Technical Drawing of parts and 

assemblies: introduction and preliminary
concepts

Prof. Pier Paolo Valentini

Outline of the lesson

 Aim and Scope of Technical Drawings

 Standardization
 Preparation of part drawings
 Dimensioning and tolerancing
 Examples
 Preparation of assembly drawings
 From paper to CAD (Computer‐Aided Design)
 Technical documents and drawings

The purpose of tecnical documents and drawings is to communicate and share ideas

A drawing has to fulfil the following requirements:
 Technical correctness (no functional or practical errors, no representation errors)
 Clarity (easy to be read and interpreted)
 Completeness (not only geometrical information)
 Uniqueness and no ambiguity (readable by different people in different countries)

Information in a technical drawing

A technical drawing must include several pieces of information, not only the 

shape of a component

Shape
Structure
Functionality
Dimensions
Precision
Materials
…
 Standardization in a technical drawing

The information in a technical drawing must be presented according to 

national/international standards in order to:

 Use the same representation rule (and the same language)

Standards are not
 Reduce the cost of stock components (screws, nuts, pipe, etc.) laws
but
 Avoid ambiguity of misrepresentation Some laws are
 Apply symbols and coded simplification based on standards

Sheet dimensions and layout

Sheet dimensions and the layout of the drawings are standardized
Sheet dimensions Sheet layout

Location of
A2 the
A0 A1 drawing(s)
A4
A3
Frame
Common dimensions

 A4 (210x297)  Name of the company

Title block and/or part list
 Title and number of the drawing
 A3 (297x420) 18.0 cm, variable height
 The scale – standardized (1:1 is better)
 A1 (594x841)  Method of projection
 A0 (841x1189, 1 m2)  List of parts (names, number, quantity,
material)
 From real 3D world to 2D sheet space

Objects in the real works have three dimensions. Our perception is three 
dimensional too but the sheet in which we draw has only 2 dimensions
Projection rays are perpendicular 
to the projection plane

 Need for moving from 3D to 2D without object

loosing information of wrong interpretation of
the shapes
 Need for looking at the object from
projection plane
different points of view.

 The best choice for technical drawing is to The drawing is sketched by projecting from an
infinite distance (parallel rays), perpendicularly to
use the orthogonal projections (no the projection plane (the sheet) all the points and
distorsions) edges of the object. It is better to align the object
to the main reference axes in order to have a more
clear representation.

Orthogonal (orthographic) projection

Starting with the placement of the object in a convenient position (in order
to simplify and make the drawing clearer …
We choose the first projection (main projection)
as the representation which includes much of
information (geometrical and functional)

We continue with drawing other projections with

respect to orthogonal planes of view in order to
describe ALL the geometrical features of the
component.

All the visible edges are drawn with a continuous

bold line. All hidden edges are drawn with a
dashed line.

In many cases, there is no need to draw all the 6

views.
Layout of the views

After choosing the number and the typology of the views, they have to be located on the sheet 
plane. The symbol of the method has to be sketched in the block title. There are several 
methods, the most important ones are:
Symbols 
First angle method
(European method, or
Method E)

Third angle method

(American method or
Method A)

Section views

In many cases the views are not 
sufficient to describe all the 
geometrical features of an 
object. In these cases, section 
views can be added

Section views are drawn by indicating the cutting plane in one 
of the standard projection with a dash‐dot   line 
and two arrows
The cut of material is depicted with an uniform hatch with 
inclined lines. Touching parts are drawn with different hatch 
inclinations
The positioning of the section views follows the same rules of 
the standard views
 Special cases in drawing section views

YES

Rib features are drawn without the 
hatch

Axial‐symmetric connection parts (screws, 
pins, nails, shafts, etc.) are always 
represented without sectioning

Small areas are filled

Example of projections and sections

A‐A
 Dimensions

Dimensions have to be included explicitly (numerically) in the drawings 
and cannot be only measured on the drawings

Dimension line 
(parallel to 

7
edge)

Reference line

10
Ending arrow
Special symbols can 
be used for diameters
Reference lines 
and radii should not intersect  Numerical value
dimension lines  (in mm or deg)

