CHAPTER 1.

INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING DRAWING

MODULE 1. INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING DRAWING

1.1. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL DRAWING

Since its origins, man has tried to communicate through graphics or drawings. The first

representations that we know are the cave paintings, in which they not only tried to

represent the reality that surrounded them, animals, stars, the human being himself, etc., but

also sensations, such as the joy of dances, or the tension of the hunts

Throughout history, this desire to communicate through drawings has evolved, giving rise

on the one hand to artistic drawing and on the other to technical drawing.

While the first tries to communicate ideas and sensations, based on suggestion and

stimulating the viewer's imagination, technical drawing aims to represent objects as

accurately as possible, in shape and dimensions.

Today, there is a confluence between the objectives of artistic and technical drawing. This is

a consequence of the use of Computers in Technical Drawing, with them virtual recreations

in 3D are obtained, which although they represent the objects in true magnitude and shape,

also carry a strong load of suggestion for the viewer.

1.2. DEFINITION OF TECHNICAL DRAWING

Technical drawing is the graphic representation of an object or a practical idea. This

representation is guided by fixed and pre-established rules to be able to accurately and

clearly describe the dimensions, shapes, characteristics and construction of what is to be

reproduced.

To make a technical drawing, precision instruments are required. When we do not use these

instruments it is called freehand drawing or sketch.

The flaws and inaccuracies in communication have been the subject of multiple conflicts

and difficulties on the path towards understanding and development of peoples. The large

number of languages and dialects mean that the exchange of information occurs slowly and

erratically, preventing the development of new and innovative technologies that allow

everyone to improve their living conditions. The magnitude of this problem focuses on

man's unavoidable need for verbal communication, both oral and written, which, as we will

see, has the great drawback of being ineffective in accurately transmitting concepts and

ideas.

As man has faced countless changing conditions in his living conditions, the need to

develop alternative forms of communication has become evident, among which we can

highlight sign language, oral, written and mathematician, however one of the ways of

transmitting ideas that has demonstrated great effectiveness over time has been

communication through symbols or graphics, which had its origins in times as remote as

those of the origin of humanity itself.

The effectiveness of graphic communication is based on the process of forming ideas, which

are represented in the mind through a visual process that is then externalized through a

language that the human being is able to use. This is why drawing is the ideal medium to

communicate ideas.
A drawing is the graphic representation of an idea or an object, which can be made by using

tools, whether manual, mechanical, or computational, and whose purpose is to express

aesthetic, philosophical, abstract, or technical ideas; and according to their purpose,

drawings can be classified as artistic or technical, the latter being the ones to which we will

dedicate our study.

The importance of drawing in the development of different cultures is evident when we

observe the large number of complex buildings, which simply could not have been created

without the help of detailed diagrams that would guide their builders. Nowadays, with the

extensive use of computers, graphic communication becomes increasingly relevant, because

illustrations are the primary means of communication in the design process. However, we

must keep in mind that computers do not eliminate the need to learn the basic principles of

modeling and drawing, since these are nothing more than tools that facilitate their

realization.

Graphs are present in a large number of aspects concerning the performance of any

engineer, scientist or technician. In developing an idea, many characteristics must be

described that would be very difficult, or simply impossible, to communicate through verbal

descriptions. Technical drawing is constituted as a specialized type of graphics in order to

communicate technical information with a high degree of rigor and accuracy.

Today's engineer is called to be a creative person, capable of working as a team and

communicating ideas; through the use of effective communication techniques, which allow

you to transmit your ideas and perceptions in a simple and clear way both to your colleagues

and collaborators, as well as to non-technical personnel, and to achieve this you must have a

very good command of oral and written techniques. and mathematics, but especially graphic

communication techniques, as well as a great ability to think in three dimensions, which is

Learning technical drawing does not require artistic talent, it only requires study, training

and commitment; skills required for the discernment of any technical discipline.

