Drafting As An Art Of Technical Drawing

By:James Monahan

Drafting is also known as technical drawing, it is the method of creating drawing for architectures and engineering. A person who is skilled in this field is more popularly known as a draftsman.

The fundamentals of drafting are easy. To be able to draft something, a draftsman places a piece of paper (or other drawing material) on any surface that has straight sides and right angle corners (drafting table).

Another tool needed for drafting is a t-square. A t-square is a ruler-like tool that slides on a straight edge, making it easier for a draftsman to move his/her tool on the drafting table.

The t-square enables its users to draw parallel lines by moving this tool and running your pencils edge along its straight edge line.

T-squares can also be used to hold other drafting devices like a set of squares or triangles. This way, the right angle of the t-square plus the angle of the triangle can create a perfect straight and angled line onto your paper.

Modern day drafting tables now come equipped with parallel ruler supported by both sides of the table. This ruler can also slide through your drafting table, assuring you that parallel lines that you draw are going to turn out parallel.

Other drafting tools are used to create circles and curves. A primary tool used in drafting is the compass. This instrument is used to create simple circles in your drawing.

A French curve on the other hand, is a plastic curved ruler that helps create simple and complex curves for your project. For more intricate curves, a spline is a drafting tool that is made of an articulated metal covered in rubber to enable users to bend this tool in different curves.

The simplest drafting system needs to pay full attention to the placement of tools and the accuracy of the table. The most common mistake in drafting is to let the triangle push the top of the t-square slightly down. When this happens, it will throw off all the proper angles in your drawing.

Another common problem in the area of drafting is the difficulty in drawing two angled lines and making them meet at a point. Because this was such a tedious task, the introduction of the "drafting machine" came into the light of possibility.

This machine makes it possible for the draftsman to have a precise angle wherever part of the paper he wishes to draw at. He does this with the help of the pantograph.

A pantograph is a special mechanical tool connected to the drafting table that when used to draw, it moves in a fixed relation to every other element of itself. Also, one major advantage of the drafting machine enables the ability to modify angles, thus eliminating the use of triangles.

Drafting must seem easy to most people, but to be able to draft something, it requires a certain knowledge in engineering.

For a time, drafting was a sought after profession in the United States, considering that the draftsman was a very skilled at his craft. But because of the creation of the drafting machine, drafting has become fully automated and largely accelerated using computer aided design or CAD.

An innovation of CAD is the less recognized CADD or computer aided design and drafting. Although this may be the case, skilled draftsmen may still be of use to some who need routine changes to their drawings.

Drafting is an art common to architects, engineers, or machinist. Some of the uses of drafting are for birds eye view, elevations, plan view, isometric projections, cross sections and the like.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: drafting, drawing, CAD, architectures, engineering, technical drawing, t-square, drafting table

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of
DraftingBase.com and writes expert
articles about drafting.

