XXVI
THE TEACHING OF MECHANICAL DRAWING
Mechanical drawing a mode of expression
Drawing is a mode of expression and is therefore a form of language. As applied in the engineering field drawing is mechanical in character and is used principally for the purpose of conveying information relative to the construction of machines and structures. It seems logical that the methods employed and the standards adopted in the teaching of engineering drawing should be based on an analysis of conditions found in the engineering world. In the best engineering practice the technical standards of drawing are high, so high in fact that they may be used as an ideal toward which to work in the classroom. Examples of good draftsmanship selected from practice may well serve to furnish standards for classroom work, both in technique and methods of representation.
Mechanical drawing disciplinary as well as practical in value
Engineering drawing demands intellectual power quite as much as it does skill of hand. The draftsman in conceiving and planning his design visualizes his problem, makes calculations for it, and graphically represents the results upon the drafting board. The development of the details of his design makes it necessary that he be a trained observer of forms. Since new designs frequently involve modifications of old forms, in his efforts to recall old forms and create new ones, he develops visual memory. If the requirements of a successful draftsman or designer be taken as typical, it is evident that the young engineer must develop, in addition to a technical knowledge of the subject, and a certain degree of skill of hand, a habit of quick and accurate observation and the ability to perceive and retain mental images of forms.
Modern methods of instruction recognize both the motor and mental factors involved in the production of engineering drawings. It is the aim of the drawing courses in engineering colleges to familiarize the student with the standards of technique and methods of representation found in the best commercial practice; likewise to develop in him the powers to visualize and reason, which are possessed by the commercial draftsman and designers.
Organization and content of courses in mechanical drawing