Friday, November 25, 2011

The Making of a Technical Artist - Engineering Drawing

Manufacturing of any structure, product or part actually begins in the human mind. There is a way to project that image out from the intangible realms of the mind into the more mundane realms of matter. It combines art and science and is known as engineering drawing as we shall learn here. The Combo – Engineering & Drawing Most of us understand engineering as a sophisticated discipline where everything goes by strict rules defined by various theorems, laws, and corollaries. Drawing on the other hand is considered to be an artistic feature where there are hardly any limitations except ones placed by the mind of the artist. So how would you perceive something which consisted of these extremes of strictness and freedom? Well, that is what engineering drawing is all about and you will see in the subsequent sections Is it an art or science? Actually, engineering drawing refers to the art and science of representing engineering objects on paper. It is an art since drawing is involved, which is obviously an art, whilst it is science at the same time since rules and regulations have to be followed in making that drawings, much unlike a purely art work which has no such restrictions. This may seem to be a severe restriction to the more sensitive type of people but thankfully this is what keeps the engineering world going. Just imagine a bridge or a building built from a drawing which doesn’t follow any rules except imagination. The day would not be far when such a structure would remain in imagination only after being dissipated at the altar of history.