2D DETAIL DRAWINGS  ASTM AND MILITARY

Engineering drawings are documents prepared on reproducible material for providing information that is pictorially or textually presented, or the combination of both for the purpose of describing the physical and functional requirements of an end-product.

SolidMasters generates and updates *.DWG or *.DXF files for users of AutoCAD or other CAD systems. Since most of our projects end up in production, the value of having an accurate and up to date documentation package at the end of the project cannot be overstated.

Checking Drawings, guidelines and services.

In order that the drawings may have a high standard of excellence, a set of instructions, as given in the following, has been issued to our checkers, and also to the draftsmen and tracers in the engineering department of SolidMasters.

Inspecting a New Design

When a new design is involved, first inspect the layouts carefully to see that the parts function correctly under all conditions, that they have the proper relative proportions, that the general design is correct in the matters of strength, rigidity, bearing areas, appearance, convenience of assembly, and direction of motion of the parts, and that there are no interferences. Consider the design as a whole to see if any improvements can be made. If the design appears to be unsatisfactory in any particular way, or improvements appear to be possible, call the matter to the attention of the chief engineer.

Method of Making Drawing

Inspect the drawing to see that the projections and sections are made in such a way as to show most clearly the form of the piece and the work to be done on it. Make sure that any worker looking at the drawing will understand what the shape of the piece is and how it is to be molded or machined. Make sure that the delineation is correct in every particular way, and that the information conveyed by the drawing as to the form of the piece is complete.

Checking Dimensions

Tolerance Accumulation per Section 2.6 of ASME Y14.5. You maybe asking yourself right now, “What is Tolerance Accumulation?”. Tolerance accumulation, or tolerance stack-up, is the dimensional variance between two features of a part based on the tolerance range of the intermediate dimensions. How you apply dimensions and tolerances to features on a part can have a huge effect on the finished part. Today we will look at some simple parts and how different methods of dimensions can give you dramatically different results.

Check all dimensions to see that they are correct. Scale all dimensions and see that the drawing is to scale. See that the dimensions on the drawing agrees with the dimensions scaled from the lay-out. Wherever any dimension is out of scale, see that the dimension is so marked. Investigate any case where the dimension, the scale of the drawing, and the scale of the lay-out do not agree. All dimensions not to scale must be underlined on the tracing. In checking dimensions, note particularly the following points:

See that all figures are correctly formed and that they will print clearly, so that the workers can easily read them correctly.

See that the overall dimensions are given.

See that all witness lines go to the correct part of the drawing.

See that all arrow points go to the correct witness lines.

See that proper allowance is made for all fits.

See that the tolerances are correctly given where necessary.

See that all dimensions given agree with the corresponding dimensions of adjacent parts.

Be sure that the dimensions given on a drawing are those that the machinist will use, and that the worker will not be obliged to do addition or subtraction to obtain the necessary measurements for machining or checking his work.

Avoid strings of dimensions where errors can accumulate. It is generally better to give a number of dimensions from the same reference surface or center line. When holes are to be located by boring on a horizontal spindle boring machine or other similar machine, give dimensions to centers of bored holes in rectangular coordinates and from the center lines of the first hole to be bored, so that the operator will not be obliged to add measurements or transfer gages.

Checking Machined Parts

Study the sequences of operations in machining and see that all finish marks are indicated.

See that the finish marks are placed on the lines to which dimensions are given.

See that methods of machining are indicated where necessary.

Give all drill, reamer, tap, and rose bit sizes.

See that jig and gage numbers are indicated at the proper places.

See that all necessary bosses, lugs, and openings are provided for lifting, handling, clamping, and machining the piece.

See that adequate wrench room is provided for all nuts and bolt heads.

Avoid special tools, such as taps, drills, reamers, etc., unless such tools are specifically authorized.

Where parts are right- and left-hand, be sure that the hand is correctly designated. When possible, mark parts as symmetrical, so as to avoid having them right- and left-hand, but do not sacrifice correct design or satisfactory operation on this account.

When heat-treatment is required, the heat-treatment should be specified.

Check the title, size of machine, the scale, and the drawing number on both the drawing and the drawing record card.

Checking Assembly

See that the part can readily be assembled with the adjacent parts. If necessary, provide tapped holes for eyebolts and cored holes for tongs, lugs, or other methods of handling.

Make sure that, in being assembled, the piece will not interfere with other pieces already in place and that the assembly can be taken apart without difficulty.

Check the sum of a number of tolerances; this sum must not be great enough to permit two pieces that should not be in contact to come together.

3D DRAFTING

SolidMasters offers full service 3D solid modeling solutions. We have the ability to design your product / idea in 3D CAD programs as if it were a solid object. You can see the process three dimensionally as the geometry is being created. This reduces your parts time to market, as well as reducing your chance of a product being incorrectly designed. In addition, once your product is created in a 3D CAD program, a wide variety of 3rd party products can be utilized such as stress analysis, animation, conceptual rendering, CNC tool paths, and more. The 3D CAD solid modeling platforms we support will link themselves to a three dimensional assembly and to a two dimensional drawing file, so once you make a change anywhere in the design process, all of the linked files will update automatically. This is a tremendous benefit in the reduction of error/failure rate for any design process, which we can apply to each and every one of our customers.