Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Great, but a couple of little flaws, 25 Nov 2007
This is an absolutely essential book for anyone working in the automotive industry. It's full of those useful little bits of data that don't always lodge in your brain but become useful later...

On a slightly negative note, the section on quality is a little out of date and doesn't match what is required from some OEMs in terms of process and "philosophy".

That aside, this is one of the most important books you could have on your shelf (or stashed discretely in your desk drawer). Almost everyone I work with either owns, has access to or borrows this book in order to have a sneaky peak - especially when an engineering "basic" slips our minds...

Reference par excellence, 03 Dec 2005
This book is astoundingly comprehensive. It is a reference, not a guide. It is not a how-to. It's not going to hand you a solution to any tuning or setup issue on a plate. What it will do is give you enough information and simple math to understand principles and practice. It is also full of reference tables for every aspect of cars. There are pages, sections even, that I may never read. But there are other pages which are pure gold.

Essential Reference for Engineers, 14 May 2004
This book is a must for engineers working in the car industry. It is essentially a reference book containing just about anything relevant to automobile design, development and quality engineering.

Note that it is purely a technical work - you can't really read it like you would a textbook or the like, and it works brilliantly for looking up formulae or basic material properties.

It outlines the workings of various systems - ABS or fuel injection with an obvious emphasis on Bosch products - Motronic injection for example, although it is by no means a sales pitch - products are only used for schematics or demonstrations.

All in all, a vital reference, as important as a Machinery's Handbook or a copy of Kempe's if you work in automotive engineering.

All details, no cars, 27 Oct 2000
It's an excellent book on technical details. Thing is, there's no car in it. If you want information on suspension setup, drivetrain alignment or engine tuning, you've got the wrong book. I think even a technical handbook does need to relate to the subject in a more hands-on fashion. Maybe I didn't know what I bought, but it certainly wasn't all I was after.

The Automotive bible, if your serious about cars you NEED it, 01 Feb 2000
A very comprehensive book for all serious automotive people. Very highly regarded throughout the automotive industry you'll need this book just for a quick easy reference and to deliver the detail necessary for more complex ideas. Excellent.

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Great, but a couple of little flaws, 25 Nov 2007
This is an absolutely essential book for anyone working in the automotive industry. It's full of those useful little bits of data that don't always lodge in your brain but become useful later...

On a slightly negative note, the section on quality is a little out of date and doesn't match what is required from some OEMs in terms of process and "philosophy".

That aside, this is one of the most important books you could have on your shelf (or stashed discretely in your desk drawer). Almost everyone I work with either owns, has access to or borrows this book in order to have a sneaky peak - especially when an engineering "basic" slips our minds...

Reference par excellence, 03 Dec 2005
This book is astoundingly comprehensive. It is a reference, not a guide. It is not a how-to. It's not going to hand you a solution to any tuning or setup issue on a plate. What it will do is give you enough information and simple math to understand principles and practice. It is also full of reference tables for every aspect of cars. There are pages, sections even, that I may never read. But there are other pages which are pure gold.

Essential Reference for Engineers, 14 May 2004
This book is a must for engineers working in the car industry. It is essentially a reference book containing just about anything relevant to automobile design, development and quality engineering.

Note that it is purely a technical work - you can't really read it like you would a textbook or the like, and it works brilliantly for looking up formulae or basic material properties.

It outlines the workings of various systems - ABS or fuel injection with an obvious emphasis on Bosch products - Motronic injection for example, although it is by no means a sales pitch - products are only used for schematics or demonstrations.

All in all, a vital reference, as important as a Machinery's Handbook or a copy of Kempe's if you work in automotive engineering.

All details, no cars, 27 Oct 2000
It's an excellent book on technical details. Thing is, there's no car in it. If you want information on suspension setup, drivetrain alignment or engine tuning, you've got the wrong book. I think even a technical handbook does need to relate to the subject in a more hands-on fashion. Maybe I didn't know what I bought, but it certainly wasn't all I was after.

The Automotive bible, if your serious about cars you NEED it, 01 Feb 2000
A very comprehensive book for all serious automotive people. Very highly regarded throughout the automotive industry you'll need this book just for a quick easy reference and to deliver the detail necessary for more complex ideas. Excellent.

A dialogue, 13 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

A dialogue, 06 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

Making engineering appealing, 25 Mar 2003
Cecil has achieved what I have always thought to be impossible - giving Structural Engineering sex-appeal. If a few more of our structural engineers had a fraction of Cecil's vision and ceativity, our buildings and lives would be that much more pleasant. This book would be inspirational for anyone considering a career in engineering. A remarkable acheivement.