Top Career Articles
1). Learn How To Draw Realistic Faces By : Adam Reeder Drawing a face isn’t as hard as it looks. To begin, you start with an egg shaped oval. Draw a line down the center of this egg. This line will giv
2). Pharmacist Resume Samples Will Help You Create An Unmistakable Resume! By : Robert Marcus Pharmacist resumes must have information of your experience relevant to the position in a quick and clear format. Employers are interested in a highly qualified person and customer friendly attitude. Apart from highlighting your qualifications, contact information, experience etc, the following points will provide a hint on how to prepare the resume for a Pharmacist position.
3). How To Write The Best Teacher Resume You Can By : Laura Adams It should come as no surprise that there is a currently a shortage of teachers in the United States. This unfortunate trend has been seen for well over a decade. To compound the issue, recent labor studies have predicted that teaching positions will likely continue to grow faster than the national average for the next several years due to recent government regulations to reduce class size and increase educational accountability.
4). Skilled Workers Needed By Auto Industry By : David Sanders An auto dealership job may put you on the road to a rewarding career-particularly if you're a veteran. Military veterans have the skills and work ethic needed for many careers. A new study by Harris Interactive estimates there are more than 100,000 career jobs currently available at auto dealerships across the country. The report also found that auto dealers hired more than 15,000 veterans since January 2004.
5). Reflections on "How to Do what you Love" by Paul Graham through Meditation. By : Swami Satchidanand I was reading "How to Do what you Love" by Paul Graham last night and because I loved it so much I decided to write a little more of me into it.
6). Keys To Getting The Law Enforcement Job You Want By : Don Cirillo These days, when uncertain economic times are putting many careers in doubt, an increasing number of people are looking to work in law enforcement. And there are very good reasons for this. As many industries have shrunk, North American communities have steadily increased their budgets for law enforcement. Police officers now enjoy better pay and often outstanding benefits.
7). Nursing facts that everyone should know By : Suzanne Verita Most people say it is a career about caring. Others say it is a job about professional administration of medications and cure to patients. Some say it is the duty to work out predicaments by using critical thinking skills. In whatever way you want to call it, nursing is, indeed, a conglomeration of all these beliefs and the faculty of many other skills.
8). The Female Firefighter By : Barney Garcia Firefighting is no longer just the domain of the male. Just like every other career, trade, or profession women have made inroads into this traditionally male territory.
9). How To Achieve A Balanced And Healthy Lifestyle In Retirement By : Cynthia Barnett Now that you’ve retired, you have entered an entirely new phase of life, a life filled with new challenges, adventure and hopefully one that brings you complete and total satisfaction. However, if you’re like most people, change isn’t always easy and is sometimes stressful. This stress is completely normal but may be compounded if you don’t learn how to balance all the demands on your time.
10). Career - Test Your Negotiation Skills By : CD Mohatta Negotiation is part of every professional’s life. To negotiate, means to arrive at an understanding with another person, so that both of you are satisfied with the results. Do you know what is your skill in negotiation? If not, why not test and find out because most of our interactions demand negotiation. You are negotiating with your love partner about which place to go for dinner.

New Career Articles
1). Quitting Your Job Can Be A Reality By : Jeff Schuman Thanks to the internet anyone living anywhere can quit their jobs and live their dreams. You just to need get started planning how you are going to do it.
2). Job Hunting On A Shoestring By : David Cassell Tips that you can easily implement to stay in the black during your job search
3). Unemployment Blues: Reframing The Pain By : Virginia Bola In addition to the anger and fear generated by job loss, there is the total emotional devastation of being figuratively thrown on a pile of human debris.
4). Employment Interviewing: Ask For The Job By : Virginia Bola During any interview, it is important to display unabashed enthusiasm for this position, with this company, at this time.
5). The Business Opportunity of a Private Investigator By : Robert Gravener In this article we talk about some of the opportunities that are out there for a Private Investigator and what aspects of this exciting career may be or not be for you.
6). How to Answer Interview Questions: A Guide to Job Seekers By : Dave Poon When seeking for a job, it is important that you are ready when you face your future employer. The most challenging part is the interview.
7). Are You In The Right Job? By : Garry Zancanaro If you become known as a person that can be relied upon to get a job done, who is efficient and productive, has initiative and is prepared to accept challenges, and has a positive attitude to your work and your co-workers, you will be considered a great asset by any well run organisation.
8). Unemployment Blues: Mind Over Mood By : Virginia Bola Unemployment plays havoc with our emotional system. We take a number of hits all at once: loss of occupational identity, economic pressure, family anxiety, and the humiliation of job search.
9). Prolonged Unemployment: Reconnecting With The Labor Market By : Virginia Bola If you have been unemployed for an extended period of time, you know that potential employers are going to look at your long period of unemployment with a jaundiced eye.
10). Your Online Home Internet Business By : james lowe The triumphs and traumas of starting your entrepreneur career on the internet