1.

History of Technical Drawing

Drawing is a universal language that has been used by human beings to communicate the visual images
conceived in their minds; it is such an old practice that its recorded history could be as old as humanity.
There is evidence that as far back as 12,000 B.C., ancient caves were inscribed with drawings that give clues to
some human experiences in prehistoric times.
Technical drawing—or drawings that communicate technical ideas—might have even existed before written
language. There is evidence that what we now call “technical planning” in the present-day, actually started about
7000 B.C.

As ancient and earlier societies became more civilized and advanced, they planned and organized how roads,
cities, bridges and other structures would be built; technical drawing was the most important tool to achieve this
goal, especially in the fields of engineering and architecture which are deeply engrained in society.

At inception, technical drawings were drawn with hands by using tools that can be regarded as primitive versions
of the present-day manual (traditional) technical drawing tools: set square, ruler, protractor and compass; it
remained this way for about 5000 years before the beginning of engineering and architectural drawing/drafting.
The earliest form of modern-day drawing instruments can be found in the Museum of the Louvre, Paris, on two
headless statues of Gudea (2130 B.C.).
In ancient times, Gudea was an engineer, and the governor of the city/state of Lagash which was located in the
country later known as Babylon. Two contemporary drawing boards were also constructed and placed on the
statues of Gudea.
The drawing boards had the top (plan) view of the temple of Ningirsu, and another drawing tool that looked like
scribing instrument and scales.
The ancient Greek civilization has had a great deal of influence on modern-day drawing through its work in
geometry. Many of the manual tools used in technical such as the compass and triangles, were developed when
Greek civilization was at its peak.

Around the year 450 B.C., the architects of the Parthenon, Ictinus and Callicrates, used perspective drawing by
foreshortening and converging parallel lines in their technical drawings.
At different points throughout history, great civilizations across the world (Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East,
South America, North America) adopted one form of technical drawing, or another.

Drawing Tools/Equipment or Instruments

Various tools or equipment (also called “drawing materials” or
“drawing instruments”) are often used to produce technical
drawings that are clear, concise, and accurate. Therefore, it is
important to know all technical drawing tools or equipment and
what they are used for.
Generally, technical drawing tools, equipment, or instruments are used to produce three basic
types of drawings: freehand drawings/sketches, instrument drawings, and computer
drawings/models.
French curve

Computer-aided design/drafting (CAD) tool plus 16 other

traditional drawing tools constitute 17 different technical drawing
tools, viz:
1. Computer-aided design/drafting (CAD)
2. Drawing board
3. Drawing paper/sheet
4. Masking tape (or drafting tape)
5. Drawing set

6. Drawing pencil
7. Sharpener
8. Eraser & erasing shield
9. Dusting brush
10. T-square (or straightedge)
11. Set squares
12. Protractor
13. French curve (or irregular curve)
14. Divider

15. Compass
16. Scales
17. Templates

17 Types of Lines and Their Uses

Seventeen types of technical drawing lines and their respective
uses are as follows:
1. Break lines
Break lines are used to create breakouts on sections in order to shorten distances between
parts of a drawing and give more clarity. Three types of lines are normally used as break lines;
they have different line weights: long break lines, short break lines, and cylindrical break lines.

Break line

Center Lines (or, long/short-dashed thin lines)

Center lines are used to locate or represent the centers of tools, circles, cylindrical surfaces or
volumes, symmetrical areas/objects, etc. Center lines are drawn as thin broken lines that have
long and short dashes. In many instances, the long and short dashes vary in length; however,
this depends on the scale or size of the drawing. Center lines could be extended and used as
extension lines during dimensioning of objects or shapes.

Center Line

3. Chain lines
Chain lines are thin or thick broken or spaced parallel lines used
to indicate either pitch lines (lines that show the pitch of gear
teeth or sprocket teeth), center lines, developed views, or the
features in front of a cutting plane. Usually, chain lines are
applied at the beginning and end of long dashes, at center points
as center lines, in dimensioning, or for other purposes.
Figure 3.3: Chain line

4. Construction lines
Construction lines (light thin lines) are used to develop shapes and locations of features in
technical drawings. After using construction lines to develop thick visible outlines of objects,
they are either left on the sketches of many drawings or cleaned off with an eraser.

Construction lines

5. Continuous thick lines

Continuous thick lines are used to represent visible edges and outlines of objects, shapes, and
structures on paper or computer. They are usually dark and heavy solid lines which are very
prominent in many drawings.

6. Continuous thin lines

Continuous thin lines are used to represent dimension lines, extension lines, projection lines,
hatching lines for cross sections, leader lines, reference lines, imaginary lines of intersections,
and short center lines.

7. Cutting plane lines (viewing plane lines)

Cutting plane lines are used to indicate the positions of cutting
planes in sections, or during sectioning. Two types of cutting
plane lines can be used.
The first type is a dark line that consists of one long dash and two
short dashes spaced alternately. Long dashes are usually drawn
at any length between 20 and 40mm, or a little bit more; it
depends on the scale and size of the drawing. On the other hand,
short dashes are usually drawn approximately 3mm long, and
spaced at 1.5mm (between dashes).
The second type of cutting plane line consists of short dashes of equal lengths, approximately
6mm long, with a space (of length) of 1.5mm between each short dash.
 8. Dimension lines
Dimension lines are thin lines that have arrowheads at their opposite ends; they are used to
show the precise length, breadth, width, and height of objects.