Example of projections and dimensioning

 Drawing of assemblies

An assembly drawing must include clear information about the functionality 
and the meting conditions among all the parts. 
It is prepared with the same guidelines for sketching views and sections with 
some little differences

Specific guidelines for assemblies

Dimensions should be avoided, except 
those expressing the maximum size. Each 
component will be drawn in a specific 
document with its dimensions
The choice of the views/sections should be 
made in order to have a better 
understanding of the mounting and the 
functionality
In sections, all mating parts has to be 
represented using hatches with different 
patterns
All the parts have to be numbered and their 
list has to be included just above the title 
block
 Tolerances

 Dimensions in drawings are referred to ideal features (no error) but perfect shapes
cannot be manufactured.

 Actual parts have dimensions which differ from those prescribed in the drawings
 There is the need to control and specify a range in which a real dimension may be
comprised in order to be considered acceptable (the parts preserve functionality, resistance
and other important properties).

 Real dimensions should be comprised between two values (limits) which define the
TOLERANCE of the dimension

 Only functional dimensions are subjected to tolerance specifications

10

tolerance
Ideal part (drawing) Real parts

Including dim. tolerances in drawings

There are two ways for adding a tolerance range to a dimension

writing min and max deviation as an apex of the dimension

use a symbolic representation with letter and number (coded by international

standards)
 Geometrical tolerances

In many cases, it can be useful to control the deviation 
from the ideal shape  geometrical tolerance
Geometrical tolerances control:
The shape (straightness, planarity, circularity, cylindricity, 
profile, surface)
The orientation (parallelism, perpendicularity inclination)
The location (position, symmetry, concentricity)
The rounout (local or global)

The geometrical tolerances are included with symbols 
over the relative features

Allocation of the geometrical tolerances is more complex 
than the allocation of the dimensional ones

Examples of geometrical tolerances

Straightness tolerance controls 
that the axis of the pin is within a 
cylinder of 0,1 mm of diameter

Cylindricity tolerance controls 
that the surface of the pin is 
within two cylinders with 
different diameters with a 
maximum difference of 0,03 mm
Example of location tolerances

The location tolerance imposes that the centers of the holes are within circles 
of 0,28 mm of diameter located as stated by the inspection dimensions 
(dimension in squares) with respect to A B and C datum features

Roughness specification

In some cases, it is important to include specifications about the roughness of one

or more surfaces for both aesthetic and functional (mating) purposes.

These specifications also influence the choice of the manufacturing process.

lm
1 1 n
Ra 
lm  y  x  dx   yi
n i 1
Arithmetic mean roughness
0

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

ROUGHNESS SPECIFIC.
ALLOWANCE (IN MICRONS)

GROOVE ORIENTATION

Surface
 Examples of roughness specification

GRINDING Meaning

Ra 0.4 The surface has to have an arithmetic 
mean roughness of 0,4 μm with parallel
grooves achieved by grinding, without
the removal of material layer
(modification of the dimension)

Different symbols

generic without removal

of material

with removal of 
all the surfaces
material

From paper to CAD

Computer‐aided design applications are widely used in all 
technical offices because they can help many design activities 
and preparing drawing (actually it is a marginal contribution)

Advantages in using CAD Disadvantages in using CAD

 Modelling 3D shape before
drawing (checking of geometrical
feasibility)
 Giude in assembly and mating
relationships among parts
 Help in designing complex shapes
with a lot of intersecting, hidden and
curve edges
 Possibility of association shape‐
drawing for easily updating the
drawing
 Produced drawings have to be
corrected in many cases
 The shape is translated in a very
precise way, but the standards
specifications are not always satisfied
(many standards are country‐
dependent)
 Deep knowledge of drawing rules
and standards is required in order to
produce correct documents (that is the
reason we study drawing by hand!)

 Electronic version of drawings

Summary of the lesson

The knowledge of the rules and methodologies for preparing drawing is essential 
for a correct production of technical material and clear and not ambiguous 
communication
International and National Standards are a guide towards a correct and complete 
representation
The representation of the shape is not sufficient for industrial purposes. Other 
information (dimensions, tolerances, roughness, etc.) need to be included.
Computer‐aided applications can be useful for designing and optimizing the shape, 
but the preparation of technical drawings requires a specific effort