Question
Communicating Design Intent Through Drawings
Hello,
I am interested to know how you and your colleagues approach the division of
labour between Design Engineers and Draughtsmen.
If, for example, a Design Engineer models a part that has to fit into an
assembly at a compound angle, he will model the part so that the compound
angle is included in the model somehow.Or it may be that a certain area of a
shaft has to have aspecific hardness, whilst the remainder is not critical.
Imagine, however, that the model is subsequently sent out to a sub-contract
company for production of manufacturing drawings. Unless the draughtsman
spots the compound angle or special area in the model, or the Design
Engineer informs him, he is unlikely to know of its existence, especially if
he has been given a collection of part models to draw, and not the top-level
assembly. The drawing is produced, showing only a simple angle feature, and
when the part comes in, it will not fit properly, or it fits perfectly, but
wears out too quickly.
Clearly, it is essential for Engineer and Draughtsman to discuss the job -
communication is everything. However, what practical steps do you take to
ensure the communication takes place? Does the Design Engineer produce a
'cut-down' drawing showing only the essential design intent, leaving the
Draughtsman to fill in the missing bits? Or does the Draughtsman delve
deeply into the assembly model to understand how it all goes together before
he starts the part drawings? Each of these approaches leaves the distinct
possibility that an important detail goes un-communicated, and therefore
does not appear on the drawing.
I suspect the best solution to this potential problem may be procedural,
rather than Pro/E related, but I would be grateful for your recommendations
and experiences.
Regards,
This thread is inactive and closed by the PTC Community Management Team. If you would like to provide a reply and re-open this thread, please notify the moderator and reference the thread. You may also use "Start a topic" button to ask a new question. Please be sure to include what version of the PTC product you are using so another community member knowledgeable about your version may be able to assist.
I am interested to know how you and your colleagues approach the division of
labour between Design Engineers and Draughtsmen.
If, for example, a Design Engineer models a part that has to fit into an
assembly at a compound angle, he will model the part so that the compound
angle is included in the model somehow.Or it may be that a certain area of a
shaft has to have aspecific hardness, whilst the remainder is not critical.
Imagine, however, that the model is subsequently sent out to a sub-contract
company for production of manufacturing drawings. Unless the draughtsman
spots the compound angle or special area in the model, or the Design
Engineer informs him, he is unlikely to know of its existence, especially if
he has been given a collection of part models to draw, and not the top-level
assembly. The drawing is produced, showing only a simple angle feature, and
when the part comes in, it will not fit properly, or it fits perfectly, but
wears out too quickly.
Clearly, it is essential for Engineer and Draughtsman to discuss the job -
communication is everything. However, what practical steps do you take to
ensure the communication takes place? Does the Design Engineer produce a
'cut-down' drawing showing only the essential design intent, leaving the
Draughtsman to fill in the missing bits? Or does the Draughtsman delve
deeply into the assembly model to understand how it all goes together before
he starts the part drawings? Each of these approaches leaves the distinct
possibility that an important detail goes un-communicated, and therefore
does not appear on the drawing.
I suspect the best solution to this potential problem may be procedural,
rather than Pro/E related, but I would be grateful for your recommendations
and experiences.
Regards,
This thread is inactive and closed by the PTC Community Management Team. If you would like to provide a reply and re-open this thread, please notify the moderator and reference the thread. You may also use "Start a topic" button to ask a new question. Please be sure to include what version of the PTC product you are using so another community member knowledgeable about your version may be able to assist.