Well done, 20 Feb 2003
A lovely little book. The pros are excellent. The diagrams really interesting. Each chapter so well thought out and planned. I was fascinated in the projects from start to finish.

A fantastic find, 20 Feb 2003
I have always always been interested in buildings and designs. It has been fantastic to find this book which goes into the heart of the processes of how a design is made and how these well known works came to happen. I enjoyed reading of the great works of Koolhaas and Libeskind and on Balmond's fine new geometry. It raises great expectations for the future!

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Great, but a couple of little flaws, 25 Nov 2007
This is an absolutely essential book for anyone working in the automotive industry. It's full of those useful little bits of data that don't always lodge in your brain but become useful later...

On a slightly negative note, the section on quality is a little out of date and doesn't match what is required from some OEMs in terms of process and "philosophy".

That aside, this is one of the most important books you could have on your shelf (or stashed discretely in your desk drawer). Almost everyone I work with either owns, has access to or borrows this book in order to have a sneaky peak - especially when an engineering "basic" slips our minds...

Reference par excellence, 03 Dec 2005
This book is astoundingly comprehensive. It is a reference, not a guide. It is not a how-to. It's not going to hand you a solution to any tuning or setup issue on a plate. What it will do is give you enough information and simple math to understand principles and practice. It is also full of reference tables for every aspect of cars. There are pages, sections even, that I may never read. But there are other pages which are pure gold.

Essential Reference for Engineers, 14 May 2004
This book is a must for engineers working in the car industry. It is essentially a reference book containing just about anything relevant to automobile design, development and quality engineering.

Note that it is purely a technical work - you can't really read it like you would a textbook or the like, and it works brilliantly for looking up formulae or basic material properties.

It outlines the workings of various systems - ABS or fuel injection with an obvious emphasis on Bosch products - Motronic injection for example, although it is by no means a sales pitch - products are only used for schematics or demonstrations.

All in all, a vital reference, as important as a Machinery's Handbook or a copy of Kempe's if you work in automotive engineering.

All details, no cars, 27 Oct 2000
It's an excellent book on technical details. Thing is, there's no car in it. If you want information on suspension setup, drivetrain alignment or engine tuning, you've got the wrong book. I think even a technical handbook does need to relate to the subject in a more hands-on fashion. Maybe I didn't know what I bought, but it certainly wasn't all I was after.

The Automotive bible, if your serious about cars you NEED it, 01 Feb 2000
A very comprehensive book for all serious automotive people. Very highly regarded throughout the automotive industry you'll need this book just for a quick easy reference and to deliver the detail necessary for more complex ideas. Excellent.

A dialogue, 13 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

A dialogue, 06 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

Making engineering appealing, 25 Mar 2003
Cecil has achieved what I have always thought to be impossible - giving Structural Engineering sex-appeal. If a few more of our structural engineers had a fraction of Cecil's vision and ceativity, our buildings and lives would be that much more pleasant. This book would be inspirational for anyone considering a career in engineering. A remarkable acheivement.

Well done, 20 Feb 2003
A lovely little book. The pros are excellent. The diagrams really interesting. Each chapter so well thought out and planned. I was fascinated in the projects from start to finish.

A fantastic find, 20 Feb 2003
I have always always been interested in buildings and designs. It has been fantastic to find this book which goes into the heart of the processes of how a design is made and how these well known works came to happen. I enjoyed reading of the great works of Koolhaas and Libeskind and on Balmond's fine new geometry. It raises great expectations for the future!

Excellent, 26 Jul 2008
Excellent easy-to-use attractive book with clear instructions and plenty of color drawings and screen dumps throughout. Would recommend.

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Great, but a couple of little flaws, 25 Nov 2007
This is an absolutely essential book for anyone working in the automotive industry. It's full of those useful little bits of data that don't always lodge in your brain but become useful later...

On a slightly negative note, the section on quality is a little out of date and doesn't match what is required from some OEMs in terms of process and "philosophy".

That aside, this is one of the most important books you could have on your shelf (or stashed discretely in your desk drawer). Almost everyone I work with either owns, has access to or borrows this book in order to have a sneaky peak - especially when an engineering "basic" slips our minds...

Reference par excellence, 03 Dec 2005
This book is astoundingly comprehensive. It is a reference, not a guide. It is not a how-to. It's not going to hand you a solution to any tuning or setup issue on a plate. What it will do is give you enough information and simple math to understand principles and practice. It is also full of reference tables for every aspect of cars. There are pages, sections even, that I may never read. But there are other pages which are pure gold.

