ALPHABET OF LINES
1. OBJECT OR VISIBLE LINE (Thick) –
Used to represent the visible edges of
an object.
2. HIDDEN OR INVISIBLE LINE (Medium)
– Used to represent the hidden edges of
an object. It is composed of small or
short dashes about 3-4 mm long with
gaps between dashes, each about
1-2 mm wide.
3. DIMENSION LINE (Thin) – Used to
indicate measurements or dimensions of
objects.
PARTS OF A DIMENSION LINE
a. ARROWHEAD – short heavy stroke
(called flares) placed at the
extremities of the fine line.
b. FINE LINE – unbroken except to
permit insertion of the dimension
figure.
c. NUMBER OR MEASUREMENT –
usually positioned at the middle of
the fine line and its axis is
perpendicular to it
4. EXTENSION OR PROJECTION LINES
(Thin) – Continuous lines extending
from a view to indicate the extent of a
measurement given by a dimension line
that is located outside a view.
5. CENTER LINE (Thin) – Made with
alternate long and short dashes. It is
used to indicate the axis or center of
objects with symmetrical shapes such
as washers, gears, pulleys and rivets.
6. CUTTING PLANE LINE (Thick) –
Consists of one long and two alternative
dashes. It is used to represent or show
the path of the plane which cuts the
objects that makes a section. It is clearly
identified with reference letters along
with arrowheads to show the direction in
which the view is taken.
7. SECTION LINES (Thin) – Evenly
spaced slant lines which are placed on
the cut surface in section views. Usually,
they are drawn at an angle of 45 o except
in cases where a number of adjacent
parts are shown assembled.
8. CONSTRUCTION LINES (Very Fine) –
Used to “block in” objects to be drawn.
9. LEADER LINE (Thin) – A broken line
consisting of a long inclined line (with an
arrowhead) and a short horizontal line. It
is used to lead the eyes to the part
being labelled and measured and is
commonly used in machine drawings
10. REFERENCE LINE (Thin) – An irregular
curved line with an arrowhead at one
end and a note or dimension at the
other end. It is often used to label the
parts of an object.
11. BREAK LINES (Thin) – Used to break
objects which are too big to be drawn on
paper.
a. LONG BREAK LINES – ruled lines
with freehand zigzags.
b. SHORT BREAK LINES – wavy lines
in freehand
12. DITTO OR REPEAT LINES (Medium) –
Consists of two dashes drawn
repeatedly. It is used to indicate
repeated part of the object drawn.
13. BORDER LINES (Heavy) - Generally
the heaviest or darkest lines in a
drawing. They serve as frame in the
drawing.