Spatial

Visualization!
INSTRUCTIONAL PRESENTATION FOR
TEACHING THE FORMATS AND PURPOSES
OF ISOMETRIC & ORTHOGRAPHIC
DRAWINGS
Purpose
Engineers use drawings to share and convey their
ideas. Sort of like a secret language.
 Sketches can be used to brainstorm ideas, and to
show what is being designed or what needs to be
designed.
 Sketches can also be done “away from the office”,
brought back to the office, and then transferred to a
computer.
Manufacturers instructions are often given as
isometric drawings.
 We’ll learn two main types: Isometric & Orthographic
 ACTIVITY 1:

Connect the Dots:

Isometric Drawings
Depicting a 3-D Cube Isometric view
of a cube 
Non-isometric
view of a cube 

• Corner angles are not equal

• Sides have different areas • Sides connect in a corner
• All corner angles are equal (120°)
• Sides are the same size
• Shown on triangle-dot paper
Isometric Drawing Example
Isometric means “equal measure”

A house depicted
isometrically using
AutoCAD
Useful for blueprints
and design plans
Think of the cube:
• Equal side faces
• Equal corner angles (120°)
• Triangle-dot paper: dots are 120° from each other
Isometric Views

Tips:
• Define your axes on the object and isometric paper
• Align paper in “landscape” orientation
• Only draw lines where there are edges
Coded Plans to Isometric Views
Practice #1
Isometric Views:

4 views of the same Two capital letters

multi-cube object drawn isometrically
Practice # 2: On
your Own
Using the grid
sheet given,
isometrically draw
this shape.
Turn in when
completed.
 Activity 2:

Seeing All Sides:

Orthographic Drawings
Orthographic
Drawings

What are the three main orthographic views of an object?

Orthographic Drawings

Also called:
“multiview” drawings
 Top view
Orthographic Side view
(from left)
Drawings
Orthographic Drawings
Engineering examples
Orthographic Drawings

Tips:
• Draw views in order (top  front  side)
• Draw lines where there are edges (changes in plane)
• Use dotted lines to show hidden edges
• Solid lines trump dotted lines
Orthographic Drawings
Spatial visualization Question
1. Imagine rotating the top
left (white) shape to look
like the top right shape

2. Then imagine rotating

the middle (gray) shape
the same way

3. How would it look?

Pick from the three
choices provided

What is the correct answer?

Ending Activity
Isometrically draw your own initials
 Any font
 Any size
 Must be three letters
 Must be completed by end of class and turned in
 ***You’ll get it back on Tuesday if you want to keep it