Question about using a 0.3mm lead for structural details

Everyone in my shop says you need a 0.5mm or 0.7mm lead for structural steel details, that the thin stuff is just for fancy sketches. I tried a 0.3mm on a big beam connection plate drawing last week, thinking it would be cleaner for the bolt holes. It was a nightmare. The lead kept breaking under pressure, and the lines were so light the reprographics machine barely picked them up. I had to redraw the whole thing with a 0.5mm, which cost me about two hours. I learned that sometimes the old way is just the right way for the tools we have. Has anyone else found a good middle ground for fine detail work on shop drawings that still scans well?

2 comments

2 Comments

calebw503d ago

Yeah, I was the same way, always pushing for the finer lead on my connection details. I thought it looked more like the printed CAD stuff. But after a few prints came back with half the lines missing, I had to switch back. The 0.5 is my usual now, but for really tight spots on a big sheet, I'll go down to a 0.4 if the printer is known to be good. It's all about what the machine can actually read.

cole_lee93d agoMost Upvoted

Same, learned that the hard way too.