CE-112L: Engineering Drawing for Civil Engineers (Lab)

Spring 2015
WEEK 4
Dimensioning
Dimensioning is the process of specifying an object’s information by lines, numbers, symbols and notes. We locate the
length, breadth, height, sizes and positions of objects and their other detail in this process.

Terms used:

1. Dimension line:

These are thin continuous lines, located between extension lines, terminated by arrowheads. These show the direction
and extent of dimension. It includes a numeral value at the middle.

2. Extension line:

These are thin continuous lines drawn in extension from the point of interest. These are used to indicate the extension
of an edge to a location outside the drawing. There is always a space between the reference point and the extension
line, this space tells the reader that the extension line is not the part of the object being dimensioned.

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CE-112L: Engineering Drawing for Civil Engineers (Lab)
Spring 2015
3. Arrowhead:

It is placed at each end of a dimension line, the pointed

end touches the extension line. The length of the
arrowhead should be three times its maximum width.
Arrowheads may appear as solid or hollow. Careless
arrowheads shall be avoided. Arrowheads may also
appear as dots or ticks.

4. Leader line:

It is a thin continuous line, connecting a note or a

dimension to which it applies. It may touch the figure
only (with arrowhead) or may go inside the figure (with a dot).

Some basic rules for dimensioning:

Detail is available in ND Bhatt and James Bethune, please study them.

1. Always place shorter dimensions nearest to the object

lines. Dimension lines should never cross. However,
extension lines may cross each other.
2. Make sure that no object is left un-dimensioned. But
remember not to repeat a dimension, it will confuse
the reader.
3. Don’t put dimensions inside the drawing (unless
absolutely necessary).
4. Do not change the direction of the leader line inside
the drawing.
5. All dimensions shall be evenly spaced.
6. Use either decimals or fractions; do not mix the two
systems.
7. Use either the unidirectional system or aligned system; do not mix the two systems.
8. Hidden lines are never dimensioned; rather they are dimensioned in another view in which they are directly
visible.

Systems of Dimensioning:

1. Unidirectional (Mechanical) system:

This system is preferred in technical drawings. Dimensioned numeral values and text are placed so that they can be read
only from the bottom of the drawing. All dimension values and notes are placed horizontally and always read from left
to right.

2. Aligned (Architectural) system:

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CE-112L: Engineering Drawing for Civil Engineers (Lab)
Spring 2015
Dimensioned numeral values and text are placed so that they can be read either from the bottom or right side of the
drawing. All dimension values and notes are placed horizontally or vertically, depending on the placement of the
dimension, they may be read from the bottom or right side of the drawing.

Methods of dimensioning:

1. Datum/Ordinate/Baseline dimensions:

The dimensions originate from the same reference point and same extension line, called as the baseline (may also be
called as reference line or datum line). This system takes more drawing space, but is more accurate because the location
of each feature is independent of other features. This system is also easy to follow.

2. Chain/Continuous dimensions:

These are placed end-to-end, i.e. next dimension line starts as soon as the previous dimension line ends. It takes lesser
space compared to the first system, but is not accurate because the location of each feature is dependent upon
neighboring features, and measurement of current object to be dimensioned relies on the accuracy of the previous
measurement.

Baseline method Chain method

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CE-112L: Engineering Drawing for Civil Engineers (Lab)
Spring 2015
Sheet No. 3
Dimensioning: To draw the given two shapes and dimension them by both the methods.

Instruments required:
Soft and hard pencils, eraser, sharpener, drawing sheet, t square, set squares, compass and masking tape.

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CE-112L: Engineering Drawing for Civil Engineers (Lab)
Spring 2015
Final output:

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