Essential Reference for Engineers, 14 May 2004
This book is a must for engineers working in the car industry. It is essentially a reference book containing just about anything relevant to automobile design, development and quality engineering.

Note that it is purely a technical work - you can't really read it like you would a textbook or the like, and it works brilliantly for looking up formulae or basic material properties.

It outlines the workings of various systems - ABS or fuel injection with an obvious emphasis on Bosch products - Motronic injection for example, although it is by no means a sales pitch - products are only used for schematics or demonstrations.

All in all, a vital reference, as important as a Machinery's Handbook or a copy of Kempe's if you work in automotive engineering.

All details, no cars, 27 Oct 2000
It's an excellent book on technical details. Thing is, there's no car in it. If you want information on suspension setup, drivetrain alignment or engine tuning, you've got the wrong book. I think even a technical handbook does need to relate to the subject in a more hands-on fashion. Maybe I didn't know what I bought, but it certainly wasn't all I was after.

The Automotive bible, if your serious about cars you NEED it, 01 Feb 2000
A very comprehensive book for all serious automotive people. Very highly regarded throughout the automotive industry you'll need this book just for a quick easy reference and to deliver the detail necessary for more complex ideas. Excellent.

A dialogue, 13 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

A dialogue, 06 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

Making engineering appealing, 25 Mar 2003
Cecil has achieved what I have always thought to be impossible - giving Structural Engineering sex-appeal. If a few more of our structural engineers had a fraction of Cecil's vision and ceativity, our buildings and lives would be that much more pleasant. This book would be inspirational for anyone considering a career in engineering. A remarkable acheivement.

Well done, 20 Feb 2003
A lovely little book. The pros are excellent. The diagrams really interesting. Each chapter so well thought out and planned. I was fascinated in the projects from start to finish.

A fantastic find, 20 Feb 2003
I have always always been interested in buildings and designs. It has been fantastic to find this book which goes into the heart of the processes of how a design is made and how these well known works came to happen. I enjoyed reading of the great works of Koolhaas and Libeskind and on Balmond's fine new geometry. It raises great expectations for the future!

Excellent, 26 Jul 2008
Excellent easy-to-use attractive book with clear instructions and plenty of color drawings and screen dumps throughout. Would recommend.

Not for the British Market!, 20 Mar 2008
I was really upset to discover that most of the books I bought were for the American market. We have very different designs in this country and to submit american designs are not as favourably met with planners in the U.K. Great book if you like American homes that all look alike!

Another Great book for Americans !!!, 07 Dec 2001
This is a great book if you are looking for inspiration and ideas to work from. If however you are a poor Brit like me who likes the idea of a conventional build with bricks and mortar, the plans which are available for purchase in this book will be completely useless, unless of course you want a timber framed house or are an American builder !!!

Great ideas, sadly could not be used for the purpose of its intension in the British market - so Brits who want plans beware !!!!

Other than that great layout and informative !!!!

Big Plans, Small plans, All Plans, 03 May 2001
For anyone planning on building or designing their own home, this books is great, full of American designs. Its gives you all types of ideas from 1000sqfoot plans to 6000 sq foot. And is handily broken down in regions. This is a great book its well worth purchasing, believe me all you friends will want to borrow it.

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Great, but a couple of little flaws, 25 Nov 2007
This is an absolutely essential book for anyone working in the automotive industry. It's full of those useful little bits of data that don't always lodge in your brain but become useful later...

On a slightly negative note, the section on quality is a little out of date and doesn't match what is required from some OEMs in terms of process and "philosophy".

That aside, this is one of the most important books you could have on your shelf (or stashed discretely in your desk drawer). Almost everyone I work with either owns, has access to or borrows this book in order to have a sneaky peak - especially when an engineering "basic" slips our minds...

Reference par excellence, 03 Dec 2005
This book is astoundingly comprehensive. It is a reference, not a guide. It is not a how-to. It's not going to hand you a solution to any tuning or setup issue on a plate. What it will do is give you enough information and simple math to understand principles and practice. It is also full of reference tables for every aspect of cars. There are pages, sections even, that I may never read. But there are other pages which are pure gold.

Essential Reference for Engineers, 14 May 2004
This book is a must for engineers working in the car industry. It is essentially a reference book containing just about anything relevant to automobile design, development and quality engineering.

Note that it is purely a technical work - you can't really read it like you would a textbook or the like, and it works brilliantly for looking up formulae or basic material properties.

It outlines the workings of various systems - ABS or fuel injection with an obvious emphasis on Bosch products - Motronic injection for example, although it is by no means a sales pitch - products are only used for schematics or demonstrations.

