Drafting

Drafting is a means to draw a technical plan in order to indicate the shape and dimensions of a product or structure when making it. There is an adequate standard drawing method for each category of object. Among the common drafting categories are "mechanical drafting&sbquo" "architectural drafting&sbquo" "civil engineering drafting&sbquo" "electrical drafting&sbquo" "chemical drafting and garment drafting." In general the draft is expressed two-dimensionally but the object is three-dimensional. The format of drafting is determined depending on how to project the three-dimensional object into two-dimensions. The formats are the crystallization of an enormous amount of knowledge and wisdom gained in the course of development from picture to draft&sbquo such as cubic diagramming&sbquo descriptive geometry and projection diagramming. These design means and drafting techniques support the act of "making things" on a basic level. Due to recent progress in 3D-CAD&sbquo however&sbquo we have entered an age in which drafting is directly connected to the entire process from designing to manufacturing and production. We may even say that the history of conventional drafting is about to end. Or rather&sbquo it might be suggested that we are being liberated from the age in which drafts were descriptive diagrams for designing. Along with this suggestion&sbquo there are two possible predictions. Firstly&sbquo if the intention of the design cannot be read from the draft unless we return to conventional drafting expression&sbquo the draft has no value as a design solution even if it is in 3D-CAD. Secondly&sbquo with conventional drawing methods it was almost impossible to illustrate forms that deviated from Euclidean geometry&sbquo but now expressions of such non-Euclidean forms are becoming possible. That is&sbquo 3D-CAD makes possible new forms of drafting methods. Drafting is at a revolutionary turning point thanks to the advancement of the computer.

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