We explain what technical drawing is and the types of technical drawing that are made. Also, what are the lines you use.
What is technical drawing?
Technical drawing is a branch of drawing known as the system that graphically represents one or more objects, in order to provide useful information for a possible and consequent analysis that will allow a future construction and maintenance of the object.
Technical drawing is the graphic language used to communicate, within the framework of industrial and design activities, from the most global ideas to details related to technological content.
Technical drawing has also been defined as the system for the graphic representation of existing objects or prototypes, according to standards and conventions pre-established by institutions regulatory. This enables the dimensions, shapes and characteristics of these material objects to be accurately and clearly described.
It should be noted that the idea of technical drawing is often in opposition to that of artistic drawing. While the first is intended to express personal impressions or sensations, influenced by imagination and individual experiences, so it is eminently subjective, technical drawing aims to be objective and represent the objects as best as possible as they are, in a totally objective way. in order to provide any observer with the technical information necessary for their technical analysis, eventually helping their design, construction and / or maintenance.
Regarding the history of technical drawing, one cannot fail to mention the first Greek mathematicians such as Thales, Pythagoras and Euclides, who laid the foundations of the so-called geometry of space, fundamental in this discipline. During the Renaissance The contributions of Brunelleschi and the famous and versatile Leonardo da Vinci stand out.
The schemes, the sketches, the diagrams and the plans are modalities of technical drawing that contain specifications corresponding to measurements of length, height, angles, surface, etc. The basic views in the technical drawing are the plan view (view from above), the elevation view, which can be the front or side; and that of sections or cuts in two projections.The definition of scales helps the interpretation of these representations.
Types of technical drawing
Within the technical drawing some specific types are included, such as:
- Architectural technical drawing. It encompasses different graphic representations, which are used to make plans for the future construction of buildings, houses, bridges, institutes, and so on.
- Mechanical technical drawing. Its use is required for the realization of plans that represent parts of a machine, automobiles, airplanes, motorcycles and industrial machinery.
- Electrical technical drawing. It is used to represent simple electrical installations, such as those of a house, or rather complex, such as those of an industry. The latter usually clearly represent the location of the main board, switches and sockets, among others.
- Geological technical drawing. Used in the fields of geology Y geography for the representation of the various layers of the earth by means of a symbology that allows us to know the minerals found in said layer.
- Urban drawing. It is used to functionally represent the development and infrastructure of cities and other urban centers, both those that already exist or those that are in the draft.
- Topographic drawing. It is dedicated to capturing in a plan the main characteristics of a terrain, such as the height, the slope, the presence of natural or artificial accidents, the elevations, the contour lines.
- Technical drawing of the sanitary facilities. Has as objective represent all sanitary facilities: bath, shower, sink, etc. In turn, it also represents the location of external and internal pipes.
- Electronic technical drawing. It is based on the representation of graphics and electronic sketches of current circulation circuits.
- Technical drawing of metal constructions. Represents plans for the constructions of structures of smithy.
The technical drawing can be captured on different supports (paper, acetate, passe-partout), and it is usually carried out on a board, with the help of elements such as T rule, square, bevel, pencil, compass, marker. Through the development of programs such as AutoCAD, for example, the computing has contributed greatly to the development of technical drawing.
Lines used in technical drawing
Within the branch of technical drawing appears the line, a fundamental characteristic of this, important to illustrate the different objects. There are, then, different types of lines, among the main ones are:
- Guide line. It is used to indicate a part of the object to which a note refers.
- Break line. Used in order to represent a long piece which is shortened.
- Hidden line. Segmented lines that represent corners or vertices of objects that are hidden from the perception.
- Flat cut line. It is used to represent where an imaginary cut was made.