1. DRAWING MANAGEMENT
C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

2. OBJECTIVES 1. Understand the importance of document management and
control.
2. Understand how an electronic file can be used as both a
communication and a storage device.
3. Understand the differences between CD-ROM, optical disk,
and other storage options.
4. Describe printing and reproduction methods for technical
drawings.
5. Be familiar with the Internet and the World Wide Web and
understand how to use them in the product development
process.

3. MANAGING THE DESIGN PROCESS
Example: Boeing Corporation’s Preferred Business Process.
(Copyright © Boeing.)
Notice all the stages before the product gets to the customer… If this process is to happen on time, careful planning is needed.

4. Design Milestones and Design Reviews
Typical milestones may include the following:
Product proposal
Design proposal
Development plan
Engineering release
Product release
Design Review You may need to provide the documentation for design decisions, for example, the fastener selections, company standards, analysis, tolerances, and other information.

5. UNDERSTANDING DRAWING MANAGEMENT
To control how drawings are released for manufacture, companies and industries have developed procedures to eliminate misunderstandings and costly mistakes.
Preserving Documentation
Drawings serve as an important part of an agreement between a designer and a producer.
Companies may need to produce the documentation for various purposes, such as defending themselves against product safety liability and patent infringement lawsuits. In the event of legal
issues, you must be able to produce the document as it was provided and in a method that is admissible in a court of law.
Whether they are on paper, on Mylar, or in electronic format, drawings are important company records and must be retrieved, reproduce
Improving Efficiency
Effective storage and retrieval of engineering design documentation can make a difference in a company’s ability to succeed in today’s world marketplace.
The effective use of a 3D design database can provide many benefits outside of just reduced drafting time or a shortened product development cycle.

6. DRAWING APPROVAL AND RELEASE
The drawing’s creator signs and dates the “drawn by” block, perhaps a checker signs off and dates the “checked by” block, and the engineer approves the drawing for release by signing and dating the “approved
by” block.

7. Electronic signature
(Courtesy of Big Sky Laser.)
Electronic signature files are used to approve this engineering order form.

8. CHANGE ORDERS
An ECO, also called an engineering change notification (ECN) and sometimes
an engineering change request (ECR), details the nature of the change in
a separate document. After the ECO is approved, the drawing is revised and the
revision noted on the drawing.
Engineering Change Order. (Courtesy of Zolo Technologies.)

9. REVISION BLOCK
A revision block describes the change and may also indicate the number of the engineering change order (which contains more information about the change). The revision block requires approval
Revision Block.
(Courtesy of Dynojet Research, Inc.)
Engineering Change Request Tracking Software. (Courtesy of Dynojet Research, Inc.)

10. ORGANIZED DIRECTORY STRUCTURES
Your CAD file directories may be project based, whereas other files may be organized differently. Making the directories work as you do will help you find what you need easily.
An Organized Directory Structure

11. FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS
Consider:
Company-wide policy for
naming files
Your own file system (to
make them easy to find).
Part number and drawing tracking software allows the user to search the description to find a
drawing or model
(Courtesy of Dynojet Research, Inc.)

12. DRAWING STANDARDS
Drawing standards can help you work more productively and can contribute to the usefulness of the drawings as company records.
Company standards may be in place to introduce consistency in the way drawings are constructed.
Possible Standards:
Layers / Names
Colors
Line types & weights
Blocks
Borders
Fonts & Dim Styles
Etc…

13. REPRODUCTION OF DRAWINGS
PDF file
Web or computer network
Printing / Plotting on Mylar
Diazo Process
Xerox prints
Fax machines
(Courtesy of Xerox Corporation.)