9. Extension lines
Extension lines are thin solid lines that are used to show the extent (beginning and end) of a
dimension in a drawing. Extension lines are usually drawn at approximately 1.5mm away from
the outlines of objects and extended 3mm longer than the outermost arrowheads located at
the ends of dimension lines.

Freehand break lines (or continuous narrow irregular

lines)
Freehand break lines are lines drawn with freehand, and used to indicate short breaks or
irregular boundaries; they can be used to set the limits of partial views or sections

11. Hatching lines (or section lines)

Hatching or section lines are used to indicate the sectional view or outlook of surfaces
produced as a result of making arbitrary cuts on an object. Hatching lines are usually thin lines
that are drawn at an angle of 45° and equally spaced to indicate cut or sectioned material.
12. Hidden lines
Hidden lines are used to describe features that cannot be seen
when objects are viewed from a particular direction; they consist
of short and equally spaced thin dash lines and spaces. The
dashes are usually three to four times longer than the space
between them.
It is recommended that the dashes used in hidden lines should be approximately 3 mm
long, and have a space of 1.0mm between each dash. On the other hand, the length of
the dashes and the space between them can be slightly altered, depending on the scale
and size of the drawing.

13. Leader lines

Leader lines are used to show the dimensions of an object, feature, or structure whenever
such dimensions are not clear enough after being placed beside objects, features, or
drawn structures.

14. Long break line (or continuous thin straight lines with
zigzags)
Long break lines or continuous straight lines with zigzags (see (B) below) show continuity
of partially interrupted views; they are very suitable for computer-aided design (CAD)
drawings.
15. Phantom lines
Phantom lines are thin lines that consist of alternating long dashes that
are separated by two short dashes and are often used to represent the
direction of movement of an object or a part of an object in alternate
positions. Phantom lines can also be used to indicate adjacent features or
objects.

16. Symmetry lines

Symmetry lines are imaginary lines that pass through the centers of
areas, shapes, objects, and drawn structures; in most cases, symmetry
lines divide objects into equal and similar-looking parts.

17. Visible lines

Visible lines are thick and continuous bold lines that are used to indicate
the visible edges of objects. They usually stand out when compared with
other lines.
 Circles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, and
Regular Polygons

Construction of Angles

The construction of angles is one of the most important aspects of geometry and is the "pure"
form of geometric construction. The term construction in geometry refers to drawing shapes,
lines, or angles accurately with the help of mathematical instruments. To construct angles, you
will only need a pair of a compass or a protractor, a ruler (straightedge), and a pencil.

Types of Angles

When two lines intersect and have a common endpoint that is when an angle is formed. Learning
about angles in geometry is very important. Below are the 6 types of angles in geometry along
with the degree measurement of angles.

 Acute Angle → An angle that measures less than 90°.

 Right Angle → An angle that measures exactly 90°.
 Straight Angle → An angle that measures equal to 180 degrees and looks like a straight line.
 Obtuse Angle → An angle that measures greater than 90° but less than 180°.
 Reflex Angle → An angle that always measures more than 180° (i.e. half a circle) but less
than 360°.
 Full Rotation Angle → An angle that measures 360° exactly.

Construction of Angles Examples

The construction of angles refers to constructing different angles such as 30°,45°,
60°,75,90°, 1050,1200, 1500,1650 using a compass, protractor, ruler, and a pencil.

How do you Measure and Construct Angles?

How to Construct a Right Angle?
How to Construct an Angle Bisector?

Types of Construction of Triangles

Triangles can be classified based on angles and sides. Similarly, the
construction of triangles can also be classified as:

 Construction of Triangles Based on Sides

 Construction of Triangles Based on Angles

Let us read about the two types of construction of triangles in detail.

Construction of Triangles Based on Sides

Based on the properties of a triangle, all the sides of a triangle may or may not
be equal, therefore, we need to construct three different types of triangles.

 An equilateral triangle in which all its sides are equal.

 An isosceles triangle in which two sides are equal.
 A scalene triangle in which there are three unequal sides.

Let us learn how to construct these three types of triangles.

Construction of Equilateral Triangle

To construct an equilateral triangle we need to remember that side 1 = side 2

= side 3. Let us construct an equilateral triangle.

Example: Draw an equilateral triangle XYZ with the sides of the triangle
equal to 6 units each.

Solution: An equilateral triangle has all its sides of equal length. Therefore,
keeping this in mind we will use the following steps for the construction:

 Step 1: Draw a line segment YZ = 6 units.

 Step 2: Use a ruler and measure 6 units with the compass. With Y as the center
draw an arc above the line YZ.
 Step 3: With Z as the center and without changing the measure of length taken
in the compass draw another arc to intersect the previous arc.
 Step 4: Join the points XY and XZ to get an equilateral triangle XYZ.
Construction of Isosceles Triangle

To construct an isosceles triangle, we need to remember that side 1 = side 2,

but side 3 is different. Let us construct an isosceles triangle.

