Module 2, Office Layout

THE DRAWING OFFICE

The Functions of a Drawing OfficeThe size and structure of a drawing office will vary depending on the size of the organization or company and the nature of its business activities. However, there are specific functions, processes and activities common to all drawing offices regardless of how big or small they may be.

The main functions of a typical drawing office are to:• prepare design layouts and production drawings for its clients• perform a variety of calculations in order to ensure that the various components that are to be manufactured or

structures that are to be erected will be strong enough to withstand the forces that they will be exposed to• select suitable materials and appropriate manufacturing methods to be used• provide estimates of the bills of materials required and overall cost of manufacture or construction and erection• store all drawings, supporting technical data/information and reference material• provide technical services and liaison both internally and externally

The Layout of a Drawing Office

The overall space requirement for a drawing office will naturally depend on the total number of personnel to be accommodated as well as the equipment and machines they use, office furniture requirements, and space required for the storage of materials, finished drawings and supporting documentation.

The layout of the drawing office is critical to ensuring optimum use of the available space to provide a comfortable and safe work environment that will maximize the efficiency and the quality of the work being done.

The provision of adequate ventilation and appropriate lighting levels, as well as electrical power requirements must also all be taken into consideration.

The Layout of a Drawing Office - workstations

THE DRAWING OFFICE

Filing and Cataloguing of DrawingsEvery engineering drawing must contain a title block which must, at the very least, contain an appropriately descriptive title and a unique drawing number.

In order to maintain effective control, it is imperative that additional information pertaining to the drawing also be included:

• the name of the draughtsman• the date on which it was completed• the name of the individual who checked it• a revised drawing number should the original drawing be changed• the respective dates and details of any revisions

A drawing register must be maintained which contains the details of every single drawing produced and where it is filed or to whom it has been issued.

Management of Superseded Drawings

When a revision is made to a drawing, the earlier version becomes redundant or obsolete, and even though it is no longer to be used it forms an important part of the historical record, and therefore should be retained. After a notation clearly indicating that it has been superseded has been affixed, it should be filed in an archive separate from any “active” drawings.

It is also advisable to retain a register of any copies of drawings that have been issued so that all copies of those drawings that are superseded can be removed from circulation and replaced with copies of the updated version.

The Layout of a Drawing Office - drafting equipment

The Layout of a Drawing Office - storage

The Layout of a Drawing Office - storage

The Layout of a Drawing Office - copying

Maintenance of Drawing Office EquipmentAll drawing office machines and equipment must be maintained in good working order and regularly cleaned.

All drawing and measuring instruments must be securely stored when not in use to protect them from inadvertent and unnecessary damage.

Drawing Office MaterialsEngineering drawings are produced using both graphite pencils of varying hardness and thickness and pens of varying nib thickness containing suitable ink, on a variety of media such as paper, cloth (linen), and polyester film.The nature of the drawing and its intended purpose will usually be considered when selecting the media that will be used.

Copying and Reproduction of DrawingsFor obvious reasons, the original drawings produced by any drawing office should never be issued to the factory floor, workshop or construction site. Only copies of original drawings should ever be issued for the facilitation of manufacture or construction.

Duplicates of original drawings should also always be available should the original drawings be lost or damaged by fire or other disaster.

Various methods of reproduction are used and include:• photocopying• electrostatic processes• diazo copying• photographic copying• microfilming• thermographic reproduction• blueprints

THE CAD DRAWING OFFICE

MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN A DRAWING OFFICE

Computer Graphics (CAD) scanning:

INPUTScanned paper

PROCESSComputer storage and processing of scanned

data

OUTPUTPlotted paper

MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN A DRAWING OFFICE

Class work:• How does a scanner work?• What determines the resolution of scanned data?

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