The part and component drawings act as a language for transferring knowledge and information about the design of a product’s essential parts or prototype. For this reason, there are established norms and drawing structure standards. Adhering to these standards ensures that the information presented in the drawings can be efficiently understood by professionals across the industry.
On the other hand, missing information or failure to follow these standards can hinder the effective transfer of knowledge expected from product part drawings.
Part name and technical identification: Each part drawing must include the name of the part. It’s recommended to use intuitive names that reflect the part’s function or purpose within the product. Likewise, the drawing title should include a unique identifier—such as a code—that links to additional information in the technical documentation, such as usage, assembly method, material details, and more.
Material specification: Design drawings must always include the specific type of material required for manufacturing. In the case of prototypes, given the limitations of available manufacturing methods, it’s common to indicate the material to be used for the validation version, as well as the recommended material for the final industrial product.
Drawing scale: For obvious reasons, part drawings often cannot be displayed at actual size. Therefore, the scale of the projected drawing must always be indicated. This refers to the size ratio between the real dimensions of the part and the size represented in the drawing booklet.
Part designer and date: For traceability purposes, it is essential to identify the designer responsible for the part, as well as the date of design drawing creation. This information ensures proper version control and traceability of updated part designs.
Revision: It is good practice to identify the design version of the part represented in the drawing. This field helps prevent errors in version control and traceability, as outlined in the previous point.
Assembly identification: Another important field in part design drawings is the identification of the assembly to which the part belongs. At Let’s Prototype, this field is always completed with the project name, which is agreed upon with the client before starting any design work.
Technical views in design drawings: Part drawings should include multiple views of the part—typically front, side, and top views. Including these design views in the drawing booklet improves understanding of the part and facilitates quality analysis during the manufacturing process.
Sections and cut views: When dealing with designed parts that are part of a complex mechanical system, or when the parts serve as housings for other components, it is considered best practice to include sectional or cut views in the drawings. These views allow for clear visualization of the internal features of the designed parts.
Dimensions: A key piece of information in part design drawings is the set of dimensions. The design drawings must document linear measurements—length, width, and height—as well as hole diameters, radii, and part thicknesses. Another critical aspect of the dimensions section is the specification of dimensional tolerances, which should be documented both generally and specifically for features that are critical to the part’s function. When parts include threads, chamfers, or holes designed to fit other components, it is essential to detail the depths of these features.
Technical finish specifications: The section for technical specifications in design drawings includes information related to the finishing details of the part. In most cases, these finishes are essential to the proper function of the design. For example, this includes required tolerances and surface treatments such as galvanizing, painting, or anodizing.
Use of standard symbols: This refers to a legend of drawing icons fully defined by ISO quality standards or ASME guidelines. These symbols allow for easy identification of welds, surface finishes, or internal threads present in the part.
