The term mechanical drafting, or also known as mechanical drawing, is the art of making conventional pictures representing something that has to be constructed that is used by engineers, architects, and inventors to work out and recording the details of their constructive designs, and the way which ideas of the exact form or shape, dimension, and arrangement of parts in objects of a structural character are universally expressed and made easier to be understood by others. Mechanical drafting helps manufacturing or construction work of any kind to be carried out with accuracy and the least amount of time and material, and takes the place of a lengthy verbal or written descriptions which would fail to express with clearness and exactness the definite information needed by the worker.
Certain general peculiarities of the form and structure of an object may be understood from an ordinary pictorial representation, but unfortunately that it cannot show the exact form, size, and relation of all the lines and surfaces; so the necessity for mechanical drawings which show all hidden as well as visible parts of an object as they are and not as they would appear to the eye. The eye cannot be trusted to convey the exact size and shape of a complicated object.
So mechanical drafting is the graphic language of the constructive or mechanical arts, and the ability to read and comprehend mechanical drawings is really important to the workman, builder, and manufacturer as the ability to make such representations is to the designer or drafter; and a knowledge of general drafting principles is of value to almost all people no matter what their vocations. It’s a very exact science that needs by nature to be uniform and follow at least a national standard.
Because of the exact nature of the facts that it’s intended to record or convey, the drawing is generally executed with the aid of drafting instruments or a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) program. The use of manual drafting equipment is just as challenging to use as a CAD program so drafters must be specially trained.
The mechanical character of the representation, together with its purpose and the usual means of execution, gives mechanical drafting its name. Machine drafting, architectural drafting, and engineering drafting are specific applications of mechanical drafting. A mechanical drawing properly dimensioned in figures and prepared as a guide in constructing the object is called a working drawing.
If you want to learn to draw mechanical drawings, including survey and architectural, go to our Mechanical Drafting Course and learn online.
