Overview

Technical-graphics standards are the rules of drafting, developed over many years, that make technical communication more consistent and therefore more reliable. Because AutoCAD doesn t automatically apply proper graphics standards, that job falls to us. And it s not always easy.

Although there is some variation among offices, every discipline has generally accepted universal practices. The most clearly defined standards are those in the mechanical-design industry. Standards for drawings (and other engineering standards) are published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). ASME Y14.5M-1994 is the current standard for dimensioning, but it s due for an update soon. These standards are voluntary, although they re often specified in design contracts between firms.

All other design disciplines in the U.S. including architectural, civil, surveying, electrical, electronic, piping, and welding are based fundamentally on the same rules. If you use AutoCAD to design or to document designs, you have an obligation to follow the rules for communicating graphic information. That s especially true if you work in an environment where designs are shared with people from other countries. They probably speak a language other than yours, so you must rely on the common language of technical graphics to efficiently and accurately communicate your design intentions.

The default settings in AutoCAD don t come close to following these standards. The fact that the default settings get used so much, in offices and in books on using AutoCAD, isn t the fault of the software engineers at Autodesk: It s the fault of users who don t apply AutoCAD properly in their chosen...