Communicating Design Intent Through Drawings

JWayman · ‎Dec 13, 2010

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.

ptc-1932745 · ‎Dec 13, 2010

Probably the most direct solution when outsourcing the detailing is for
the Design Engineer to approve all of the output of the Draftsman...

Other than that, the Design Engineer may also make 3D annotations for
specific features that need attention. Add a surface feature for
example, that defines the area where any special treatments are
required, along with a 3D annotation of what takes place.

BTW, how does the draftsman detail the part (datums, GD&T, etc...)
without the assembly and/or without the specific direction/approval of
the Design Engineer?

Christopher F. Gosnell

FPD Company

124 Hidden Valley Road

McMurray, PA 15317

mlocascio · ‎Dec 13, 2010

There is a key solution to a probable problem here. Are you outsourcing to
an off shore company? If you are - SHAME ON YOU! We have people here in the
United States that can do that work.

I just happen to be one of the many people who are unemployed because of
business decisions like this. It seriously chaffs me to this happening. I
would be glad to do this work for you.

I am thinking of starting my own company and keeping American design in
America. We need to encourage INSOURCING. Keeping it here in the US, for
Americans.

Michael P. Locascio

JonathanHodgson · ‎Dec 13, 2010

Technically, John would be off-shoring if he used an American company to
do the work, since he's in a UK office of a French company... 🙂

To the original question: we don't outsource our drawings at all. We're
in a motorsport environment, and last time we tried getting our drawings
producing in a remote office, we concluded that it had taken almost as
much of our time doing checking and communicating changes we required.

Jonathan

jfrankovich · ‎Dec 13, 2010

(It would appear that sending Thales Group work to US workers would constitute outsourcing in Mr Wayman's case - note the uk.)

ptc-1932745 · ‎Dec 13, 2010

Your experiences are similar that I have heard from others that 'remote'
the detailing duties, whether across the street, or around the world.

If you have very good company standards for most things, the Design
Engineer still needs to define the datums, GD&T, etc... on the part
model to keep this 'design intent' and insure fit and function. The
detailer / draftsman cannot do this.

The best bet is probably to 'team up' the Design Engineer with one or
more detailers / draftsman in close proximity similar to a surgical
team, etc...

Christopher F. Gosnell

FPD Company

124 Hidden Valley Road

McMurray, PA 15317

mjenkins · ‎Dec 28, 2010

It is of my opinion that you should do your own drawings for things that you design. If not, then you should at least sign it as the approving engineer.

In Reply to John Wayman:

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,

John Wayman
Mechanical Design Engineer

Thales Underwater Systems Ltd.
Ocean House, Throop Road, Templecombe BA8 0DH

www.thalesgroup.com/uk