The processes of manufacture and assembly are based on the communication of engineering information via drawing. These drawings follow rules laid down in national and international standards. The organisation responsible for the international rules is the International Standards Organisation (ISO). There are hundreds of ISO standards on engineering drawing because drawing is very complicated and accurate transfer of information must be guaranteed. The information contained in an engineering drawing is a legal specification, which contractor and sub-contractor agree to in a binding contract. The ISO standards are designed to be independent of any one language and thus much symbology is used to overcome any reliance on any language. Companies can only operate efficiently if they can guarantee the correct transmission of engineering design information for manufacturing and assembly.

This book is a short introduction to the subject of engineering drawing for manufacture. It should be noted that standards are updated on a 5-year rolling programme and therefore students of engineering drawing need to be aware of the latest standards. This book is unique in that it introduces the subject of engineering drawing in the context of standards.