Drawing, as an art, is the picturisation of the imagination of the scene in its totality by an
individual—the Artist. It has no standard guidelines and boundaries. Engineering drawing on
the other hand is the scientific representation of an object, according to certain national and
international standards of practice. It can be understood by all, with the knowledge of basic
principles of drawing.
Machine drawing is the indispensable communicating medium employed in industries,
to furnish all the information required for the manufacture and assembly of the components of
a machine.
Industries are required to follow certain draughting standards as approved by
International Organisation for Standards (ISO). When these are followed, drawings prepared
by any one can convey the same information to all concerned, irrespective of the firm or even
the country. Mechanical engineering students are required to practice the draughting standards
in full, so that the students after their training, can adjust very well in industries.
This book on Machine Drawing is written, following the principles of drawing, as
recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), in their standards titled “Engineering
drawing practice for schools and colleges”; SP:46-1988.
This is the only book on Machine Drawing, incorporating the latest standards published
till now and made available to the students. Typical changes brought in the standards, in respect
of names of orthographic views are listed below. These eliminate the ambiguity if any that
existed earlier.
The latest designations as recommended below are used throughout this book.
Designation of the views Designations of the views
as per IS:696-1972 as per SP:46-
1. Front view The view from the front
2. Top view The view from above
3. Left side view The view from the left
4. Right side view The view from the right
5. Bottom view The view from below
6. Rear view The view from the rear
The contents of the book are chosen such that, the student can learn well about the
drawing practice of most of the important mechanical engineering components and sub-
assemblies, he studies through various courses.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION