If you use plan, elevation, and section drawings to illustrate your products, I recommend you organize them using "third angle projection".
I recently worked with a manufacturer which has product literature with inconsistent drawing layouts. This added confusion to an already complex product presentation. A previous client had difficulty because its inconsistent detailing practices caused costly screw-ups on the production floor. My friend, Vladimir Paperny, has told me about a highrise project in Russia where the structural steel was fabricated backwards because the engineer and architect used different projection systems.
Most architects are not familiar with the term "third angle projection". But most have internalized the method (at least those who began their careers drafting with T-square and triangle).
This advice is particularly important to manufacturers based outside of the US since "first angle projection" prevails some parts of the world. As you make plans to enter the US, revising your drawings is an appropriate part of your technology transfer.
Drawing: CC BY-SA 3.0
 |
| Each surface on the shaded 3D object is projected onto the surface of an imaginary box. |
 |
| Visualize the box unfolding to display each of the 2D projections. |
 | |
| Each of the projections is laid out on a sheet of drawings in a particular arrangement. The top shows a a plan. The central image is the front or main elevation. Immediately to the side of the front elevation are the left and right elevations. The far right shows the rear elevation and the bottom is a view of the object from below. Sectional views are laid out in the same relative positions as elevations. |
Most architects are not familiar with the term "third angle projection". But most have internalized the method (at least those who began their careers drafting with T-square and triangle).
This advice is particularly important to manufacturers based outside of the US since "first angle projection" prevails some parts of the world. As you make plans to enter the US, revising your drawings is an appropriate part of your technology transfer.
Drawing: CC BY-SA 3.0