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Computer- Aided Drafting
and Design
(Email
Bill Nash or Stephanie Milliken)
 Drafting
and design are the backbone of American industry. Our technology
dependent way of life would not be possible without drafters
applying their trade. While not outwardly apparent, design
is an integral part of every man made object. For every
manufacturing process or item purchased, there are graphic
drawings that describe its physical characteristics, completely
and accurately, communicating the designers' ideas to the
worker, and ultimately leading to a useful product. The
drafter is a trained technician who transforms ideas, rough
sketches, specifications, and instructions from engineers,
designers, manufacturers, and scientists into detailed working
drawings which are used in manufacturing and construction.
 The
design drafter must be a creative and organized thinker
who interprets directions, sketches, draws to scale, calculates
stresses, analyzes motions, sizes parts, prepares specifications
of quality, quantity, cost of materials, and specifies
productions and assembly methods; analyzes structural,
electrical, and mechanical components of buildings; prepares
specifications; estimates the cost of construction; and
verifies survey and layout work during the construction
phase of building.
The integration of computers into the design process, from
initial design stage, to manufacturing, to marketing, is
an ever evolving field, and the computer has become an indispensable
tool in the process. The computer aided drafting workstation
is the principal tool of the drafter today, having replaced
much of the traditional manual board drafting techniques
of the past. However, the drafter of today must be proficient
in both areas.
 Mechanical
drafters draw detailed drawings of mechanical parts,
lay out and design machine assemblies, draft plans for industrial
piping installations, draft detailed drawings for castings,
weldments, and structural elements, detail plans for manufacture
of tooling in various manufacturing disciplines, and draft
multiview assembly and subassembly drawings as required
for manufacture and repair of mechanisms. Mechanical drafting,
in general, is the core of the engineering and drafting
industry. |
