UNITS IN THIS COURSE

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

UNIT 1

INDUSTRIAL DRAWINGS.

UNIT 2

ENGINEERING DRAWINGS.

UNIT 3

ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS.

UNIT 4

ISOMETRIC DRAWINGS.

UNIT 5

P & ID SYMBOLS.

UNIT 6

DIMENSIONS AND SCALES.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Para

Page

6.0

COURSE OBJECTIVES

6.1

THE PURPOSE OF DIMENSIONS

6.2

HOW DIMENSIONS ARE SHOWN

6.3

RADII

6.4

ANGULAR DIMENSIONS

6.5

CALCULATING DIMENSIONS

6.6

THE PURPOSE OF SCALES

6.7

WHAT IS A SCALE?

6.8 T TAKING DIMENSIONS FROM A SCALED DRAWING

10

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6.0

COURSE OBJECTIVES

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

This course explains the reasons why industrial drawings are needed, and the
different types of industrial drawings which are used. Other units in this course give
more detailed information so that, on completion of the course, the student will be
able to:

Identify and explain the basic information given on industrial drawings,

blueprints and engineering drawings.

Recognise an orthographic drawing and be able to draw an object in

orthographic views.

Recognise an isometric drawing and be able to draw an object in isometric

view.

Identify and explain the reasons for exploded and assembly drawings.

Recognise and explain the symbols used on piping and instrumentation

diagrams.

Take dimensions off a drawing and understand the use of scale drawings.

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6.1

THE PURPOSE OF DIMENSIONS

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Dimensions on engineering drawings have three main purposes;

To give the measurements necessary to make an object.

To give the sizes necessary to describe an object.

To establish precisely where the object is located.

Dimensions can be used for sizes and locations. Size dimensions tell you about the
thickness of the material used to make the object, the diameters of piping, the size
of drilled holes, and the object's overall length, width and height.
Location dimensions tell you about the distance between holes, the position of a
machined feature from an edge, and the location of the object inside a plant or
inside another object.
6.2

HOW DIMENSIONS ARE SHOWN

Figure 6-1 shows how dimension lines should be drawn on a drawing.

Figure 6-1 Dimension Lines

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Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Dimensions and dimension lines are usually located near to the object to which they
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refer but they do not touch it.

The dimension line is drawn between two extension lines which extend out from the
object, as shown in Figure 6-1 A.
In Figure 6-1 B, the shape of the object is such that only one extension line is
needed. A dimension line can be drawn in this way.
Figure 6-1 B also shows the way in which a dimension can be shown if there is not
enough space to use the normal methods. Here, a leader line shows where the
dimension should be.

Figure 6-2 Ways to Show Dimensions.

Figure 6-2 shows the two ways in which the dimension figures can be put on the
drawing. With unidirectional dimensions, all the dimension figures on the drawing
are the same way up. With aligned dimensions, the dimension figures follow the
direction of the dimension line.
The disadvantage with aligned dimensions is the need to turn the drawing to read
some of the dimension figures.
Figure 6-3 shows a fully dimensioned drawing.

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Figure 6-3 A Fully Dimensioned Drawing

In Figure 6-3 all the dimensions have numbers but there are no units of
measurement. Are the measurements in inches or millimetres?
The only way to answer this question is to look at other parts of the drawing. The
title box (usually in the bottom, right-hand corner of the drawing) may show what
units of measurement are being used. Notes on the drawing about tolerances, or
the way in which the object is machined, may also provide the answer.
If the dimension figures use whole numbers and fractions, for example 3 7/64 then the
units of measurement are certainly in inches. However, be careful, as it is common
practice to use 'decimal inches' in which 1 3/4 inches becomes 1.75 inches.
Note also from Figure 6-3 that a radius is shown by a capital letter R after the
dimension figure and a diameter is shown by a capital letter D.
The use of zeros (0) in dimension figures varies a lot. International numbering
standards recommend the use of zeros to show the number is correct. For example,
0.25 can only be 0.25. However, .25 could be an error. It might need another
number in front of the decimal point; 1.25 or even 51.25 Similarly, it is normal to
place one or more zeros after the decimal point if the number is a whole number, for
example 2.00.

