Engineering Drawing Guide for Students and Professional Engineers – Third Edition (Revised)

This guide has been used (amongst other universities), by the faculty of engineering at the University of Stellenbosch for the past five years, for first year students. Likewise the University of KwaZulu-Natal has used it since its initial edition in 1996. It is not suggested that this guide replace any other technical drawing texts used at schools and colleges, however, it may complement or supplement the student’s studies and their overall understanding of the fundamentals used in engineering drawing and design. In addition, it may also be helpful to apprentices in the engineering environment.

This guide was specifically designed for 1st year university students, especially those who were not exposed to technical drawing at school. It
has also successfully assisted final year students at university with their research and project work.

The foundational roots/information used stems from, and was developed from, lecturing (N1-N6) technical engineering drawing and design
for 8 years at a technical college. However, much of its contents is contributed to university colleagues and students.

The main purpose is to ensure adherence to the ISO Standards and Conventions; the universal engineering language used in industry. It has many illustrations, step by step examples and exercises with model answers, which are aligned to the mechanical engineering code of drafting practice.

Reviews

“The Engineering Drawing Guide authored by Mr Joelson has formed the basis for the first year drawing module at UKZN for many years. It is laid out in a logical and structured format. It is easy to read, understand and flows in a format that builds understanding in engineering drawing. This ‘Guide’ is highly recommended for tertiary education students that want a complete guide to modern day engineering drawing methods, principles and practices”.
Prof Glen Bright: James Fulton Professor in Mechanical Engineering; Dean and Head of School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu Natal

“This book is the culmination of many years of teaching of, and first-hand experience with, the engineering drawing course which the author lectured at UKZN for 21 years. It provides a state-of-the-art textbook on the subject, including CADD, with several examples, exercises and  explanations. It is recommended to all students who are studying the subject and to professional engineers who use drawing in their work”.
Dr Sarp Adali: Sugar Millers Professor of Engineering Design; Fellow of University of KwaZulu-Natal; Fellow of the South African Royal Society; Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers

“The Engineering Drawing Guide is prescribed for students undertaking the capstone project for the Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology at the Durban University of Technology. The outcomes of the course require that students use best practice to produce engineering outputs that conform to established standards. As such the Engineering Drawing Guide provides very useful guidance in aiding students to produce professional engineering drawings according to the latest ISO code of practice. Besides providing information related to drawing outputs, the guide also contains other engineering data that will ensure that the book serves as a valuable reference in professional practice”.
David Jonson: PhD, Associate Professor, HOD, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology (prescribed: 2012 – 2016)

“Since using your manual my marks have increased from an aggregate of 47% to 78%. A personal thank you for sending me the book: the examples and illustrations were most helpful. They provided me with a sound understanding and the exercises simply reinforced my knowledge”.
Quintin van Heerden: Industrial Engineering Student, Pretoria

“Crisp and to the point. Although the author uses Caddie Software for his presentation of this book I, as a user of Solid Works, have found it very useful as a guide that I could ‘flick’ through to recover a ‘standard or convention’. I would recommend the Engineering Drawing Guide as a preparatory reading for students starting a course on technical/engineering drawing but also as a font of information for older engineers who, from time-to-time, need to rekindle ‘ancient memories’”.
Prof Graham D J Smith: PrEng. (SA)

“This book is intended to provide the student with a clear and thorough presentation of the application of the fundamental principles of engineering drawing. The object of the text, examples and illustrations is to give the student the techniques to develop their own understanding of engineering drawing. The inclusion of standard parts and structural members provides the student or draughtsperson easy access to the Mechanical Engineering Drawing Code of Practice and third and final year students have found the “Guide” to be an easy reference whilst preparing Project Drawings”.
Rob Bodger: PrEng. (SA)

“The Engineering Drawing Guide has become a staple resource for Mechanical Engineering students at all levels of the curriculum at UKZN. As the prescribed textbook for the Engineering Drawing module for the School of Engineering, it includes material from the fundamentals of engineering drawing all the way through to Computer-Aided Drawing and Design. It is also a very handy reference guide for senior students and graduates to consult when producing design drawings. Having been developed concurrently with teaching Engineering Drawing over a very long period of time, the Engineering Drawing Guide addresses many of the common questions and difficulties that students face when first introduced to the subject, through well thought out examples and exercises. This makes the life of a drawing lecturer significantly easier”.
Louwrens Johannes Butler: BEng (Mechanical) – University of Stellenbosch. MscEng – University of KwaZulu-Natal. Coordinator of Engineering Drawing in the School of Engineering, UKZN (2011 – 2014)

“This book is a perfect learning aid for students who have not been familiar with engineering drawing. The additional standards, conventions and explanations for manufacturing drawings in particular are an important addition for reference to anyone who needs a refresher when producing drawings. The additional link between manual drawing, and CAD makes the use of this manual possible with any teaching method.”
Kirsty Veale: MscEng. BScEng. (Mechanical) – Lecturer, University of KwaZuluNatal. Managing Coordinator of Engineering Drawing in the School of Engineering, UKZN (2015 – 2017)

“I have mislaid my ‘Engineering Drawing Guide’ and have searched the web, but can’t find a nice comprehensive set of rules like we had in our notes. Your drawing standards, had some good ways of explaining those rules”.
Tyron Kimble: Mechanical Engineer, Secunda – UKZN Graduate 2007

“The Engineering Drawing Guide has been an excellent, compact and easy to use reference throughout my studies. The drawing standards, practices and conventions are clearly laid out and applicable to all mechanical drawings or designs. This guide book is immensely valuable to any young engineer, whether studying or beginning their career”.
Ryan Lipke: Mechanical Engineer, Durban – UKZN Graduate 2010

“The ‘Engineering Drawing Guide’ is supplied to all our first year Drawing Students as back-up notes for their National Diploma (Mechanical Engineering). They are encouraged to use the book throughout their diploma studies at all levels as a reference for Mechanical Engineering Drawing and Machine Design, including the capstone project for their Bachelor of Technology Degree. The exercises and notes help develop a good understanding of both the 2D and 3D aspects of drawing and the ‘Miscellaneous Information’ has proved to be very useful in their design courses”.
Drewan Bennett: Engineering Drawing and CAD lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology (2016) 

“The Engineering Drawing Guide really provides useful stepping stones; a practical guide and presentation to the basics of CAD and Engineering Design”.
Dr Chiemela Onunka: Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering Department, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Umlazi Durban, SA (2018)