U N I T 1 TRADITIONAL DRAWING This Unit looks at the terms and concepts related to traditional drawing, its characteristics, uses and the equipment you need to draw. It also gives information on the most common techniques of representation. A. MANUAL DRAFTING Technical drawing, also known as drafting, is the practice of creating accurate representations of objects for technical, architectural and engineering needs. A practitioner of the craft is known as a draftsman, draftsperson and, recently, drafter . Today the mechanics of drafting have been greatly accelerated through the use of CAD systems. The basic mechanics of drafting is to place a piece of paper (or other material) on a smooth surface with right-angled corners and straight sides typically a drafting or drawing board or table. A sliding straightedge known as a T-square is then placed on one of the sides, allowing it to be slid across the side of the table and over the surface of the paper to draw horizontal lines. In addition, the draftsperson uses several tools to draw curves and circles. The principal tools are compasses, used for drawing simple arcs and circles, and the French curve, typically a piece of plastic with complex curves on it. A spline is a rubber-coated articulated metal that can be manually bent to most curves. The basic drafting system requires an accurate table and constant attention to the positioning of the tools: the introduction of the mechanical drafting machine , an application of the pantograph, has allowed the draftsman to have an accurate right angle at any point on the page quite quickly. However, the most common piece of equipment is a pencil, which can be a traditional wood and graphite pencil available in different grades of hardness or a clutch pencil containing either graphite or a polymer-based lead. Sometimes the draftsman uses pens (fine-line fibre-tipped pens, or hollow-nib pens) especially if the final work must be copied or printed, and stencils for lettering or symbols. GLOSSARY clutch pencil: portamine drawing board: tavola da disegno fibre-tipped pen: pennarello French curve: curvilineo hollow nib pen: rapidograph lead: piombo practitioner of the craft: professionista del disegno 178 rubber-coated: rivestito di gomma to slide, slid, slid: scorrere smooth: liscio spline: curvilineo flessibile stencil: normografo straightedge: riga, regolo tool: attrezzo T-square: riga a T