Introduction to

Orthographic Projections

Introducing Orthographic
Projections as the language of
engineering designers
 Orthographic Projections
• Orthographic projections are an engineer’s
language for conveying the shape and size
information about the products he designs.
• An orthographic projection consists of the
view obtained view when the object is viewed
from very far away, so that the resulting rays
are all parallel.
• The parallel rays that are used for
constructing the views are called projectors.
 Orthographic Projections

• The three principal views are take on picture

planes which are held parallel to the three
principal faces of the object, the front, the
top and the side.
• The intersections of the projectors with the
picture plane are the projections of the
points from which the projectors emanate.
• The points are joined to obtain the views.
We consider here the development of the
orthographic views of a simple object.

Object
For the Top view we view from the top!

Viewing
Direction

Picture
Plane
 Viewing
Direction

Projectors
Perpendicular
to picture
plane

 Point of intersection with picture plane

 Viewing
Direction

 
  Intersections of all
extreme points
Top View
Similarly, viewing from the
front with parallel projectors

Front View
Top & Front Views
on opening up the page

Notice the
interrelation
Similarly, the
Right Side View

Again notice the

interrelation
The third view can also be obtained by
taking projections from the two views,
using the mitre line, a line at 450
Mitre
 Two types of projections commonly used: I &
III angle
In third angle, picture
planes in between the
viewer & object

In first angle,
picture plane
behind the object
Opening up of the box with the various views in III angle
The relationship on plane paper of the various
views in III angle

Top
View

Left Front Right

View View View
The relationship on plane paper of the various
views in I angle

Right Front Left

View View View

Top
View
Principles of Multi-View Drawings

1. The Front and the Top views are aligned vertically.

2. The Front and the Side views are aligned horizontally.
3. The front of the object in the top view faces the front view.
4. The front of the object in the side view faces the front view.
5. The depth of top view is the same as the depth of side view.
6. The width of top view is same as the width of front view.
7. The height of side view is same as height of front view.
 Mitre

Front

Top View

Front View
 Top View

Front

Front View
 Drawing three views in III angle

Mitre
Top View

Front

Front View
Front
Front

X
X X
X X
X X
X
 Notice that the oblique face of the cylinder
appears as an ellipse in right-side view, but as
lines in the front view.

Front
Hidden Features
 Hidden Features

Shown by dashed lines

Hidden Features
Hidden Features
Hidden Features
Hidden Features
Lines and Areas

• Projections of lines and areas

• Meaning of lines and areas in
orthographic projections
 Projection of Lines

B
Projection of Lines
• A line may be projected in its true
length
• A line may be fore-shortened
• A line may have a point as its projection
Meaning of Areas in
Orthographic Views

1. A surface in true shape

2. A foreshortened surface
3. A smoothly curved surface
4. A combination of tangent
surfaces
Meaning of Areas in
Orthographic Views

B B

Foreshortened Surface
Surface in True shape
Meaning of Areas in
Orthographic Views

C C D D

C D

Curved Surface Tangent Surfaces

 Projections of Areas

Some areas are

projected in true
shapes, while others
are distorted.
Areas parallel to Four types of Areas
picture planes are in
1. A surface in true shape
true shapes
2. A foreshortened surface
3. A smoothly curved surface
4. A combination of tangent surfaces
 Reading Areas
• A plane surface will always appear in a
principal view as a line or an area
• An plane surface that appears as a line in
one view is normal to that view. It may or
may not appear its true shape in the other
views.
• An plane surface that appears as a line in
two of the principal views appears as a true
shape in the third view.
 Reading Areas
• A plane surface that appears as an area in
two of the principal views can not be in true
shape in any view.
• Any view that shows a plane surface as area
shows it in a like shape
 Reading Areas

Adjacent Areas lie in different

Oblique surfaces
planes. If two areas were in the
appear as areas of like
same plane, there will not be
shape in all views
any boundary between the
two.
Reading Areas
Reading Areas
Reading Areas
 Three possible interpretations:
Meaning of Lines in An edge view of a surface
Orthographic Views An intersection of two surfaces
A surface limit - reversal of
direction of a curved surface

(Surface Limit)
Meaning of Lines in Orthographic Views

• An edge view of a surface

• An intersection of two surfaces
• A surface limit - reversal of direction of
a curved surface
Meaning of Lines in Orthographic Views

Another Example
We next illustrate how to read the
orthographic drawings. This is done
by interpreting the three view to
‘draw’ the represented by those
view.
 Reading Lines & Areas
3
6 2

7 1
Start with a cuboid
3
1 2

5 4

Right front corner is cut away to

represent surface 12345

Top front of the upper step is

removed to reconcile the slope
Front top is cut away to create a of 23 in side view.
step 1267
Interpretation of
Hidden Lines
Draw the pictorial views of the
object whose three views are
shown.
Draw the pictorial views of the
object whose three views are
shown.
Missing Line Exercises

In the examples that follow, one or more

lines may be missing in (only) one view.
Try constructing a pictorial view to
determine what line(s) are missing.
Missing Line Exercises
One or more lines may be missing in
(only) one view. Try constructing a
pictorial view to determine what
line(s) are missing.
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises

?
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Missing Line Exercises
Sectional Views
Sectional Views

Whenever a representation becomes

confused due to too many essential
hidden details that it is difficult to
interpret, sectional views are employed
Too many hidden lines

Too complicated
to interpret
 Sectional Views
•A portion of the part is cut away to reveal the
interior.
•For this purpose a cutting plane is employed.
The shape of the object is clarified by
distinguishing between the areas where the
cutting plane actually cuts the solid material
and the areas where it meets voids.
•Wherever the cutting plane cuts the solid
material, the area is hatched
Sectional Views
A
The structure of this
pulley becomes
clearer if we imagine
the pulley is cut at the
meridian plane, the
material to the left of
the cutting plane is
A
removed and a
projection viewing
from the left is drawn.
 Sectional Views

Cutting Plane

The details of the hub are now clearer.

Sectional Views
A sectional view
makes things
much clearer.
Sectional Views
 Sectional Views

This does not differentiate

cut and uncut portions

Note that the cutting plane

line is long dash – two
short dashes line
Sectional Views

Hatch the solid portions

which are exposed freshly
by the cutting plane

These areas not hatched because the cutting

plane does not cut any material here. These
represent holes.
Sectional Views

5/4 ream

Clarify the view using sections.

 Sectional Practices
In the following slides we show some
sectioning practices. The principle involved
in these practices is to reduce the drawing
effort as much as possible while maintaining
clarity as much as possible.

• Try reducing the number of views

required.
• Draw as few hidden lines as possible. Use
a variety of sections as required.
Offset Sections

Note that the sectioning plane is offset

to bring out both the hidden features in
one view
Full Sections
 Half Sections

In many symmetrical objects one

can show the internal & the external
feature in the same view by
considering a plane which cuts only
one half the object.