Drafting is a form of graphic expression so it is therefore a type of language. When applied in the engineering field, drawing or drafting is mechanical in character and is used primarily for the purpose of communicating information related to the construction of machines and structures. It is then reasonable to believe that the methods used and the standards adopted in the teaching of engineering drafting would be based on an study of the conditions found in the engineering world.
In the best engineering practice, the technical standards of drawing are high, so high in fact that they should be used as a model to use in the classroom. Examples of good draftsmanship selected from real world engineering offices would most definitely serve to furnish a model for classroom work, both in the technique and the methods of representation.
Engineering drawing demands brain power as much as it does skill with the hands. The drafter in conceiving and planning his design, visualizes their problem, making all the necessary calculations for it, and then graphically representing the results on the drafting board or CAD Program. The development of all the details of their design makes it necessary that they be a trained observer of shapes, forms, and methods.
Since new designs frequently involve modifications of old designs, in their efforts to remember old designs and create new ones, they develop what is known in the trade as a visual memory. Modern methods of instruction recognize and encourage both the physical and mental factors involved in the production of engineering drawings. It is the aim of the drafting course in technical or engineering schools to familiarize the student with the standards of technique and methods of representation found in the best commercial firms and also to develop in them the ability to visualize and reason, which should be the attributes of the commercial drafter and designer.
My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I also teach others how to draw house plans, site plans, mechanical and shop drawings and other types of drafting that I have been trained to do in a virtual classroom on the internet at http://draftingschool.net/. My Mechanical Drafting Course can be found at http://mechanicaldrawing.us/