1.4. EVOLUTION OF GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION

At least 15,000 years ago, prehistoric man in the Upper Paleolithic already made drawings

of the animals he hunted on the rock surfaces of his caves.

However, the first record that is considered an engineering drawing is a plan of a temple

from 2130 BC. This plan was recorded on a plate that is part of a statue. The figure includes

a punch and a marked bar that appears to be a scale. The headless statue appears to be of

Gudea, a builder and governor of Lagash, one of the oldest cities in Sumeria, later known as

Babylon. Another precedent for engineering drawing, dating from approximately 1500 BC,

Egyptian papyrus remains were found revealing drawings that used a grid of elaborate

straight lines made by touching the papyrus with a specially dyed string, this has been

considered the early stage of engineering drawing. sketching practices.

The Greeks made important contributions to the development of drawing, among them the

following stand out for their contributions in geometry: Thales known as Thales of Miletus

(600 BC), Pythagoras (525 BC), Euclid (300 BC) and Archimedes (250 BC).
The Ten Books on Architecture , is the oldest written record existing today regarding the use

of geometry for the practice of design, was written around the year 27 BC by the Roman

architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio , where he notes: "an architect "must have a knowledge of

drawing so he can make sketches of his ideas."

Vitruvius studied human dimensions (third book) and his principles were later resumed in a

famous drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci called Homo Vitruvianus .

In the early 1400s, Filippo Brunelleschi invented the systematic method of determining

scientific perspective projections. And in 1435, Leono Battista Alberti (1404 - 1472), an

expert mathematician and geometer, wrote his book Della Pintura , in which he explained

the scientific bases of perspective, which was defined as the technique used to represent a

three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface. . Later, Piero della Francesca (Piero

De Benedetto Dei Franceschi), extended the mathematical bases of Alberti's method in his

treatise De Perspective di Pingudi .

The concept of similar triangles described both geometrically and mechanically is discussed
extensively by Albrecht Dürer, who in 1525 published The Painter's Manual in which he

proposed his methods of perspective drawing.

The first record that could be called projections of various related views appeared during the

Renaissance in Italy, approximately 1500 AD. Some engineers and inventors of that time

were also famous artists. The drawings left by Leonardo Da Vinci were very easily

understood due to their excellent use of perspective and axonometric projection techniques,

still used today.

In 1795, Gaspard Monge, who is considered the “father of descriptive geometry,” used the

graphic method in solving design problems, published his treatise on descriptive geometry,

which provided a scientific basis for engineering graphics.

Monge was a French mathematician who worked in the design area of a military school in

France. In his strengthening projects, he replaced the tedious method of mathematical

calculation of measurements with graphic solutions that significantly reduced the time

necessary to produce solutions to spatial problems.

During the past two centuries, graphic engineering has used various manual instruments that

have streamlined the preparation of orthographic projection drawings. Pencils, squares and

drawing tables have been widely used in the production of technical plans. However, during

the last two decades, thanks to great advances in the computing area, we see how a new era
has been born in graphic communication technology.

1.5. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TECHNICAL DRAWING

The technical drawing has 3 characteristics that must be respected when carrying out work:

• Graphic.

• Universal.

• Accurate.

It is essential that all people, designers or technicians, follow clear rules in the

representation of the pieces.

At an international level, ISO standards are responsible for setting precise guidelines. In

technical drawing, the application standards refer to representation systems, presentations

(lines, formats, labeling, etc.), representation of the elements of the pieces (sections,

sections, views, etc.), etc.

1.6. STANDARDIZATION OF TECHNICAL DRAWING

The word standardization is synonymous with quality, control and review of products. Its

objective is to specify, unify and simplify the elements that participate in technological

applications.

1.6.1. Rule

It is the rule taken from experience and practicality, it is approved through collective

agreements in order to serve as a basis for coordinating production processes.

1.6.2. Historical review

maintenance.

During the First World War from 1914 to 1918 there was a need to standardize and

determine well-defined shapes and measurements, with regard to parts, mechanical pieces

and everything that was going to be manufactured.

