Line Weights in AutoCAD Drawings

[NoWittyHandle]

Is there a default pen width that is suggested for use in CAD drawings? When should you use a thinner or thicker pen width? What pen widths are suggested for items to be drawn thinner or thicker than the default pen width? Our CAD template is set up so that each major color plots with a different pen width, which isn't the best way to plot CAD drawings. Thanks for your responses.

 

[dbaird]

For an example check pages 43-46:

http://engstandards.lanl.gov/drftman/pdfs/DM200-R3c1-app.pdf

David Baird

Sr Controls Designer
EET degree.
Journeyman Electrician.

 

[TCARPENTER1]

Hi EricinNJ,

From my old drafting days:
[ul]
[li]Object lines = .7mm[/li]
[li]Hidden lines, Phantom lines, Center Lines, and Text = .5mm[/li]
[li]Section lines = .9mm[/li]
[li]Dimension lines, Extension lines, and Leaders = .3mm[/li]
[/ul]

Play with these to suit your needs from here, but these values seem to show up best out on the shop floor.

HTH
Todd

 

[pauly690]

Default is 0. You should be drawing in different colours. Each colour has its own thickness. Black is the darkest, then red, blue, majenta, green, cyan, yellow. Usually the Black pen is for the object, red for text and dims, blue can be used for hatching etc, etc. Be sure to plot in grey scale.

You should set up some kind of standard, plot a few drawings and see what looks best.

 

[Ashereng]

We are currently having this debate in our drafting department: line weight by colour or by thickness.

My PREFERENCE is for width to be shown as it, and not by colour. One benefit is that you can line up other object better if you see the actual thickness as is. If it is just a coloured line, the alignment may be off unless you check the final product.

Of couse, as pauly690 mentions, there are proponents of the colour method. Unfortunately, different shops sometimes assign different thickness to different colour, and it may get messed up (we often inherit drawings done by others).

The most important thing to remember is, as pauly690 mentions,

You should set up some kind of standard

 

[borgunit]

This is from our ISO 128-1982 "Technical Drawings - General Principles of Presentation" standards manual.
-------------------------------------------------

Section 3.2 Thicknesses of Lines

Two thicknesses of lines are used. The ratio of the thick to the thin line shall not be less than 2:1

The thicknesses of lines should be chosen according to the size and type of the drawing from the following range:
0.18, 0.25, 0.35, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.4, and 2.0 mm

For all views of one piece to the same scale, the thicknesses of lines should be the same.

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We personally use:
0.18mm for thinner lines and 0.35mm for the thicker ones




"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." — Will Rogers