MECHANICAL

ENGINEERING DRAWING 1
MEC12A

Module 1
Lecture 2: Dimensioning, sectioning and machining symbols
 Introduction
• In order to provide comprehensive information for a designed component, or for
the manufacturing of a component it is necessary to add dimensions, sectional
views as well as machining symbols to the drawing of the component.
• The content of this lecture is not only applicable to hand drawings, but also to
CAD draft files.
• It is therefore important to learn and understand these concepts and rules of the
different topics in this lecture, because you will use and apply them when you
will create draft views from CAD models in later modules of this course.
 Dimensioning
• Every drawing, whether a scale drawing or a freehand drawing, (besides
showing the shape of a component), must show its exact length, breadth,
height, sizes and positions of holes, grooves etc.
• This information on a drawing is called dimensioning.
• Dimensioning have two main functions:
 Indicate sizes of a component and features of a component.
 Provide information required during the manufacturing of the component.
 Dimensioning
Dimension lines
• A dimension line is a thin continuous line, placed outside the component as far as
possible.
• At its end are arrowheads touching the outlines, extension lines or center lines.

Extension line
• An extension line is also a thin continuous line drawn in extension of an outline. (a gap
of about 1 mm should be kept between the extension line and an outline or object
boundary). It extends by about 3 mm beyond the dimension line.
 Dimensioning
Arrowhead
• An arrowhead is placed at each end of a dimension line.
• Its pointed end touches an outline, an extension line or a center line.
• The size of an arrowhead should be proportional to the thickness of the outlines.
• It is drawn freehand with two strokes made in the direction of its pointed end. The
space between them is neatly filled up.
 Line styles
Leader
• A leader or a pointer is a thin continuous line connecting a note or a dimension figure
with the feature to which it applies.
• One end of the leader is an arrowhead or a dot. The arrowhead touches the outline,
the dot is placed within the outline of the object.
 General rules for dimensioning
• Dimensioning should be done that no further
calculation or assumption of any dimension, or
direct measurement from the drawing is not
necessary.
• Every dimension must be given, but none should
be given more than once.
• A dimension should be placed on the view where
its use is shown more clearly.
• Dimensions must be placed so that they may be
read from above the horizontal arrow line or from
the right of the vertical arrow line (as shown in the
figure).
 General rules for dimensioning
• Crossing of dimension lines and dimensioning between hidden lines should be
avoided.
 Units of dimensions
• As far as possible all dimensions should be given in millimeters, omitting the
abbreviation mm.
• The height of the dimension figures should be between 3 mm and 5 mm.
 Placement of dimensions
Dimensions is series can be placed as follow:
• Continuous or chain dimensioning:
 Dimensions are arranged in a straight line. An overall dimension
is placed outside the smaller dimensions. One of the smaller
dimensions (the least important) is generally omitted.

• Progressive or parallel dimensioning:

 All dimensions are shown from a common base line.
 Cumulative error is avoided by this method.
 Smaller dimensions should be placed nearer the view and the
larger further away so that extension lines do not cross
dimension lines.
is method is preferable.
 Placement of dimensions
• When a number of parallel dimension lines are to be
shown near each other, the dimensions should be
staggered.
• Dimensions should be shown where the shape is
easily identified.

• Arrowheads should normally be drawn within the limits

of the dimensioned feature. But when the space is too
narrow, they may be placed outside Due to lack of
space, the dimension figure may be written above the
extended portion of the dimension line, but preferably
on the right-hand side.
 Placement of dimensions
• Dimensions of cylindrical parts should as far as
possible be placed in the views in which they are
seen as rectangles.
• The dimension indicating a diameter should
always be preceded by the symbol Ø.
• Dimension of a cylinder should not be given as a
radius.
 Placement of dimensions

• Holes should be dimensioned in the view in which they appear as circles.

• They should be located by their center lines.
 Placement of dimensions
• As far as possible, all dimensions for one particular operation, such as diameter
and depth of a drilled hole, or size and depth of a threaded hole should be
given in one view only.
• Arcs of circles should be dimensioned by their respective radii. Dimension line
for the radius should pass through the center of the arc. The dimension figure
must be preceded by the letter R.
 Placement of dimensions
• Holes on pitch circles when equally spaced can be dimensioned as shown

• When holes are not equally or uniformly spaced on

the pitch circle, they should be located by angles with
one of the two main center lines.
 Dimensioning of angles
• Angles should be indicated as degrees and decimals of degrees, for example :
25.44°
 Dimensioning of chamfers
• A 45 ° chamfer can be specified as shown below.

• Chamfers at angles other than 45 ° should be shown as a dimension and not a

note.
 Sectioning
• Drawings of the outside of simple components are
often sufficient to convey all the information
necessary to make the component using hidden
detail shown by dotted lines.
• But for more complicated components, the hidden
detail information becomes too much, making the
views more complicated and difficult to interpret.
• In such cases, it is customary to imagine the
object as being cut through or sectioned by
planes.
• The part of the object between the cutting plane
and the observer is assumed to be removed and
the view is then shown in section.
 Rules of sectioning
• A sectioned object is shown by thin lines drawn at 45° (hatch lines) and
touching the outline.
• Spacing between hatch lines is normally 2, 3 or 5 mm apart. Small spacing
(2 mm) is normally used for small areas.
 Rules of sectioning
• If two adjacent parts are sectioned, the section lines are drawn in opposite directions at
45° and 135°.

• If more than two adjacent parts need to be sectioned, the spacing between the section
lines are altered to indicate the different parts. Hatching is still done at 45° angles.

• It is good practice not to show any hidden detail where hatching lines are drawn.
 Staggered sectioning

• Section lines can also be drawn to “cut” trough

more than one feature of a component to include
as much detail as possible of the component in the
sectional view.
• Note that that the section line is always drawn at
angles of 90° between the different features, as the
section line is drawn through the component.
 Parts and features not sectioned
• There are a number of features and parts which are not sectioned although they
lie in the cutting plane.
• These include: bolts, nuts, rivets, shafts, rods, ribs, keys, pins, spokes of
wheels, crank pins, washers, rivets, split pins and circlips.
 Enlarged auxiliary views
• Details of an object or part may be drawn to a larger scale for clarity of
dimensions.
 Representation of threaded fasteners
• To save time, the actual profile of screw threads (figure B) are not drawn,
instead it is represented by figures A & C.
• The screw thread size is indicated by the symbol “M”.
 Representation of threaded fasteners
• A similar approach is followed for threaded holes.
• Figure A shows the actual profile of the thread, while figures B & C are used to
represent the detail on drawings.
 Representation of common features
• Refer to the prescribed textbook, pages 16 to 18 for additional examples.
 Surface texture and machining symbols
• Machining symbols are used to
specify a finish or surface texture
which must be obtained during a
manufacturing process.
• These symbols is only used when
a higher degree of finish is
required that would normally be
achieved by a specific machining
process.
• Refer to the prescribed text book,
(page 150) for more information
on achievable surface textures
(roughness) that can be obtained
by different manufacturing
processes.
 Welding symbols
• Welding operations is being used more
frequently for fastening different parts
together.
• Therefore it is required to indicate
welding instructions on manufacturing
drawings.
• The weld is not drawn but are
represented by symbols as shown.
• Refer to the prescribed text book,
(page 151) for more information.
Welding symbols
 Homework
• Workthrough pages 7 to 19, 32, 39 and 150 to 151 in prescribed
handbook
• Do Exercises on pages 33, 34, 40 and 41.
• Completeand hand in Assignment 2 (given on eThuto and using the
“Graph paper.pdf” template).