Example: Draw an isosceles triangle ABC with two sides of the triangle
equal to 6 units and one side equal to 5 units.

Solution:

An isosceles triangle has two equal sides and a different side. Therefore,
keeping this in mind we will use the following steps for the construction:

 Step 1: Using a ruler and a pencil draw a line segment BC of length = 5 units.
 Step 2: Place your compass needle at B and draw an arc with a measure of 6
units above the line BC.
 Step 3: Now, place the needle of the compass at C and draw an arc with the
same measure of 6 units such that the two arcs should intersect at point A.
 Step 4: Join the points AB and AC to form an isosceles triangle ABC.
Construction of Scalene Triangle

To construct a scalene triangle the condition we need to remember that side 1

≠ side 2 ≠ side 3. Let us construct a scalene triangle.

Example: Draw a scalene triangle ABC with three sides of the triangle
equal to 7 units, 5 units, and 6 units.

Solution:

In a scalene triangle, all the sides are of different lengths. Therefore, keeping
this in mind we will use the following steps for the construction:

 Step 1: Draw a line segment BC which measures 7 units.

 Step 2: With point B as the center and taking a measure of 5 units in the
compass draw an arc above the line BC.
 Step 3: With point C as the center and taking a measure of 6 units in the
compass draw an arc to intersect the arc drawn in step 2.
 Step 4: Now join the points AB and AC to get a scalene triangle ABC.
Construction of Triangles Based on Angles
The angle sum property of a triangle states that the sum of interior angles of a
triangle is equal to 180°. All the angles of a triangle may or may not be equal.
With this, we can construct three different types of triangles.

 An acute triangle
 A right-angled triangle
 An obtuse angle

Let us learn how to construct triangles based on angles.

Construction of an Acute Triangle

To construct an acute triangle, we should remember that all its angles
are acute angles. Let us construct an acute-angled triangle.

Example: Construct a triangle XYZ with the base as 8 units. ∠X = 45°

and ∠Y = 65°

Solution: To construct an acute-angled triangle with the given dimensions we

will use the following steps for the construction:

 Step 1: Use a ruler and draw a horizontal line of length 8 units. Name the
endpoints of this line as XY.
 Step 2: Place the center of the protractor on X and look for 45° in the scale of
the protractor and mark it as point Z.
 Step 3: Now place the center of the protractor on Y and look for 65° in the
protractor.

Step 5: We have an acute-angled triangle with ∠X = 45°, ∠Y = 65° and ∠Z = 70°

 Step 4: Join XZ and YZ.

Construction of a Right Angled Triangle

To construct a right-angled triangle, it should be remembered that the triangle

must have one right angle. Let us construct a right-angled triangle.

Example: Construct a right-angled triangle PQR with one of its sides as

4 units.

Solution: To construct a right-angled triangle with the given dimensions we

will use the following steps for the construction:

 Step 1: Draw a horizontal line QR of length 4 units.

 Step 2: Place the center of a protractor on Q and look for 90°. Mark the point as
'P'.

4: ∠PQR is 90° and triangle PQR is a right angled triangle.

 Step 3: Join PQ and PR.
 Step
Construction of an Obtuse Triangle

To construct an obtuse triangle we should remember that the triangle must

have one obtuse angle. Let us construct an obtuse angle triangle.

Example: Construct a triangle XYZ with XY = 7 units, ∠X = 40°,∠Y =

105°.

Solution: To construct an obtuse triangle with the given dimensions we will

use the following steps for the construction:

Step 2: With X as the center, use a protractor to measure ∠X = 40° and draw a ray
 Step 1: Draw a line segment with XY = 7units.


Step 3: With Y as the center, use a protractor to measure ∠Y = 105° and draw a ray
'XP'.

'YQ' such that it intersects with 'XP'. Mark the point of intersection as 'Z'.
 Step 4: Join the points ZX and ZY to make the triangle complete and form an
obtuse triangle XYZ.
It should be noted that the third angle, which is ∠Z can be found using the
angle sum property of triangles. So, ∠Z = 180 - (40 + 105) = 35°.

Construction of Triangles when Three Sides

are Given
The construction of a triangle can be easily done with the help of a ruler and a
compass when three sides are given, Let us understand the process with the
help of an example.

Example: Construct a triangle PQR with the given sides: PQ = 5 units,

QR = 6 units, and PR = 3.5 units

Solution: To construct a triangle with the above dimensions, we will use the
following steps:

 Step 1: Draw a line segment QR measuring 6 units.

 Step 2: With Q as the center, take a measure of 5 units in the compass and
draw an arc.
 Step 3: With R as the center, take a measure of 3.5 units in the compass and
draw an arc intersecting the previous arc.
 Step 4: Connect the lines PQ and PR to form a triangle PQR.
Note: A triangle that is drawn with the lengths of all the three sides known is
an SSS triangle.

Construction of CIRCLES