ends. The actual distance is usually located in the middle of this line to let you know the distance being
communicated. Dimension lines are used in conjunction with extension lines to properly dimension objects.

Border Line: Lines around the outside of a drawing, like a picture frame, that defines the mechanical drawing
1. OBJECT OR VISIBLE LINES – Thick dark line use to show outline of object, visible edges and surfaces.

2. CONSTRUCTION LINE – Very light and thin line use to construct layout work.

3. DIMENSION LINE – Thin and dark lines use to show the size (span) of an object with a numeric value. Usually
terminates with arrowheads or tick markings.

4. HIDDEN LINE – Short dash lines use to show non visible surfaces. Usually shows as medium thickness.

5. CENTRE LINE – Long and shot dash lines. Usually indicates centre of holes, circles and arcs. Line is thin and dark.

6. EXTENSION LINE – Thin and dark line use to show the starting and ending of dimension.

7. CUTTING PLANE LINE – Extra thick line use to show cutaway views or plane of projection where a section view is taken.
Arrow indicates direction of view.

8. SHORT AND LONG BREAK LINES –Short and long medium line use to show cutaway view of a long section.
9. LEADER LINE – Medium line with arrowhead to show notes or label for size or special information about a feature.

10. PHANTOM LINE – Long line followed by two short dashes use to show alternate position of a moving part.

11. SECTION LINE – Medium lines drawn at 45 degrees use to show interior view of solid areas of cutting plane line.

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Alphabet of LinesThe "Alphabet of Lines" refers to thedifferent styles of lines used in drafting toshow
different features about an object that isdrawn. There are eleven main line types -visible, hidden, center,
dimension, extension,leader, section, cutting-plane, phantom,viewing plane and break. Each line has
adefinite form and line weight. The standardthick line weight varies from .030 to .038 of aninch whereas the
standard thin line weightvaries from .015 to .022 of an inch.Visible lines are dark and heavy lines.They show
the outline and shape of an object.They define features that can be seen in aparticular view.Hidden lines are
light, narrow, short,dashed lines. They show the outline of afeature that cannot be seen in a particularview.
They are used to help clarify a featurebut can be omitted if they clutter a drawing.Section lines are thin lines
usuallydrawn at a 45 degree angle. They indicate the

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material that has been cut through in asectional view.Center lines are thin lines consistingof long and short
dashes. They show the centerof holes, slots, paths of rotation andsymmetrical objects.Dimension lines are
dark, heavy lines.They show the length, width, and height of thefeatures of an object. They are terminated
witharrowheads at the end.Extension lines are used to show thestarting and stopping points of a
dimension.There should be at least a 1/16 space betweenthe object and the extension line. Leaderlines are
thin lines used to show the dimensionof a feature or a note that is too large to beplaced beside the feature
itself.Cutting plane lines are thick brokenlines that terminate with short 90 degreearrowheads. They show
where a part ismentally cut in half to better see the interiordetail.Break lines are used to break outsections
for clarity or for shortening a part.

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There are three types of break lines withdifferent line weights. These are short breaks,long breaks and
cylindrical breaks. Short break lines are thick wavy lines used to break theedge or surface of a part for clarity
of a hiddensurface. Long break lines are long, thin linesused to show that the middle section of anobject has
been removed so it can be drawn ona smaller piece of paper. Cylindrical break lines are thin lines used to
show round partsthat are broken in half to better clarify the printor to reduce the length of the
object.Phantom lines are thin lines made upof long dashes alternating with pairs of shortdashes. Their
purpose is to show the alternateposition of moving parts, relationship of partsthat fit together and repeated
detail. They canshow where a part is moving to and from.They eliminate the confusion of thinking theremay
be two parts instead of just one. They alsoshow how two or more parts go togetherwithout having to draw
and dimension all.They show repeated details of an object and

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WeightsLine weights, or the varying linethicknesses used in engineering drawing, areessential in creating a
drawing thatcommunicates effectively. Line weights are avital part of conventional technical
graphicslanguage. They are embodied to the extent of being defined in national and
internationalstandards.Line types and line weights allowdrawings to communicate information thatwould
otherwise be very difficult to convey.For example: hidden outlines, paths of motion,planes of symmetry,
fictitious outlines such asmajor and minor diameters of screw threads,dimensions and projections, materials