All in all, a vital reference, as important as a Machinery's Handbook or a copy of Kempe's if you work in automotive engineering.

All details, no cars, 27 Oct 2000
It's an excellent book on technical details. Thing is, there's no car in it. If you want information on suspension setup, drivetrain alignment or engine tuning, you've got the wrong book. I think even a technical handbook does need to relate to the subject in a more hands-on fashion. Maybe I didn't know what I bought, but it certainly wasn't all I was after.

The Automotive bible, if your serious about cars you NEED it, 01 Feb 2000
A very comprehensive book for all serious automotive people. Very highly regarded throughout the automotive industry you'll need this book just for a quick easy reference and to deliver the detail necessary for more complex ideas. Excellent.

A dialogue, 13 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

A dialogue, 06 Apr 2003
Informal is a terrific read; it places me right at the table as the author engages with his architect collaborators pursuing innovative building designs. The range is fascinating, from a box shape in the Villa Bordeaux to a curvilinear form in the Arnhem Interchange to the serene and effortless canopy in Lisbon. In each project the author establishes simple initial moves which lead ultimately to new configurations and importantly develops throughout the book a rigorous basis for exploring the non linear. This is welcome in an age when so much architectural form making is whimsical. As an architect I was fascinated how this book also brings out the lyrical and poetic inherent in structure. Best of all perhaps is the 27 sectioned speculation at the end on the anatomy of form, and an insight into the structure of organisation itself. In conjunction with his intriguing earlier book Number 9 Balmond sets out a new agenda for designers everywhere, including architects and engineers.

Making engineering appealing, 25 Mar 2003
Cecil has achieved what I have always thought to be impossible - giving Structural Engineering sex-appeal. If a few more of our structural engineers had a fraction of Cecil's vision and ceativity, our buildings and lives would be that much more pleasant. This book would be inspirational for anyone considering a career in engineering. A remarkable acheivement.

Well done, 20 Feb 2003
A lovely little book. The pros are excellent. The diagrams really interesting. Each chapter so well thought out and planned. I was fascinated in the projects from start to finish.

A fantastic find, 20 Feb 2003
I have always always been interested in buildings and designs. It has been fantastic to find this book which goes into the heart of the processes of how a design is made and how these well known works came to happen. I enjoyed reading of the great works of Koolhaas and Libeskind and on Balmond's fine new geometry. It raises great expectations for the future!

Excellent, 26 Jul 2008
Excellent easy-to-use attractive book with clear instructions and plenty of color drawings and screen dumps throughout. Would recommend.

Not for the British Market!, 20 Mar 2008
I was really upset to discover that most of the books I bought were for the American market. We have very different designs in this country and to submit american designs are not as favourably met with planners in the U.K. Great book if you like American homes that all look alike!

Another Great book for Americans !!!, 07 Dec 2001
This is a great book if you are looking for inspiration and ideas to work from. If however you are a poor Brit like me who likes the idea of a conventional build with bricks and mortar, the plans which are available for purchase in this book will be completely useless, unless of course you want a timber framed house or are an American builder !!!

Great ideas, sadly could not be used for the purpose of its intension in the British market - so Brits who want plans beware !!!!

Other than that great layout and informative !!!!

Big Plans, Small plans, All Plans, 03 May 2001
For anyone planning on building or designing their own home, this books is great, full of American designs. Its gives you all types of ideas from 1000sqfoot plans to 6000 sq foot. And is handily broken down in regions. This is a great book its well worth purchasing, believe me all you friends will want to borrow it.

gotta believe it! No Experience Required, 25 Jun 2007
This book is a great wholly package to start Autocad with, no Autocad or 3d modeling experience required, step by step, covering the great useful features Autocad is capable off, starts with a concept of a cabin, turning all through few lines into a whole house, and then the 3D transformation of a 2D architecture, for me i would say 2 hours everyday, 15 days & 15 chapters to gear me on Autocad, thats all it took! great book for beginners.

Enjoyable and informative intro to 2009, 27 Sep 2008
AutoCAD 2009 incorporates


The Dummies format, presenting compelx information in a humourous easy-to-read style, works very well for a technical and potentially dry topic like CAD. The book provives a good overview of AutoCAD for the beginner and reading through it was actually quite enjoyable. It made me enthusiastic about the subject - when pouring over a 1000-page technical tome would have just sent my head to the pillow. The author is an experienced CAD instructor and it is like having an old head looking over your shoulder and guiding you.

