Chapter 16: Blueprints and Welding Symbols
Overview
Blueprints, so named for the obsolete process of impregnating paper with a light sensitive chemical, ammonium ferric acid (turning the paper blue), to reproduce plans and drawings, are the most effective means of communicating fabrication requirements from the engineer to the fabricator (Blueprint, 2023).
Welding symbols are a standardized system developed by the American Welding Society. To a layman the symbols may not mean much, but with a little knowledge they become an incredibly effective tool for communicating welding requirements for any project.
Print and weld symbol interpretation are broad topics with many conventions. Fully exploring the topics would warrant its own book. However, this chapter will equip the reader with enough fundamental knowledge to interpret most blueprints they will encounter.
Objectives
After completing this chapter students will be able to:
- Interpret blueprints
- Interpret welding symbols
- Identify NDE symbols
Key Terms
- Orthographic projection
- Line weights
- Size dimension
- Location dimension
- Conventional dimensioning
- Baseline dimensioning
- Continuous weld
- Intermittent weld
- Welding symbol
Attributions
- Chapter opening image: Image from page 70 of “Blueprint reading; a practical manual of instruction in blueprint reading through the analysis of typical plates with reference to mechanical drawing conventions and methods, the laws of projection, etc” (1919) by Internet Archive Book Images in the Public Domain; Published 1919.
