Shop Drawings for Construction Trades

In the particular world of 3 dimensional modeling, are Shop Drawings still used? Absolutely! There isn’t really an alternate way to efficiently transfer information on the design/detail end for the shop floor. Some Fabrication Shops are utilizing far more ‘robotic’ functionality, but they are few in number. You will find machines out there that may of course cut, drill, weld and prepare pretty much anything , but very little is effective at assembling. As long as this continues there will also be a need for a Shop Drawing detailer/designer. Shop Drawing and detailing has changed a lot over the past 20 years. Back in the day an ‘art’ form using drawing tables, electric pencil sharpeners and shavings brushes. Now its a computer mouse as well as a monitor and higher powered software such as Auto CAD, Tekla Structures, SDS2, Auto Desk Revit, Auto Desk Inventor and every other Auto Desk product.

Quite frequently a concept is sketched on paper initially, by a designer (lets state an architect for his client). This designer/architect will then work with his company and create a set of drawings of this idea, (lets use a museum as an example). This set of museum drawings may also include a 3D model (or derived from it). Once they are satisfied they send them to the Client for approval. If approved the construction process will start, and the hiring of a general contractor to seek out the trades is often the best route.

The job of creating Shop Drawings is normally found in one of these trade routes, in this case it woulde be : Mechanical Shop drawings for duct work, Structural Steel Shop Drawings for the steel, Decking, Joist and Concrete also need Shop Drawings.

What is a Shop Drawing?

A shop drawing is really a design or detail portrayed on paper , put forth to a shop fabricator so he or she can therefore build the required piece. Are Shop Drawings always mandatory? Not always, but yes more often than not they are needed and sometimes compulsory (IE. engineers and architects will need to see their conceptions on paper)

Just what is a Shop Drawing Stamp? A Shop Drawing Stamp is the engineer (of record’s) method to say he has approved the Shop Drawing which you or maybe your company has drawn. It accommodates his/her design and they’re accepting it to be built. This is usually a manual approach (as a consequence of signing of the stamp), but almost always necessary.

What should the Shop Drawings display? A correct shop drawing should display all the important information that is needed for the piece being built. This does not mean to repeat information nevertheless and go overboard. Adding pointless dimensions and data can often cause misunderstandings with the shop floor. Make use of the proper line weights (if you are using Computer Aided Drafting or CAD). Always put your own name and the checkers name within the drawing, this ensures it has been done with care. Remember: the people working on the shop floor do not have the same working conditions you have when drawing it, it shall be darker, louder and the drawings can certainly get damaged. At all times keep this is mind.

Nearly all trades in a manufacturing or manufacturing procedure require drawings of some form. If not, there isn’t really real way of understanding how something was built and to what standard. In Mechanical Drafting there are particular guidelines to comply with which may be totally different from other forms of Drafting.( such as the scale, display etc.) When dealing with Structural Steel drawings there are strict regulations when it comes to connection design, to make certain that every steel framing connection will not fail.

Learn more about shop drawing software. Stop by our site where you can find out all about Shop Drawing Software Reviews and see for yourself.