21
Rant: I used to draw every single bolt on an assembly drawing
For years, I would spend hours placing each bolt, washer, and nut on my mechanical drawings. About six months ago, a guy at a local meetup in Tacoma said, 'Why not just call out the fastener schedule in a note and use centerlines?' I tried it on a recent conveyor frame job. It cut my drafting time for that sheet by half, and the shop guys said it was actually clearer for them. Has anyone else moved away from over-detailing fasteners?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
jana_davis901mo ago
About three years ago I had a job where I drew out every single bolt on a 48 inch long bracket assembly. Took me almost two full days. Shop guys came back and asked me why there were 37 callouts for the same damn fastener. Now I just put a note that says "all fasteners per schedule A" and call it a day. Feels like I was just trying to impress someone who doesn't exist with my fancy bolt drawings. Pretty sure my boss now thinks I'm lazy but my drawings get done faster and nobody complains. Sometimes I wonder if we overcomplicate stuff just because the old guys told us to.
5
clairepark2mo ago
Yeah, "call out the fastener schedule in a note" is the way to go. I read an old drafting handbook that said you only draw what the shop can't get from a standard spec. It saves everyone a ton of time.
1