Before learning how to read a manufacturing drawing, be sure you know the different parts of a print. Once there is an understanding of the different components of a print and where everything is located, the next step is to be able to read the lines on a print. Reading a print means to understand what the graphic of a part is showing. Therefore, you must understand how lines work on a print. For engineers and manufacturers, lines are their communicators or even their alphabet which convey information. Below is a chart of the various lines that are used on a print and their descriptions.
| Name | Graphic | Description |
| Object Line | _________________________ | Solid lines used to form the shape of a part. |
| Hidden Line | __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | Dashed lines used to form the shape of features that are not visible. |
| Center Line | _______ __ _______ __ _____ | Solid line with a dash then a solid line used to identify the center of a feature. |
| Dimension Line |  |
Solid line with arrowhead tips followed by a dimension used to identify where the dimension represents. |
| Leader Line |  |
Solid line with arrowhead tip that is associated with a note or specification pointing to a location on the part, but not with a dimension. |
| Break (long) |  |
Thin solid line with zigzag used to reduce the size of part to show entire object and reduce detail. |
| Break (short) |  |
Thick solid wavy line used to indicate a short break. |
| Section Line | \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | Multiple diagonal lines used to indicate the surface in the section view to have been cut along the cutting-plane line. |
| Cutting-plane Line |  |
U-shaped line with arrowhead tips used to designate an imaginary cut. |
| Phantom Line | _____ __ __ _____ __ __ _____ | Series of one long dash, two short dashes, and a long dash used to show an alternate positions of a part. |
By understanding these lines and how they are used, it will be much easier to look at a print and be able to visualize how the part would actually look. Thanks for reading along and be sure to stay tuned for our next blog post!
For more information about manufacturing prints, check out these articles: