Chapter 4

Principles of first and third angle orthographic projection

The five arrows point to different surfaces of the block and five views will result. The arrows themselves are positioned square to the surfaces, that is at 90 to Assume that a small block is made 35 mm 30 mm the surfaces and they are also at 90, or multiples of 20 mm and that two of the corners are cut away as 90 to each other. The views are designated as Buy this file from http://www.download-it.org/learning-resources.php?promoCode=&partnerID=&content=story&storyID=1046 follows: shown below in three stages. View in direction A is the view from the front, Figure 4.2 illustrates a pictorial view of the block View in direction B is the view from the left, and this has been arranged in an arbitrary way because View in direction C is the view from the right, none of the faces are more important than the others. View in direction D is the view from above, In order to describe the orthographic views we need to View in direction E is the view from below. select a principal view and in this case we have chosen In first angle projection the views in the directions the view in direction of arrow A to be the view from of arrows B, C, D and E are arranged with reference to the front. the front view as follows: The view from B is placed on the right, The view from C is placed on the left, The view from D is placed underneath, 30 20 The view from E is placed above. The experienced draughtsman will commit the above rules to memory. It is customary to state the projection used on orthographic drawings to remove all doubt, or use the distinguishing symbol which is shown on the arrangement in Fig. 4.3.
35

First angle projection

D
10

25

15
10

A B

Fig. 4.1

Fig. 4.2

34

Manual of Engineering Drawing

View E

View D

View C

View A

View B

View B

View A

View C

View E View D Buy this file from http://www.download-it.org/learning-resources.php?promoCode=&partnerID=&content=story&storyID=1046

Projection symbol

Projection symbol

Fig. 4.3 First angle projection arrangement. Dotted lines indicate hidden edges and corners

Fig. 4.4 Third angle projection arrangement

Third angle projection

The difference between first and third angle projection is in the arrangement of views and, with reference to the illustration in Fig. 4.4, views are now positioned as follows: View B from the left is placed on the left, View C from the right is placed on the right, View D from above is placed above, View E from below is placed underneath. Study the rearrangement shown below in Fig. 4.4 and remember the above rules because it is vital that the principles of first and third angle projection are understood. The distinguishing symbol for this method is also shown. If a model is made of the block in Fig. 4.1, and this can easily be cut from polystyrene foam used in packing, then a simple demonstration of first and third angle projection can be arranged by placing the block on the drawing board and moving it in the direction of the four chain dotted lines terminating in arrows in Fig. 4.5. Figure 4.5(a) shows the positioning for first angle and Fig. 4.5(b) for third angle projection. The view in each case in the direction of the large arrow will give the five views already explained. The terms first and third angle correspond with the notation used in mathematics for the quadrants of a circle in Fig. 4.6 the block is shown pictorially in the first quadrant with three of the surfaces on which views are projected. The surfaces are known as planes and the principal view in direction of arrow A is projected on to the principal vertical plane. The view from D is

projected on to a horizontal plane. View B is also projected on to a vertical plane at 90 to the principal vertical plane and the horizontal plane and this is known as an auxiliary vertical plane. Another horizontal plane can be positioned above for the projection from arrow E, also a second auxiliary vertical plane on the left for the projection of view C. Notice that the projections to each of the planes are all parallel, meeting the planes at right angles and this a feature of orthographic projection. The intersection of the vertical and horizontal planes give a line which is the ground line GL. This line is often referred to as the XY line; this is useful in projection problems since it represents the position of the horizontal plane with reference to a front view and also the position of the vertical plane with reference to a plan view. Many examples follow in the text. If the planes containing the three views are folded back into the plane of the drawing board, then the result is shown in Fig. 4.7 where dimensions have also been added. The draughtsman adjusts the distances between views to provide adequate spaces for the dimensions and notes. To describe a simple object, a draughtsman does not need to draw all five views and it is customary to draw only the minimum number which completely illustrate the component. You will note in this particular case that we have omitted views which contain dotted lines in preference to those where corners and edges face the observer. Many parts do not have a definite front, top or side and the orientation is decided by the draughtsman, who selects views to give the maximum visual information.

Principles of first and third angle orthographic projection

D VP AVP

35

B 2 1 3 (a) Buy this file from http://www.download-it.org/learning-resources.php?promoCode=&partnerID=&content=story&storyID=1046 4 HP Projector

GL

Projection

Fig. 4.6 VP is the vertical plane. HP is the horizontal plane. AVP the auxiliary vertical plane. GL is the ground line
20

25

10

35

30

(b)

Fig. 4.5 (a)

First angle arrangement (b) Third angle arrangement Fig. 4.7

Traditionally, front views are also known as front elevations, side views are often known as side or end elevations and the views from above or beneath are referred to as plans. All of these terms are freely used in industrial drawing offices.

Projection symbols
First angle projection is widely used throughout all parts of Europe and often called European projection. Third angle in the system used in North America and alternatively described as American projection. In the British Isles, where industry works in co-operation with the rest of the world, both systems of projection are regularly in use. The current British and ISO standards state that both systems of projection are equally acceptable but they should never be mixed on

the same drawing. The projection symbol must be added to the completed drawing to indicate which system has been used. Figure 4.8 shows the recommended proportions of the two projection symbols. Figure 4.9 indicates how the First angle symbol was obtained from projections of a tapered roller. The Third angle alternative is given in Fig. 4.10. Please note the movement suggested by the arrow in Fig. 4.9, Fig. 4.10 and also in Fig. 4.8, since orientation is the main clue to understanding the fundamental differences in projection systems. An experienced draughtsman must be fully conversant with all forms of orthographic and pictorial projection and be able to produce a drawing where no doubt or ambiguity relating to its interpretation can exist.