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(hatching), and centers and imaginaryintersections.Conventional practice is that only twodifferent line
weights be used on any onedrawing. This is subject to discretion andsome disciplines regularly use three,
andoccasionally four, different line weights.Consistency and clarity of communication arethe deciding
factors.Continuous thick lines range from0.35-0.50 mm and are used for visibleoutlines, existing features,
cut edges andgeneral line work. Continuous medium linesare 0.25-0.35 mm and used when another levelof
line weight would assist the delineation e.g.internal line work, notes. Continuous thin linesvary from 0.18 to
0.25 mm. They are appliedin fictitious outlines, imaginary intersectionsand projections, hatching, dimensions
andbreak lines. Dashed thick lines are 0.35-0.50mm while dashed thin lines are 0.18-0.25 mm.They are
used in hidden outlines and edges.Chain thick lines are 0.35-0.50 mm and theyindicate special surface
requirements or
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sometimes with a text component to indicatepipelines and services. Chain thin lines, 0.18-0.25 mm, are for
center lines, motion pathsand indication of repeated detail.Engineering drawings made on A4,A3 and A2-
sized pages are at the smallest endof the range of document sizes that wouldreasonably be used. The
appropriate pen groupis from the fine end of the scale - 0.18, 0.25and 0.35mm pen widths.Reference: Line
Weight. (n.d). Retrieved July21, 2011, fromhttp://www.cadinfo.net/intellicad/ line-weightOrthographic
DrawingOrthographic projection (ororthogonal projection) is a means of representing a three-dimensional
object in twodimensions. It is a form of parallel projection,where all the projection lines are orthogonal tothe
projection plane. It is further divided into

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multiview orthographic projections andaxonometric projections. A lens providing anorthographic projection is
known as an(object-space) telecentric lens. The termorthographic is also sometimes reservedspecifically for
depictions of objects where theaxis or plane of the object is also parallel withthe projection plane, as in
multivieworthographic projections.With multiview orthographicprojections, up to six pictures of an object
areproduced, with each projection plane parallelto one of the coordinate axes of the object. Theviews are
positioned relative to each otheraccording to either of two schemes: first-angleor third-angle projection. In
each, theappearances of views may be thought of asbeing projected onto planes that form a 6-sidedbox
around the object. Both first-angle andthird-angle projections result in the same 6views; the difference
between them is thearrangement of these views around the box.First-angle projection is as if theobject were
sitting on the paper and, from the

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"face" (front) view, it is rolled to the right toshow the left side or rolled up to show itsbottom. It is standard
throughout Europe(excluding the UK) and Asia. First-angleprojection used to be common in the UK, andmay
still be seen on historical designdrawings, but has now fallen into disuse infavor of third-angle
projection.Third-angle is as if the object were abox to be unfolded. If we unfold the box sothat the front view
is in the center of the twoarms, then the top view is above it, the bottomview is below it, the left view is to the
left, andthe right view is to the right. It is standard inthe United Kingdom, USA, Canada, andAustralia.A great
deal of confusion has ensuedin drafting rooms and engineering departmentswhen drawings are transferred
from oneconvention to another. On engineeringdrawings, the projection angle is denoted byan international
symbol consisting of atruncated cone labeled FR for first-angle andUS for third-angle.

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Axonometric projection is a type of parallel projection, more specifically a type of orthographic projection,
used to create apictorial drawing of an object, where theobject is rotated along one or more of its
axesrelative to the plane of projection. There arethree main types of axonometric projection:isometric,
dimetric, and trimetric projection."Axonometric" means to measurealong axes. Axonometric projection
shows animage of an object as viewed from a skewdirection in order to reveal more than one sidein the
same picture. Whereas the termorthographic is sometimes reservedspecifically for depictions of objects
where theaxis or plane of the object is parallel with theprojection plane, in axonometric projection theplane
or axis of the object is always drawn notparallel to the projection plane.With axonometric projections
thescale of distant features is the same as for nearfeatures, such pictures will look distorted, as itis not how
our eyes or photography work. This
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distortion is especially evident if the object toview is mostly composed of rectangularfeatures. Despite this
limitation, axonometricprojection can be useful for purposes of illustration.

Orthographic Projection is a way of drawing an 3D object from different directions. Usually a

front, side and plan view are drawn so that a person looking at the drawing can see all the
important sides. Orthographic drawings are useful especially when a design has been developed
to a stage whereby it is almost ready to manufacture.

IMPORTANT: There are two ways of drawing in orthographic - First Angle and Third Angle.
They differ only in the position of the plan, front and side views. Below is an example of First
Angle projection.
 Opposite is a simple L-shape, drawn in three dimensions.

The front, side and plan views have drawn around the 3D shape. However this is not the correct
way of drawing them as they are not in the right positions.

Steps used to create an orthographic projection

 
The following steps take you through the creation of an orthographic projection.
 
1. Choose a front view. This is the view that shows the most about the object.
2. Decide how many views are needed to completely describe the object. If you are unable
to determine which views will be needed, draw the standard views (front, top and right side).
3. Draw the visible features of the front view.
4. Draw projectors off of the front view horizontally and vertically in order to create the
boundaries for the top and right side views.
5. Draw the top view. Use the vertical projectors to fill in the visible and hidden features.
6. Project from the top view back to the front view. Use the vertical projectors to fill in any
missing visible or hidden features in the front view.
7. Draw a 45° projector off of the upper right corner of the box that encloses the front view.
8. From the top view, draw projectors over to the 45° line and down in order to create the
boundaries of the right side view.
9. Draw the right side view.
10.   Project back to the top and front view from the right side view as needed.
11.   Draw center lines where necessary.