- What am I doing here? This is a brief introduction to drafting. Every experimental scientist of engineer has to make drawings as part of the process of their work; they are the main method of communication with the machinist or other manufacturer. In this course, you will learn to identify proper and improper elements in your own drawings or the drawings of others. You will also learn about and practice the most critical aspects of drawing, including lettering, spacing, line weights, tolerancing, sections, threads, perspective, and assembly drawings. We will not use CAD.
Can I get a book? Sure! But you don’t have to. The standard text in the field is Technical Drawing, by Giesecke, Mitchell, Spencer, Hill, etc. (Prentice Hall Publishers). The current edition is the 12th, (ISBN 0-13-008183-3) but not much has changed in the last 5 or 6 editions, so any edition would be good enough.
Do I need to buy anything? Yes. In a ‘real’ drafting class, you’d have to buy a lot of stuff, including a drawing table, a T-square, some architects rules, erasing shields, a ‘French’ curve set, and lots of other things. For this overview course, I only want you to have
a good ruler a 45° triangle
a protractor a 30-60° triangle,
some pencils a good white eraser
a bow compass a circle template
some clean white paper
We’ll make do with these things. Many are available in the college bookstore, or at WalMart. The compass and circle template might be the hardest to find; I found each at Staples in Rochester.
How will I be graded? This course is only available ‘pass/fail’, which means you’ll get a grade of either ‘satisfactory’, or ‘unsatisfactory’. To satisfy me, you must turn in an acceptable version of at least eleven of the twelve assignments, and you must no more than 2 classes. Unacceptable drawings must be re-done from scratch.