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

6.3

RADII
Radii is the plural of radius. When the surface of an object is curved, the centre of
the curve is shown on the drawing and the radius is dimensioned. The dimension
has 'R' after it to show it is a radius. The letter V is used for a diameter.
Figure 6-4 shows the dimensioning of multiple radii.

Figure 6-4 Dimensions of Multiple Radii

6.4

ANGULAR DIMENSIONS
Angular dimensions are usually given in degrees (). When you need to be very
exact the angular dimension may be given in degrees and minutes (') There are 60
minutes in 1 degree.
Figure 6-5 shows an angular dimension.

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Figure 6-5 Angular Dimensions

6.5

CALCULATING DIMENSIONS
A draughtsman puts on a drawing only those dimensions which he thinks are
needed to manufacture the object. You may want to know a dimension which is not
shown on the drawing. You will have to calculate this dimension.

Figure 6-6 Calculating Dimensions

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Look at Figure 6-6, (which is an enlargement of Figure 6-3). The end of the object
has a hole through it which is 1.75 units in diameter. We know that the centre of the
hole is on the horizontal centre line of the object. We do not know how far it is from
the right-hand edge of the object. (We can guess that it is 1.50 units in, but guesses
can sometimes be wrong.)
The diameter of the hole is 1.75 units. If we divide this by 2 we know the radius is
0.875 units.
The width of the object in the area of the hole is shown as 3.00 units. If we divide
this by 2, we know that the distance from the centre line of the object to the edge of
the object is 1.50 units.
To calculate the thickness between the hole and the edge of the object we subtract
0.875 units from 1.50 units to get 0.625 units (1.50 - 0.875 = 0.625).
By adding the radius of the hole to the thickness of the material around the hole, we
can calculate how far the vertical centre line of the hole is from the right-hand edge
of the object. The radius of the hole is 0.875 units and the thickness of the material
is 0.625 units. Therefore the vertical centre line is 1.50 units from the edge of the
object (0.875 + 0.625 = 1.50).
6.6

THE PURPOSE OF SCALES

Scales are used in two ways. They can be used to enlarge or to reduce the size of
an object as it is shown on a drawing.
Small objects may need to be enlarged (scaled up) on the drawing. This makes the
shape, size and features of the object clear and understandable to the reader.
Large objects may need to be reduced (scaled down) in size so that they will fit into
the size of paper used for the drawing.

6.7

WHAT IS A SCALE?
A scale is a ratio, and therefore it does not have any units of measurement. The
ratio compares the size of one thing to the size of another thing. In the case of
engineering drawings the two things are the size of the drawing compared to the
size of the object. That is, how much larger or smaller is the drawing than the object.
Figure 6-7 shows the relationships in size for some scales.

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Figure 6-7 Scales

The scale of a drawing is usually shown in the title block of the; drawing, although
sometimes it may be somewhere else on the drawing. A scale of 1:1 (the drawing is
the same size as the object) may sometimes be given as 'Full' or 'Full Size'.
because a scale is a ratio, the figures of the scale are separated by two dots (:),
called a colon. The colon can be replaced by the word 'to' so that a scale becomes,
for example, 1 to 5. This means that the drawing is five times smaller than the
object.
6.8

TAKING DIMENSIONS FROM A SCALED DRAWING

The dimensions which are shown on a scaled drawing are the true dimensions.
There is no need to alter them in any way just because the drawing is scaled.

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Module No. 3 : Basic Technical Drawings

Unit No. 6 - Dimensions & scales

Before taking measurements from a drawing you must make sure the drawing is
one which can be used for this purpose. A drawing which cannot be used to scale
off dimensions will be marked clearly 'Do Not Scale'.
However, if it is necessary to use a scaled drawing to take a measurement, the
actual measurement on the drawing must be multiplied by the scale to get the
true measurement of that dimension on the object.

Figure 6-8 Scale Information on a Drawing

Assume we have a drawing which has a scale of 1:5 (the drawing is five times
smaller than the object). By using a ruler on the drawing you find that the length
of a dimension is 8 units long. If you multiply the measurement by the scale this
will give the true dimension on the object itself. So, 8 units on the drawing
multiplied-by the scale of 5 gives a measurement on the object of 40 units.

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