Engineering drawings are what we use to communicate designs to other entities. Whenever we produce a design for a specific product, we are often required to present an engineering drawing with it to communicate the design. Within an engineering drawing, we can communicate the shape of the design, the materials, the suppliers, and any other information we want to communicate. 

Also, when engineers and technicians maintain a certain plant or a facility, they interact with engineering drawings in their day-to-day jobs. This is to identify what the machine is comprised of, how to maintain it, and the materials required for that. A couple of examples of engineering drawings are as follows. The following drawing is of a simple part. Note that the drawing only communicates the shape and dimensions of the part:

The following drawing is of a more complex assembly. Note that this drawing does not communicate dimensions, rather it communicates the different parts included in the assembly: 

Engineering drawings vary in complexity according to what they communicate. Also, the information displayed on a drawing sheet can vary from one organization to another. However, all drawings follow the same standards in terms of communicating different aspects of the drawing. Engineering drawings became an essential tool for communication due to their flexible distribution. They can be printed on paper or sent as images or PDFs for viewing with common software such as an image viewer or a PDF reader. 

One major element of SOLIDWORKS is drawings. These enable us to create engineering drawings for our parts and assemblies. To be able to create drawings in SOLIDWORKS, it is important for us to have some understanding of basic drawing standards and communication practices.

In this section, we have learned about engineering drawings and their purpose. Now, we can start learning about some key standards used when creating drawings to help us interpret them.