ENDRAW 111
ENGINEERING DRAWING
Engr. Rey A. Ramos, Instructor
Instruments and Materials for Drawing
INTRODUCTION
Various drawing instruments are used for making all drawings. The quality of a drawing
depends on the quality of drawing instruments and drawing materials used. The drawing
instruments need proper care and right adjustment. An engineering student must have complete
knowledge of drawing instrument and materials. This topic mainly deals with the basic knowledge
of drawing instruments and materials, along with their uses.
Instruments for Drawing
The following drawing instruments are required for preparing a neat and correct drawing.
Basic Instruments
1. Drawing board
2. Drawing sheet
3. Drawing pencil
4. Drawing clips or pins
5. Eraser
6. Eraser shield
Instruments for Drawing Straight Lines
1. T- square
2. Set- squares
Instruments For Drawing Curved Lines
1. Large size compass
2. Small bow compass
3. French curve
Instruments For Measuring Distance
1. Large size divider
2. Small bow divider
3. Scales
Instruments For Measuring Angles
1. Protractors
2. Set-squares
Drawing Board :- A drawing board with its working
surface upward. The top surface of the board is
perfectly smooth and level. The bottom of
the drawing board. A drawing board is
rectangular in shape and is made of well-seasoned
soft wood such as oak or pine. A straight ebony
edge is fitted on the left side on the board against
which the head of the T- square moves.
Drawing Sheet :- The drawing is frequently made in pencil on the drawing sheet. The
best drawing sheet has the following qualities:
1. Light cream buff in colour to have good appearance
2. Fine grains to pick up the graphite and produce clean, dense black lines
3. Strong fibers
4. Superior erasing qualities
5. Folding strength
6. Toughness
7. Smooth surface
8. Hard surface
Drawing Pencil :- Neatness, quality and accuracy of the drawing greatly depends upon the type and
conditions of the pencil used for drawing. Pencil leads are made of graphite with clay added in
varying amounts to make 18 grades from 9H to 7B. These grades can be divided in three groups:
1. Hard : 9H to 4H
2. Medium : 3H to B (3H, 2H, H, F, HB and B)
3. Soft : 2B to 7B
Pencil of 9H is the hardest and that of 7B is the softest. Harder pencils have leads of small diameters
and softer pencils of larger diameters to give adequate strength. The choice of grade of pencil
depends upon the type of work, texture of paper, atmosphere, humidity, etc. Following pencils should
be used for drawing work in class:
1. 2H Pencil - For drawing outlines, Centre lines, Break lines, etc.
2. H Pencil - For dimensioning, arrowheads, hatching lines, lettering, sketching, circles, arcs, etc.
3. Micro tip pencil - 0.5 mm for drawing outlines and 0.8 mm for shading and sketching
Drawing Clips Or Pins :- Drawing clips or pins are used to fix the drawing sheet on
the drawing board at the required place. Frequent use of pins cause formation of impressions of pin
pricks on the board, thus spoiling the surface of the board. The present trend is to go in for steel clips,
if the size of the drawing paper is the same as that of the drawing board. Clips are used at all the four
corners of the drawing board to clamp the paper. Adhesive tapes are also used for fixing
the drawing sheet.
Eraser :- Eraser is used to remove the extra lines, lines/marks drawn by mistake and to clear soiled
spots on the drawing. Only pencil eraser is used. Soft India-rubber is the most suitable kind of eraser
for pencil drawings. The eraser used should be such that the surface of the drawing paper is not
spoiled in anyway. It is desirable to use erasing shield to protect the near by lines from being erased.
The rubber crumbs formed after erasing should be swept away with a clean duster and should never
be brushed off with hands. Use of eraser should be minimized by proper planning.
Erasing Shield :- It is a thin metal or plastic plate cut with slots, circles and curves of different
dimensions. It helps to erase unwanted pencil lines without erasing the surrounding lines.
T- Square :- It is composed of a long strip called blade, which is screwed rigidly at right angle to a
shorter piece called head or stock. It is made of mahogany or pear wood, which is harder than the
board wood. The head also has an ebony edge which slides against the working edge of the board.
T- Square is used for making horizontal, vertical, inclined or parallel lines on the drawing sheet.
Set-Squares :- Set-squares are made of transparent plastic and are available in the shape of
triangles, having a French curve or simply a gap cut in the body. These are used for drawing short
straight lines, measuring and drawing certain angles. A good combination of set-squares is 30O x
60O set square with a long edge of 250 mm and a 45O set squares with each edge of 200 mm.
Large Size Compass :- The compass is used for drawing circles and arcs. It consists of two legs
hinged together at its upper end. A pointed needle is fitted at the lower end of one leg, while a pencil
lead is inserted at the end of the other leg. The lower part of the pencil leg is detachable and it can be
interchanged with a similar piece containing an inking pen. Both the legs are provided with knee
joints. Circles up to about 120 mm diameter can be drawn with the legs of the compass kept straight.
For drawing smaller circles, both the legs should be bent at the knee joints so that these are
perpendicular to the surface of the paper.
Small Bow Compass :- Small bow compass is conveniently used for drawing circles and arcs of
small diameters. It is very handy when a number of small circles of the same diameter are to be
drawn. The adjusting nut of the small compass may be on the side or at the centre. This adjusting nut
is provided to make fine adjustment for accurate small circles.
French Curves :- French curves are used to draw
irregular curved lines, which can not be drawn with a
compass. A light pencil curve is first drawn free hand
through the known points. Neat continuous curve is
finally drawn with the longest possible curve coinciding exactly with the free hand curve. Proper care
must be taken to ensure that no corners are formed anywhere on the curve. Proper use of French
curves requires skill. French curves are made of transparent celluloid or plastic. These are available
in various shapes.
Large Size Divider :- The dividers has two legs hinged at the upper end and is provided with steel
pins at both the lower ends, but it does not have the knee joints.
The dividers are used to
1. Divide straight or curved lines into desired number of equal
parts.
2. Set off distances from the scale to the drawings.
3. Transfer measurements from one part of the drawing to
another.
Small Bow Divider :- The small bow divider is adjusted by a nut and
is very convenient for marking minute divisions and large number of short equal distances.
Scales :- Scales are made of wood, steel, celluloid or plastic. Stainless steel scales are more
durable. Scale may be flat or of triangular cross- section. 15 cm long and 2 cm wide or 30 cm long or
3 cm wide flat scales are commonly used. These are usually about 1 mm thick. The longer edges of
the scale are marked with inch and its sub-divisions on one side and centimeter and its sub-divisions
on the other side.
Protractors :- Protractors or Pro-circles are used for drawing any desired angle. These are made of
hard transparent plastic. The edges are either squared or beveled. Semi-circular type protractor.