Standard Engineering Lettering

Lettering in Engineering Drawing

Lettering is used to provide easy to read and understand

information to supplement a drawing in the form of notes

and annotations.

Thus, it must be written with:

Legibility – shape & space between letters and words.

Uniformity – size & line thickness.

Lettering is an essential element in both traditional drawing

and Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing

Types of Lettering

The two types of lettering are:1.Vertical Lettering2.Inclined Lettering

vertical letters inclined letters

Conventions for Lettering

• Use all CAPITAL LETTERS.

• Use even pressure to draw precise, clean lines.

• Use one stroke per line.

• Use kerning to eliminate excessive space between letters. –

[kerning refers to adjusting the space between characters, especially by

placing two characters closer together than normal. Kerning makes certain

combinations of letters, such as WA, MW, TA, and VA, look better.]

Conventions for Lettering (cont.)

• Always Skip A Space Between Rows Of Letters.

• Always Use Very Light Guide Lines.

• Fractions Are Lettered Twice The Height Of Normal Letters.

• Fraction Bars Are Always Drawn Horizontal.

Application of Lettering

Lettering in Engineering Drawings is used in writing

Title Blocks which play a crucial role in drawings, they

are used to record all of the important information

necessary for the working drawings.

What does the Title Block contain?

Other uses of lettering include Dimensions and Notes

on the engineering drawing.

Placement of text on Engineering Drawings

GuidelinesExtremely light horizontal lines that are necessary to regulate the height of letters.

In addition, light vertical or inclined guidelines are used to keep the letters uniformly vertical or inclined.

Guidelines are absolutely essential for good lettering.

• After lettering has been completed, the guidelines are not erased.

Spacing

Should be UNIFORM•.

LINES AND LETTERINGS

L I N E S

T T E R SEL

Examples of Common Mistakes in Lettering

L E t T E r I N G

L E T T E R I N G

L E T T E R I N G

LET T E R ING

L E T T E R I N G

Lettering style not uniform

Lettering height not uniform

Lettering inclination not uniform

Lettering thickness not uniform

Lettering space not uniform

ReferencesFrench, T. E., (1918). A MANUAL OF ENGINEERING DRAWING FOR STUDENTS AND DRAFTSMEN. London: Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

Engineering Drawing Fundamentals: Introduction to Engineering Drawing. Retrieved from http://pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th/~kjirapon/lecture-note.html.

Madsen D. A., Madsen D. P., (2011). ENGINEERING DRAWING & DESIGN, Fifth Edition. New York: Cengage Learning.

Reddy K. V., (2008). TEXTBOOK OF ENGINEERING DRAWING. Hyderabad: BS Publications.

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