Engineering Drawing Overview

Drafting has a long history, many drawing conventions, terms, abbreviations, and practices have come into common use. It is critically essential that different drafters use the same practices or standards if drafting is to serve as a reliable means of communicating technical requirements. In this authors experience, creative drafting techniques generally cause confusion for most end users of the engineering drawing resulting in slower production and elevated manufacturing costs.

In 1946 the International Organization of Standards (ISO) was formed in the interest of worldwide communication. One of its committees, ISO TCIO was formed to define an accepted set of drawing standards. Today's modern engineering and design organizations have adopted, either in full or with minor changes, the standards set up by this committee, which was and is made up of selected personnel from industry, technical organizations, and education.

The American Standards Institute (ANSI) is the current governing body that maintains the drafting standards for the United States. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is the current governing body for Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing within the United States.;

The drafting section of Engineers Edge is not a guide to replace the drafting standards set forth by ISO, ANSI, or ASME.