Normen) i.e. the German Standards Institute. In 1926 the interpretation of the acronym DIN

was changed and the meaning of Das Ist Norma was given.

In North America, the ASA (American Standards Association) standards were used.

This difference in standards between countries created a barrier to trade and that is why the

ISO (International Standard Organization) was created, that is, the International

Organization for Standardization founded in Geneva in 1945. The ISO currently has around

85 affiliated countries.

1.6.3. Standardization and technical drawing

Standardization provides technical drawing with a series of standards that contribute to a

quick and clear interpretation of that graphic language.

The standards refer mainly to units of measurement, representative symbols, dimensions,

formats, line types and all the data that any technician must know and interpret.

1.6.4. Safety and hygiene standards when creating plans with instruments

• Stay with clean hands.

• Manipulate the drawing on paper with your hands, as absolutely necessary.

• After sharpening pencils you should wash your hands.

• You should not get too close, due to ergonomic posture and vision impairment.

• The distance between your eyes and the pencil should be at least 30 centimeters.

• It is advisable to work with natural light.

• If artificial light is used, it should not be too intense.

• It is recommended that the light bulb be on the left.

• Keep a cloth or soft coat to continually clean the squares.

A set of tools that allow computer-aided design is called aided design tools. It is common to

use the acronym CAD, Computer Aided Design, to designate the set of software tools

oriented fundamentally, but not exclusively, to computer-aided design (CAD),

manufacturing (CAM) and analysis (CAE) in the scientific and industrial fields.

Initially these programs were limited to small applications focused on two-dimensional

technical drawing that replaced the traditional drawing board, since it offered advantages for

the reproduction and conservation of plans and reduced drawing time, also allowing the use

of repetitive elements. and streamline changes. It could be compared to the advantages of

the first word processors compared to the typewriter.

Its beginnings were hindered by being aimed at a very small group of users and also

requiring very powerful hardware. Not to mention the resistance of many professionals to

adopt these technologies. But their potential, the increase in hardware power and the

importance of the companies that used them (among which the automotive industry stood

out) allowed these tools to gradually reach three dimensions and include complex curves,

surfaces and Finally, solids. Until we reach the complex associative and parametric systems

that allow us to carry out the entire design of a car or an airplane, subject them to crash tests,

temperatures, etc., create all the marketing infographics, make prototypes and, of course,

manufacture them, programming and controlling the machines that manufacture them and

then checking the results obtained. All this in times unthinkable twenty years ago.

Currently, these systems are connected to the management and production systems in such a

way that from the design phase it is possible to know the cost of the final product, control

the stocks of components and materials for its manufacture and, in short, everything that one

can imagine.
We have gone from having a representation of a plan on the screen to having a virtual model

from which we can obtain data, mount it on other models, make it adaptive, print it,

manufacture it. The next step was the so-called expert systems that allow rules and

regulations to be collected so that the system guides the user in making decisions. And now

the aim is to collect the user's knowledge and experience and for the system to learn, taking

into account aesthetics, engineering, manufacturing and quality.

The evolution of these systems has allowed impressive advances in the industry, from which

everything from satellites to home blenders benefit today.

CAD systems provide a series of advantages over traditional drawing methods, among

which we can highlight:

• A significant increase in drawing precision.

• Optimization of the drawing production process.

• More precise calculation methods.

• Integration of design with other disciplines.

However, the implementation of CAD systems brings with it some drawbacks such as the

initial investment required for its implementation and the time required for learning and

training.

1.8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ronald E. Barr (2004), The Current Status Of Graphical Communication In

Engineering Education . University of Texas.

2. Giesecks, Mitchell and Spencer Henry (1979). Technical drawing , New York,

Limusa Editorial.

3. Hammer, Warren (2000), How to read industrial drawings . New York, Publisher:

Industrial Press Inc.

4. Assisted design tools. www.wikipedia.org

5. Teaching topography. http://topografiadocente.over-blog.es/