Title block template for engineering drawings

What goes in a title block

The title block identifies a drawing and records who made it, what it shows and which revision it is. ISO 7200 specifies the data fields used in title blocks and document headers, with their names, contents and lengths. ASME Y14.1 defines sheet sizes and formats for engineering drawings, in metric and in decimal inches.

This template carries the fields most drawings need, laid out in one block. It is not certified to either standard, so check it against the one your customers ask for.

• Company and logo. The company that owns the drawing appears with its logo, which goes into the SVG and the PDF.
• Title and drawing number. The title says what the part is, and the drawing number identifies it in your records.
• Revision. The current revision sits beside the drawing number, and the revision block lists each change with its date and approver. ASME's description of Y14.1 says revision information and dates should be located and expressed the same way on every drawing.
• Size, scale and units. These tell the reader how to measure from the printed sheet.
• Projection. The symbol shows whether the views follow first-angle or third-angle projection.
• Material, finish and general tolerances. The tolerance note covers every dimension that has no tolerance of its own. ISO 2768-1 is one standard for these general tolerances.
• Drawn, checked and approved. Three names and dates record who made the drawing and who signed it off.
• Sheet number and confidentiality note. The sheet number, such as 1 of 2, keeps a set together, and the note states who owns the information.

How to fill in the title block template

1. Choose the sheet size, the orientation, the units and the projection. An ISO sheet starts in millimetres and an ANSI sheet in inches.
2. Enter your company name, and add your logo if you want it on the sheet. The logo is read on your device and never uploaded.
3. Fill in the title, the drawing number, the revision, the scale and the sheet number.
4. Add the material, the finish and your general tolerance note.
5. Enter who drew, checked and approved the drawing, with the dates.
6. List the revisions. Each one gets a row in the revision block.
7. Check the preview, then download the DXF, the SVG or the PDF.

Long entries shrink to fit their cell, and a title wraps onto a second line before it shrinks.

Sheet sizes

The template draws ISO A sheets and ANSI sheets in either orientation. The sizes come from table 3-6 of the US Army Corps of Engineers A/E/C CAD Standard, which gives ANSI sheets in inches. The millimetre sizes of ANSI sheets are those inches times 25.4.

The frame sits 10 mm inside the edge of the paper. The title block, 180 mm wide and 64 mm tall, sits in the bottom right corner of the frame. At that width it fits inside an A4 sheet. The revision block is 120 mm wide, in the top right corner.

First-angle and third-angle projection

The WisTech Open blueprint reading text explains the difference. In first-angle projection the top view sits below the front view, and in third-angle projection it sits above. The same text calls third-angle projection the standard in the United States and Canada. It says most other industrial nations use a slightly different method, first-angle projection.

The projection symbol shows a truncated cone beside its view from the left. RMIT's notes on drawing views place that end view to the right of the cone in first-angle projection. In third-angle projection it sits to the left, and the template draws the symbol the same way.

What the DXF, SVG and PDF contain

All three files hold the same sheet at its true size.

• DXF. The file is ASCII DXF R12, which Autodesk's DXF header reference lists as version AC1009. It holds LINE, CIRCLE and TEXT entities on three layers named FRAME, TITLEBLOCK and TEXT. It is drawn in millimetres or inches, and its $INSUNITS header value matches. The DXF leaves the logo out.
• SVG. The SVG gives its width and height in millimetres, so it opens at the size of the sheet. It includes the logo.
• PDF. The PDF page measures the same as the sheet, and its text is real text in Helvetica, so you can search it. It includes the logo.

The STEP to DXF converter draws three views of a part onto a letter-size sheet with a simpler title block. The guide to general arrangement drawings explains what a drawing of a whole product shows. This sheet can serve as its border and title block.

What the template leaves out

• It draws no grid reference zones, centring marks or trimming marks around the frame.
• It places no views or dimensions. Add those in your CAD program, on the same sheet.
• It does not check your entries against a standard. The layout is a common one, not a certified one.
• It keeps nothing after you close the page, so download the files before you leave.

ISO 5457 specifies the size and layout of preprinted drawing sheets, including sheets produced by computer. If your customers follow it, compare the frame with that standard before you use the sheet on their drawings.