2D drawing of 3D object...

Most things really are 2D drawings of 3D objects... unless it's a logic diagram, etc.

So first I would like to thank all the people who helped me on my first homework assignment. I haven't gotten the grade back yet, but I was able to figure out all the hurdles. Nobody touched my diagram. Thank you.

Attached is my next assignment. One of the files just has the data in it that I have to use. The other file is an example of what I have to hand in, which is just the front, bottom and left side views.

Question: Should I try to draw this as a 3d object first, and then arrange the different views, or should I just pretty much copy the picture? They don't really say what approach I should take, in fact, they're fine if people hand in stuff drawn by hand... It just has to comply strictly to certain standards.

I thinking I should just draw the three flat views, and that tackling the 3d cuts and so forth probably isn't that transparent.

Comments

  • Steven_g
    edited September 2018

    The idea behind most drawing programs is that you create a 3D world inside the computers memory, you use actual sizes, and as much as is possible try to make it as real as possible. And then you use the various tools available to show the various 2D views that are traditionally expected to put something into production. The beauty of most modern programs is that if you make an alteration to the model then all the associated 2D views all automatically update to show the changes.

    Unfortunately very often teaching methods are stuck at the 2D level and still teach and expect that approach to drawing, whereas most work environments are expecting and need people to use the most uptodate methods and tools.

    With that said the details you have given in this example can be drawn in a single 3D model and the 2D drawings can be easily extracted to give the shown views, so I would choose that method. It is also a very good idea to know how to create the drawings in 2D so that you have a good understanding of how things work.

  • +1 to Steven's comments. In addition, 3D drawing is fun!

    Another advantage is that by constructing the original as a 3D object or assembly, one can pretty quickly find whether the constraining dimensions you are given are consistent and realizable. Better to discover that "here to there" and "here to the other" can't be made to fit on the model than to have your machinist call up with a "Hey, guys?" question.

  • Thanks for the advice! Especially that it shouldn't be hard to draw the cuts. I will attempt to approach this from 3D, then.

  • In addition to the above comments, a lot of manufactoring companies want you to supply a 3D file in addition with the 2D drawings.
    The reason for this is that the modern CAM software that is used to program manufactoring machines need very little human input if a 3D model is supplied. Thus lowering manufactoring costs.

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