Mechanical drafters complete drawings of machines and other moving parts.
Mechanical drafters are valued members of engineering departments. They create working drawings of mechanical devices, machines and other objects with moving parts. Mechanical drafters perform a variety of duties throughout the course of a workday, some directly related to creating drawings, some tangentially related to the workings of the engineering department. For those interested in a career in mechanical drafting, knowledge of job duties will help you to ascertain whether this is the career for you.
Drafting
First and foremost, it is the responsibility of a mechanical drafter to complete precise, scaled drawings. This often includes not just a single drawing or schematic, but many drawings of the object from several perspectives. Further, mechanical drafters must craft detail drawings of areas that appear ambiguous on a larger drawing, or small areas whose size belies their importance in the overall drawing. As a mechanical drafter, you will be called upon to draw and redraw things as mistakes are caught and revisions come in. Drawings frequently must be revised several times before going to prototype or production.
Tables
Mechanical drafting plans aren't just drawings of the objects. The plans also include textual information about the objects in the drawings. This generally means that drawings have a parts list that includes part names, numbers, prices and materials. This information is essential for field and production workers who construct or assemble the material. Engineering leads rely upon the information in tables to see how close the actual design comes to budget. Further, workers in the ordering department rely upon the drawing to order the necessary number of parts.
Customer Service
Customer service isn't the first thing you think of when you think of mechanical drafting. However, mechanical drafters must provide customer service to other people in their company, as well as to the customer of the product they are designing. Customers may request revisions in the middle of the design process. Alternately, mechanical drafters may need to communicate to customers parts of their design that aren't feasible or cost-effective.
Time Management
Mechanical drafters frequently must balance a number of projects running concurrently. Doing this means mechanical drafters must manage their time effectively to make sure that the most pressing projects get done first. Mechanical drafters must also produce drawings in a timely fashion to make sure that the project comes in under budget. This requires keeping close inventory of time spent on each project.
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