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Orthographic Projection Drawing -- VektorCAD Tutorial

This tutorial walks you through creating orthographic views (Front, Top, and Right-Side) of a simple mechanical part in first-angle projection using VektorCAD.

Line weight conventions

Thickness Used for
Thick Final visible outlines
Thin Projection lines and construction
Normal Dimensions
Hidden linetype Invisible (hidden) edges

First-angle projection

  • Top View is placed below the front view
  • Front View is above XY
  • Right-Side View is placed to the left of the front view

(Switch positions if your standard requires third-angle projection.)

Problem Statement

The pictorial view of a block is given. Using first-angle projection, draw its front view, side view, and top view.

Block

Given Value
Object Isometric view of a block
Projection method First-angle
Views required Front view, Top view, Right-side view

Objective:

Requirement Details
Commands used Line, Rect, Ray, Offset, Trim, DimLin, Text
Visible edges Thick thickness
Projection lines Thin thickness
Dimensions Normal thickness
Hidden edges Hidden linetype, Normal thickness
Snaps Entity Snap ON throughout

Step-by-Step

1) Setup

Setting Action
Thick For visible outlines
Thin For projectors/construction lines
Normal For dimensions
Snap ON Align with grid
Entity Snap ON Endpoint, Midpoint, Center
Ortho ON For horizontal/vertical lines

2) Front View (Visible Outlines in Thick)

Draw the base block:

  1. Switch thickness to Thick

  2. From the Rect menu, draw a rectangle:

    • First point: center of sheet
    • Second point: @75,12
    • This forms the base block

  3. Create slot edges using Offset:

    Offset from Distance Direction
    Left edge 25 Towards right
    Right edge 25 Towards left

Front View - Step 1

Add the top projection:

  1. From the top-right corner, draw vertical line @0,25
  2. From the endpoint, draw horizontal line @-20,0

  3. Press Enter to finish

  4. Switch thickness to Thin

  5. Offset left side of rectangle by 20 towards right (reference line)
  6. Switch back to Thick
  7. Draw connecting line from the top of the vertical extension to the offset line

Front View - Step 2

3) Project to Top View

  1. Switch thickness to Thin
  2. From Line > Ray, enter angle = -90 (downward)
  3. Project rays from all corners of the front view

Top View - Projectors

  1. Switch thickness to Thick

  2. From Rect, draw boundary rectangle:

    • Snap to leftmost projector below front view
    • Enter @75,-50 for size

  3. Use Offset to mark internal edges:

    Offset distance Purpose
    12 Depth of base step
    25 Slot boundary
    20 Top feature width

Top View - Step 2

  1. Use Trim to remove unwanted lines and finalize the top view

Top View - Final

4) Transfer to Right-Side View

  1. From the Top View, repeat the projection process:
    • Draw rays horizontally from top view corners
    • Construct the side view rectangle and internal features using offsets
  2. Place the Right-Side View to the left of the Front View (first-angle convention)

Side View

Tip

Use the same offset distances as the front view height features to maintain consistency between views.

5) Dimensions and Labels

  1. Switch thickness to Normal

  2. Use Dimension tools:

    Dimension type Use for
    DimLin Linear sizes (length, width, height)
    DimAlign Slanted features

  3. Add overall length, width, and height dimensions

  4. Label views using Text (Front View, Top View, Side View)

Final Ortho

Result Checklist

Item Status
Front View: outer profile in Thick
Top View: outer profile in Thick, projected from front view
Right-Side View: placed to the left (first-angle), profile in Thick
Projection lines in Thin, clean and not overlapping views
Hidden edges shown with Hidden linetype (Normal thickness)
Dimensions in Normal thickness, readable and placed correctly

Variations (Practice)

Practice orthographic projection with these additional blocks:

Block 1

Block 2

Variation What to try
Third-angle projection Top view above, side view to the right
More complex geometry Add holes, chamfers, or fillets to the block
Hidden edges Use Hidden linetype for edges not visible from the viewing direction
Centerlines Add center linetype for holes and cylindrical features

Commands Recap

Command Purpose
line Projectors, miter lines, and outlines
rect Fast view boundary rectangles
ray Projection rays at specific angles
offset Mark internal edges at known distances
trim Remove unwanted line segments
dimlin Linear dimensions
dimalign Aligned dimensions for slanted features
text View labels and annotations
Format Panel Set Thickness (Thin/Normal/Thick) and Linetype (Continuous/Hidden/Center)
Status Bar Entity Snap, Ortho, Snap toggles

Complete

You've completed an orthographic projection drawing using first-angle layout, proper line weights, hidden edges, and dimensions. Export to PDF to verify scale and line weights in print preview.