Chapter 2

Architectural Drafting Equipment

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Links for Chapter 2

Drafting Supplies

Drafting Instruments

Drafting Machines

Scales

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Drafting Supplies

• Mechanical Pencils - The lead is manually inserted and sharpened as needed

• Automatic Pencils - The lead advances as button or tip is pushed

• Lead Grades - Depends on the type of line– Thick Lines - 2H to F– Thin Lines - 4H to H

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Drafting Supplies

• Pencil Motion - Keep pencil tilted at 45º with the direction of travel– Provide even pressure to create sharp crisp

lines

– Slowly Rotate the mechanical pencil as the line is drawn

– Practice this technique as often as possible

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Drafting Supplies

• Technical Pens - Used to create inked lines

• Erasers - Use the correct eraser for the job– Do not press too hard to rip the material

– Erasing shields protect good lines

– Use a dust brush to remove the eraser particles

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Drafting Instruments

• Compasses - Used to draw circles and arcs– Drop-bow is used for small circles

– Center-wheel is used by professional drafters

– Beam is used for large arcs or circles

• Keep the compass needle sharp and the lead point sharpened like a chisel point

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Drafting Instruments

• Dividers - Used to transfer dimensions or divide distances

• Parallel Bar - Slides up and down the drafting board by cables mounted on pulleys

• Triangles - Two standard types– 30º-60º-90º is known as 30º-60º triangle– 45º-45º-90º is known as 45º triangle

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Drafting Instruments

• Templates - A plastic sheet that contains standard symbols used for tracing– Be sure the scale matches your drawing

– Keep both sides clean

• Irregular Curves - There is no constant radii and is commonly called a French curve

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Drafting Machines

• Arm Drafting Machine - The arm clamps to the table and the head can rotate to a variety of angles with different scales attached to it

• Track Drafting Machine - The traversing arm moves left and right across the table and the head can also lock and pivot

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Scales

• Notation - Scale of the drawing is noted in each title block– Architecture - 1/4”=1’-0” or 1”=1’-0”

– Civil - 1”=50’ or 1”=500’

• Metric - Scale is based on the meter (m) unit– Millimeter (mm) is most commonly used on

drawings

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Scales

• Architect’s Scale - Contain 11 different scales– Locate the correct scale before beginning– Ten of the scales are based on the inch unit– Other scale is divided into 1/16th of an inch– Be careful when reading from left to right– The 1/4”=1’-0” is the most common scale

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Scales

• Civil Engineer’s Scale - Contain 11 different scales– Locate the correct scale before beginning

– The scales are based on the inch unit in multiples of 10

– Be careful when reading from left to right

– The 50 scale is most popular