Blueprint Reading Course

Engineering Drawings Primer

Engineering Drawings Primer Course Description

This course is intended for the professional or manager seeking an awareness of dimensioning and tolerancing who does not need to further their knowledge with a more in-depth course. Designed to provide you with an understanding of Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T) fundamentals, this course focuses on the basic requirements of engineering drawings, numeric dimensions and tolerances and geometric dimensions and tolerances.

GD&T is the language used on engineering drawings to specify the amount of variation (from the perfect CAD model) that a manufactured part is allowed to have. Also known as the tolerances, this variation allowed has a profound impact on the manufacturing and quality inspection plan for any part. When a design engineer releases a drawing to be produced, the entire enterprise needs a common technical language for communicating exactly what must be produced. GD&T is used to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Engineering Drawings Primer Course Outline:

  • The Basics of Manufacturing Prints: What manufacturing prints are and what they are not; Who uses them and how; The manufacturing cycle and purpose of drawings; The basic requirements of technical drawings; Interpretation of drawings according to standards and representing contractual requirements
  • Dimensions: What dimensions are and why they are important; Fundamental dimensioning and tolerancing rules; Symbols associated with dimensions; Linear, diametral, radial, and angular dimensions; Dimensioning of common features
  • Numeric Tolerances: What tolerances are and why they are important; The ways numeric tolerances are indicated on prints; Determining tolerance values for numeric tolerances given implicitly, explicitly, symbolically, and by limit dimensioning; Calculating tolerance accumulations
  • Geometric Tolerance Fundamentals: How geometric tolerances work; Thinking of parts as collections of features not dimensions; Features with size and surfaces; Maximum Material Condition and Least Material Condition; What bonus tolerance is and when it applies
  • The Datum Reference Frame Concept: The purpose of a datum reference frame; Establishing datums from various datum features; What datum shift is and when it applies
  • Interpretation of Geometric Controls: The geometric characteristic symbols used to impose geometric requirements

Students Will be Able to:

  • Recognize the deficiencies of drawings produced without GD&T
  • Learn how geometric tolerances supplement conventional tolerances to specify limits on allowable variation.
  • Calculate minimum and maximum allowable values for dimensions considering numeric tolerances.
  • Recognize the symbols used with the geometric system of tolerances.
  • Recognize basic dimensions on prints and understand their meaning.
  • Identify and properly read feature control frames.
  • Recognize when bonus tolerance is available and calculate geometric tolerance values when bonus tolerance applies.
  • Recognize datum feature identifiers applied to features with size and surfaces.
  • Analyze the datum reference frame including order of precedence.
  • Identify and read geometric controls on location, orientation, form, profile & runout.

Course Delivery Details

  • Class Duration: Online, 2x 3.5-hour sessions (7 hours synchronous instruction + asynchronous pre-work / homework)
  • Course instructor: Charles A Gillis – Senior Consultant, Design Engineering
  • Prerequisites & Preparations: None
  • Modes of Teaching and Learning: Lecture/discussion, Individual work sessions, Group work sessions, Large print review
  • Textbook: Hammer’s Blueprint Reading Basics, 4th ed., by Charles Gillis, Industrial Press
  • Who Should Attend: Engineering managers and supervisors, Mechanical design engineers & engineering technicians, Quality Control personnel, Machine shop and tool room supervisors, Supplier quality engineers

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