Steve Bailey
Lifetime Supporting Member + Moderator
Apparently there are only two ways to present information, TurboUrpo's way and the wrong way.
Poll: Drawing size
- Thread starter Rson
- Start date
Saffa
Member
If I didn't know better, I'd think he was my ex wife
James Mcquade
Member
i've been doing prints since 1986 and in all that time, i have yet to have a customer request drawings on an A4 or letter size page. always 11 x 17 or 24x36.
james
james
busarider29
Lifetime Supporting Member
Electrical drawings are always 11 x 17. I can't even imagine having to thumb through 24 x 36 prints when troubleshooting! 
Panel layout varies depending on the size of the panel. Could be '11 x 17' or '24 x 36'. We design all of our own machines in house. Most of the time we build them too but we sometimes farm out the builds to machine builders when there are a lot of projects on our plate and time is a constraint.
We use Electra E9 for all schematics. AutoCAD for panel layout.
Panel layout varies depending on the size of the panel. Could be '11 x 17' or '24 x 36'. We design all of our own machines in house. Most of the time we build them too but we sometimes farm out the builds to machine builders when there are a lot of projects on our plate and time is a constraint.
We use Electra E9 for all schematics. AutoCAD for panel layout.
Tom Jenkins
Lifetime Supporting Member
There isn't a "right" answer, but it has been thirty years since I did anything but 11x17.
When we drew and lettered by hand 24x36 (D-size) or even 36x48 (E-size) were required because you didn't have the resolution to get anything but simple stuff on 11x17 (B-size). Once CAD came into play and printers with good resolution were available there wasn't really any need to forgo the convenience and easy handling of 11x17. CAD could get as much useable info legibly presented on 11x17 as you could on 24x36 hand drawn.
When we drew and lettered by hand 24x36 (D-size) or even 36x48 (E-size) were required because you didn't have the resolution to get anything but simple stuff on 11x17 (B-size). Once CAD came into play and printers with good resolution were available there wasn't really any need to forgo the convenience and easy handling of 11x17. CAD could get as much useable info legibly presented on 11x17 as you could on 24x36 hand drawn.
scameron81
Member
Simpler stuff all gets done on Ansi(B). The larger wiring diagrams and schematics are done on Ansi(D). They're setup so that by printing a D print on B is half size so that its still readable. We usually print out full size prints for construction, but you can still read them half size for maintenance and troubleshooting.
GaryS
Member
D - (24 X 36 ) is the standard for electrical drawings
they can be printed fairly well as losw as 8.5 X 11 Letter
the larger format the better but sometimes the customer may require a certian size
i like to use 24 x 36 printed and then I supply the customer a PDF file at that formated the same size so they can print it on whatever paper they want
they can be printed fairly well as losw as 8.5 X 11 Letter
the larger format the better but sometimes the customer may require a certian size
i like to use 24 x 36 printed and then I supply the customer a PDF file at that formated the same size so they can print it on whatever paper they want
Maybe its an European thing, but its A4 for me, with all circuits broken down to small subsections and cross referenced, ie motor power circuit, safety circuits, I/O, Interfaces etc. this then forms a 'booklet' of drawings, saves having to drag a large sheet around with you.
JesperMP
Lifetime Supporting Member + Moderator
A4 for me too. It is just a question of the font size not being too small.
Once was asked to bring along 2 sets of printed drawings for a machine. Turned out that it was in A3 and came as two huge "books". I had to buy a bigger suitcase just because of that.
Btw. when you use the smaller page size but with the bigger font and convert to PDF, the end result is that you can still view the diagrams on a mobile phone. I have stopped carrying diagrams with me outside the control room.
Once was asked to bring along 2 sets of printed drawings for a machine. Turned out that it was in A3 and came as two huge "books". I had to buy a bigger suitcase just because of that.
Btw. when you use the smaller page size but with the bigger font and convert to PDF, the end result is that you can still view the diagrams on a mobile phone. I have stopped carrying diagrams with me outside the control room.
I_Automation
Lifetime Supporting Member
For small projects I use letter size. For most I use 11x17 portrait mode and double fold them to fit in a standard 3 ring binder.
TurpoUrpo
Lifetime Supporting Member
I don't know about TurboUrpos way, but European way of using A4 size is much better here.
It't like when doing the code, if you stuff too much in one page(/screen) u mess it up.
PS. this is end-user experience, end-users tend to use the drawings for years compared to short project of the integrator, oem or whatnot.
PSS. And naturally having them set-up properly with links as .pdf is just superior to any paper.
Gene Bond
Member
Most of the 11x17's I see are 2 columns, so it's just 2 8.5x11's next to each other...
I use 8.5x11 for my convenience, and as mentioned above, I can easily isolate 1 sub-system on a page, without wasting a lot of white space.
I don't do panel layouts, so I can see an obvious advantage to larger sheets for that.
I hate having to fold and unfold a page while crawling around inside a machine or panel, so I can find a wire or terminal. It seems there is always a component on a fold which gets destroyed over the years.
I do all the sheets on 1 file, and layer them by page, so you could print 2 pages on a 11x17
I use 8.5x11 for my convenience, and as mentioned above, I can easily isolate 1 sub-system on a page, without wasting a lot of white space.
I don't do panel layouts, so I can see an obvious advantage to larger sheets for that.
I hate having to fold and unfold a page while crawling around inside a machine or panel, so I can find a wire or terminal. It seems there is always a component on a fold which gets destroyed over the years.
I do all the sheets on 1 file, and layer them by page, so you could print 2 pages on a 11x17
To me, there is not a “right” or “wrong” way to present drawings. It is all about specifications & preferences: your customer’s specs, your company’s specs, and finally your own personal preference.
What you need to turn over to the customer during the project submittal phase and at the end as part of the final documentation may be different from what you want to use during startup & commissioning.
What you need to turn over to the customer during the project submittal phase and at the end as part of the final documentation may be different from what you want to use during startup & commissioning.
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