Having said that the book is not without faults - and there are some glaringly obvious editorial mistakes! Nevertheless, this would be an excellent book for the first time user and would provide a far better way into CAD than using a huge instruction manual. For maximum progress this book would be best combined with the online sources of help such as AutoCAD's own F1 facility and independent resources such as the excellent www.cadtutor.net



A poor example to follow, 20 Nov 2006
The back cover claims that this is "The definitive guide to draughting to the latest ISO Standards, incorporating BS 8888". I cannot agree. This book seems to be a partial revision of a school or undergraduate drawing textbook. The authors might have achieved their objective if they had started from scratch. As it is, it would be better to call it a Rough Guide. It will be useful to beginners, but it is certainly not "definitive".

The description of CAD systems in chapter 3 is heavily biased towards AutoCad, even when describing 3D programmes, in which they have never been dominant. The screenshot examples shown, over five pages, are taken as much from architecture as engineering, and are poorly reproduced. Captions are minimal, and the relevance to engineering of a dragonfly flying over a pond is hard to see. Two potentially informative screenshots of drawings in progress seem to have been printed in soot. The clarity and sharpness of a screen image is entirely lost. The authors appear to have shares in Mechsoft and the inclusion of two pages of AutoCad publicity material do little to advance the subject. The space would have been better used to illustrate the working methods of CAD programmes, particularly showing the difference between 2D and 3D work, and explaining the significance of Surface and Solid modelling, leading on to Hybrid programmes. The further use of 3D models for stress, heat flow, or fluid dynamics could have been illustrated.

After pointing out on page 6 that the comma is to be the decimal marker, it is odd that the majority of drawings shown use the full stop, or point. The diameter symbol shown in the text does not agree with that shown in some illustrations, but the use is inconsistent. In both cases the symbol is incorrect. The section on drawing nuts and bolts continues a method which has been a poor approximation for more than fifty years, but makes no mention of using stencils, or CAD libraries, which would give an accurate representation. Chapters 20 to 23 reproduce the symbols for geometrical tolerancing as provided by AutoCad, including the errors. It would have been better to show them proportioned correctly to the standard. Several examples seem to have abandoned the correct use of line thickness. Chapter 26 shows welding symbols to BS 499. The authors should be aware that this was superseded in 1995 by BS EN 22553. Some explanation of the previous ways of working may be needed, but the emphasis should be on the current standard. The engineering diagrams in chapter 27 give a small selection of symbols to current standards, but far more space is given over to poor or non standard examples. The symbols used are inconsistent and no account has been taken of Reference Designations as specified in BS EN 61346. The section on Heating and Ventilation diagrams drifts into design techniques, which would be better covered in a Design textbook. The chapter on bearings similarly becomes a design manual, but the one illustration of the representation of bearings on a drawing is badly printed and incorrect. To add insult to injury, the text states that the drawing is wrong, but it has not been corrected! The final chapter deals with designing with adhesives. No examples of drawings showing assembly with adhesives are given, and we are completely in the world of design, not draughting, techniques.

None of the finished drawings shown would be acceptable in my drawing office.

The authors need to decide whether they are producing a Draughting or a Design Manual. The illustrations should ALL be up to date with the latest standards they claim to be presenting, and comply in every detail. They should represent the best of the draughtsman's art, not the typical products of those who have not kept up to date with the standards.

A must have reference manual for students and the workplace., 04 Nov 2003
Very well written, clear and concise manual for Engineering Drawing to British Standards.

It does exactly what it says on the cover. And it's in English too!!!!!!

It's an important point to make that this book is written to British Standards, in metric, not ANSI or other, in imperial. Many similar titles are written to ANSI or have included imperial or older standards and will have all the references to feet and inches or American standards. It is very difficult to find a technical drawing / drafting book in plain English.

Perfect for students to learn from and (in my case) a brilliant reference guide in the workplace.

My only negative issue is how long I've waited for this book to come out, it has been on back order for over a year now!

A useful handbook, 10 Dec 2002
This is a good reference book for anyone who needs to create engineering drawings. The emphasis is mainly on mechanical components, although there are sections on electronic and automotive circuit diagrams and heating and ventilation layouts. There is little if anything on civil, structural or architectural drawings however.

References to relevant british and ISO standards are guiven throughout, and the book is well written, conscise and well laid out.

Great, but a couple of little flaws, 25 Nov 2007
This is an absolutely essential book for anyone working in the automotive industry. It's full of those useful little bits of data that don't always lodge in your brain but become useful later...

On a slightly negative note, the section on quality is a little out of date and doesn't match what is required from some OEMs in terms of process and "philosophy".

That