How do we, as a community, want to handle drafting (or technical drawing) questions that come up? What are in scope? What are out of scope?
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2After the scope is decided we need to decide on the tagging system so we dont have to come back and modify it later on.– user9447 ModCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 15:57
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Like what? Define "drafting/technical" -- Using Autocad or CNC systems.. probably out of scope.... using Sketch/Inkscape/Illustrator obviously in scope...– ScottCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 17:27
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@Scott Questions about scale, projections, perspective. Using tools like autocad, illustrator, rulers, scales, flexible curves, french curves, protractors, vellum. How to best show measurements, angles, and labels. All sorts of stuff really.– RyanCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 17:43
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2 Answers
Technical drawing should be mostly out of scope unless it deals with making a technical drawing into a illustration, some basic principles, layout of graphs, producing technical drawings to print or orthographic drawing which may be a graphics designer skill also.
Please note one of my jobs is teaching drafting to very high end automatic CAE/simulation setups at the Aalto University School of Engineering. So im more than capable of answering these questions. I however think they clearly belong to Mechanical engineering SE that's under works. Tough mainly because engineering is a alien concept to most designer and may cause lot of confusion and contradictions.
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General rule of thumb would be that once you cross the line into why, and how for more complex concepts your out of scope. 3D cad would be out of scope because you can not avoid the why, how and what you intend. Hence symbolism and what the drafting means is defiitely out of scope.
PS: Technical drawing is (or has been since 1960s) being phased out from drawing so engineers do not draw as much as describe geometry mathematically.
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If you think that illustration, basic principles, producing technical drawings for print, or understanding various projections are all on topic.... then what aspects of Technical Drawing do you feel are out of scope?– RyanCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 16:57
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2Surfacing and tolerance marks, parametric and 3D CAD, analytic geometry projections, hatching and finishing rules cnc milling parh design etc– joojaaCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 17:01
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I agree with all of that but hatching unless we're thinking of two different things. You're talking about hatch patterns? Why wouldn't those be on topic here?– RyanCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 17:03
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If its a question of how to produce them in say illustrator yes but explanation fo what they mean may not be within topic or we fall into engineering pretty quickly.– joojaaCommented Aug 5, 2014 at 17:44
Long ago, I did tech drawing in art school. On paper...
And I agree with Joojaa - technical drawings have certain standards, own language, terms and obey rules that are better found elsewhere. But if you mean "technical" drawings such as assembly instructions, IKEA-style, than I figure that is within scope.
But then that is illustrations, not really technical drawing. Technical drawings are - like botanic "illustration" (they are not really illustrations) - lightyears from graphic design. What I would like to see more of, however, is questions about illustrations as defined in the illustration.
