Lab 02: Lines

There are various types of lines that engineers use in drawings. Different types of lines indicate a
variety of information, for example, whether an edge is visible or hidden. Engineers can also use
lines to indicate symmetry and make it easier for others to read and understand the drawing.
1- Introduction to Types of Lines:
Visible/Object Lines
 Dark, heavy lines.
 Used to represent the outline or contour of the object being drawn.

Hidden Lines
 Light, narrow, short, dashed lines.
 Shows the outline of a feature that cannot be seen in a particular view.
 Used to help clarify a feature, but can be omitted if they clutter a drawing.
 Hidden lines should always begin and end with a dash. Exception: When the hidden
line begins or ends at a parallel visible or hidden line.
 Dashes should join at corners.

Section Lines
 Thin line usually drawn at a 45 degree angle.
 Indicates the material that has been cut through in a sectional view.

Center Lines
 Thin line consisting of alternating long and short dashes.
 Used to represent the center of round or cylindrical features, or the symmetry of a feature.
 Center lines should start and end with long dashes.

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  Center lines should intersect by crossing either the long dashes or the short dashes.
 Center lines should extend a short distance beyond the object or feature.

 Center lines may be connected within a single view to show that two or more features lie
in the same plane.

Dimension Lines
 Thin lines capped on the ends with arrowheads and broken along their length to provide a
space for the dimension numeral.
 They indicate length.

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Extension Lines
Thin lines used to establish the extent of a dimension. Can also be used to show extension of a
surface to a theoretical intersection as shown in (b). Begin 1.5mm from the object and
extend to 3mm beyond the last dimension. They should not cross dimension lines.

Leader Lines
 Thin lines used to connect a specific note to a feature.
 Also used to direct dimensions, symbols, item number and part numbers on a drawing.
- Commonly drawn at 45, 30 and 60 degrees.
- Has a short shoulder (3-6mm) at one end beginning at the center of the vertical
height of text, and a standard dimension arrowhead at the other end touching the
feature.
 Leader lines should not cross each other.
 Leader lines should not be excessively long.
 Leader lines should not be vertical or horizontal.
 Leader lines should not be parallel to dimension lines, extension lines or section lines.

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Arrowheads
 Used to terminate dimension lines and leader lines and on cutting-plane lines and viewing
plane lines.
 They should be three times as long as they are wide.
 They should be the same size throughout the drawing.

Cutting Plane Lines

 Thick broken line that is terminated with short 90 degree arrowheads.
 Shows where a part is mentally cut in half to better see the interior detail.

Break Lines
Break Lines are used to break out sections for clarity or for shortening a part.
Three types of break lines with different line weights:
a) Short Break Lines.
 Thick wavy line.

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 Used to break the edge or surface of a part for clarity of a hidden surface.

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 b) Long Break Lines
 Long, thin lines.
 Used to show that the middle section of an object has been removed so it can be drawn on a
smaller piece of paper.

c) Cylindrical Break Lines.

 Thin lines.
 Used to show round parts that are broken in half to better clarify the print or to reduce the
length of the object.

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 Phantom Lines
 Thin lines made up of long dashes alternating with pairs of short dashes.
 Three purposes in drawings:
- To show the alternate position of moving parts.
- To show the relationship of parts that fit together.
- To show repeated detail.

Line Precedence
If two lines occur in the same place, the line that is considered to be the least important is
omitted. Lines in order of precedence/importance are as follows:
- Cutting plane line
- Visible line
- Hidden line
- Centerline

Example

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Arrow Head:

It is used as terminator on dimension lines. The points of the arrow heads on leader lines and
dimension lines must make the contact with the feature object line or extension line which
represents the feature being dimensioned. The standard size ratio for all arrow heads on
mechanical drawings is 3:1 (Length to Width)

Dimensioning:
Drawing of a component, in addition to providing complete shape description, must also
furnish information regarding the size description. These are provided through the distances
between the surfaces, location of holes, nature of surface finish, type of material, etc. The
expression of these features on a drawing, using lines, symbols, figures and notes is called
dimensioning.
 Dimensions should be placed outside the views, except when they are cleaner more easily
readable inside.
 Dimension lines should not cross each other
 As far as possible, dimension should not be shown between the dotted lines.
 Dimension lines should be placed at about 6mm from the outlines.
 Head should be pointed and filled in. they are made in ratio 3 to1 (Length Lettering )

Methods of Indicating Dimensions:

The dimensions are indicated on the drawings according to one of the following two
methods.
Method - 1 (Aligned method):
Dimensions should be placed parallel to and above their dimension lines and preferably at
the middle of the line. Dimensions may be written so that they can be read from the bottom or
from the right side of the drawing.

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 s
Method - 2 (Uni-directional):
Dimensions should be indicated so that they can be read from the bottom of the drawing
only. Non-horizontal dimension lines are interrupted, preferably in the middle for insertion of
the dimension. Note: Horizontal dimensional lines are not broken to place the dimension in
both

Dimensioning Symbols:
Dimensioning symbols replace text and are used to minimize language barriers.

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In Lab Tasks:
1. Draw the Figures with proper dimensioning as per rules

2. Draw the top front and side view of the cuboid with proper lines and dimensioning.
Also, assuming that the cube has been sectioned from the top view, draw its cross-
sectional view. (length = 3-inch, width = 2.5-inch, breadth = 4 inch)

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