15 TECHNICAL DRAWING MATERIALS AND INSTRUMENTS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Some technical drawing tools and supplies include pencils, rulers, compasses, and protractors. These tools can be used to measure and draw the corresponding planes.

They can also be used to improve the consistency and speed of creation of standard drawing elements. The tools used in manual technical drawing have been displaced by the growth of the personal computer and its common use as the most widely used tool in computer technical drawing, whether in drawing or design.

Instruments commonly used in manual technical drawing

Drawing table

The drawing board is an essential tool in technical drawing. The paper is attached to it; it stands straight and steady, in this way the drawing can be made accurately.

The drawing table is usually mounted on a floor stand where the table can be rotated in different positions, its height can also be adjusted.

Masking tape is usually used to secure the paper to the board, including the sophisticated use of individual adhesives from a dispenser roll.

Some drawing boards are magnetic, allowing the paper to be held in place through long rolls of metal.

Smaller drafting tables are also produced to be used at table level.

Pencils

Traditionally the needles used in technical drawing are pencils and technical pens. The pencils that are usually used are mechanical pencils with an ink of standard thickness.

The standard width of the lines varies between 0.8 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm. Hardness usually ranges from HB to 2H. Softer strokes generally provide better contrast, but stronger strokes provide a more precise line.

Although poor trace contrast can be problematic when photocopying the final result, newer copying techniques can improve the final result. Paper or plastic surfaces require their own types of lead.

In most cases the final technical drawings are drawn with ink, either on plastic or on tracing paper. The pencil is generally a technical rapidgraph pencil; a pen that consistently marks the breadth of lines.

The pen has an ink container that contains a metal tube, in which is a needle or thin metal wire. The ink is absorbed between the needle and the tube wall, preventing an excessive amount of ink from coming out.

Square and bevel

The square, in the shape of an isosceles triangle, one 90º angle and two 45º angles, is used together with the bevel to make parallel and perpendicular lines.

The bevel is shaped like a scalene right triangle.

Conveyor

It is used to measure angles in degrees.

Rules

Usually the rules used in technical drawing are made of polystyrene. Rulers can be divided into two types based on their border design.

A straight edge ruler can be used with lead pencils and markers, while when using a technical pen the ruler should have a grooved edge to prevent ink spillage.

The graduated ruler or scale ruler is a three-edged ruler that has six different types of scales marked on its edges.

Currently, these rules are made of plastic. In ancient times they were made of wood. There are also pocket versions.

Scale

It is a type of ruler in the shape of a prism that has different scales.

Rule T

A T-ruler is a flat surface that uses the edge of the drawing board for support. It is used with the drawing table to draw horizontal lines and to align other drawing tools.

T-rulers made of wood, metal, or plastic can be used; in the shape of a triangle, with angles of 30 °, 60 °, or with two angles of 45 °. This way you can quickly draw lines with these commonly used angles.

An alternative to the T-rule is a parallel bar that is permanently attached to the drawing board.

It has a pair of cables and pulleys that allow it to be positioned anywhere on the drawing surface, while remaining parallel to the bottom of the drawing table. This instrument can replace both the T-ruler and triangles.

Compass

Compasses are designed to draw circles or arc segments of circles. A type of compass has two right arms joined by a hinge; One arm has a sharp pivot point, while the other has a holder for the technical pen or pencil.

For its part, the beam compass has the pivot point and a pen holder attached by a bar, useful when drawing many large radial arcs.

Usually a circular template is used instead of a compass if you need to draw circles of predetermined sizes.

Drawing templates

Stencils contain pre-sized holes in the correct scale to correctly draw symbols or shapes.

Letter templates are used to draw text, including digits and letter characters. Diagrams usually have a standard font and size.

For drawing circles or circle items, circle templates contain different sizes of the same shape.

Templates are also available in other commonly used geometric shapes, such as squares and ellipses, as well as in a specialized variety for other purposes.

There are also specific templates to be used in different branches of technical drawing.

For example, architectural templates can be used to draw doors of different sizes with their respective "opening arches"; in that branch there are also templates to draw buildings, furniture and other corresponding symbols.

Mechanical pencil

It is a tool in which you can put mines to draw.

Curvigraphs

It is a template used to draw curves.

Paper

Depending on the activity and the project, different types of paper can be used. Some examples of the most common include:

• Drawing paper: it is a translucent paper, similar to silk, that wrinkles when moistened. It is usually used with pencils and markers. Pencil marks can be corrected to some extent with an eraser.
• Thick drawing paper: sandwich paper, a thin, translucent sheet of paper. It is manufactured in different types, the surface can be slightly shiny. This paper also wrinkles when it gets wet. It can be used with pencils and markers, with limitations for technical pens. It is difficult to erase the ink without damaging this paper; an eraser can be used for pencil lines.
• Tracing paper: thick translucent paper that also comes in different types. It wrinkles when wet. It can be used with graphite pencils and technical pens. An eraser or some eraser tool can be used to correct the strokes.
• Translucent plastic film: These are usually gray or pale beige. They are usually used when photocopying.

Plastic has advantages over translucent paper; mechanically it is stronger and has more dimensional concordance since plastic does not shrink or stretch like paper.

Additionally, plastic is a completely flat surface, while the surface of paper is relatively rough.

Plastic can be used with pencils and drawing pens, however its surface tends to weaken the tips of the pens.

Eraser

They are used to erase what has been drawn with a pencil. They are typically made from synthetic rubber and soy-based synthetic rubber.

Sharpener

It is a device for sharpening the tip of a pencil by scraping its surface. Although pencil sharpeners can be used comfortably by hand, there are also electric ones.

software

One of the most used computer programs is autocad.

References

1. Technical drawing tolos. Recovered from wikipedia.org.
2. Review: Drawing Instruments, 1580-1980 by Maya Hambly. (1990) Recovered from jstor.org.
3. The American engineer. Recovered from wikipedia.org.
4. Technical drawing tools. Recovered from staedtler.com.
5. Architectural Drafting and Design. Recovered from wikipedia.org.