paper sizes
 

paper sizes
i've just been hipped to the knowledge that 11x17 (ansi c) is the most favored paper size for contract drawings.
who agrees/disagrees?
i disagree, i think iso a1 is the most popular.
oooops, 11x17 is ansi b. sorry, sorry...
it would not surprise me because you could easily fold it into a binder and many copiers will handle it.
i prefer d size but my field is machine design. it has enough room for most components without crowding views and dimensions and you can fold it into an a size. i can't stand e size and will use multiple sheets of d before i make one single e drawing. they are too hard to fold and you can't lay them down on a desk (at least on mine), not to mention plotting them.
i see d as the most popular. most details fit on it and it is easily reduced to fit size b.
chris
sr. mechanical designer, cad
solidworks 05 sp3.1 / pdmworks 05
i agree with chris. d is a good size. you can fit much detail on it and it is still readable when printed to a b size. any larger format, and you loose too much when printing to b.
i've always like a1 and a2 sizes for metric and thier closest ansi relatives, the c and d size. they're just much easier to handle, fold, and lay on other people's desks. if i'm going to be explainging a print to several people in a board room i'll print out the a0, but otherwise it's gotta be a managable a1.
i like to hang e sized drawings on the wall. it is an ideal size for arrangements, where you want maximum size and detail.
i have a strong preference for 1:1 scale on fabrication drawings. in many cases, you can do a quick and dirty inspection by lying the part on the drawing. this results in a lot of e and d_sized drawings. if you use 4mm or 5/32" fonts, the full sized drawings are readable from a distance (when they are hanging on somebody's wall), and the reduced sized prints are readable.
our assembly people do not want to see anything larger than d_size. big drawings do not fit on work benches.
jhg
i'm with chris on this d-size then print 1/2 scale 11x17. although, i have done multi sheet e size drawings for some pump housing castings and machine drawings.
our assembly dept. barks at anything over a b-size.
it would be a wonderful thing if we could really go paperless....wasn't that the initial selling point of cad?
best regards,
heckler
sr. mechanical engineer
sw2005 sp 4.0 & pro/e 2001
dell precision 370
p4 3.6 ghz, 1gb ram
xp pro sp2.0
nivida quadro fx 1400
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"there is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea" bernard-paul heroux

heckler, i agree.
our company announced 2 years ago we were going paperless. everthing went on-line, automated, etc. now we generate more paperwork than ever!
chris
sr. mechanical designer, cad
solidworks 05 sp3.1 / pdmworks 05
d-size seems to be the way to go. we are quite some distance away from our mfr, so every drawing is made a d-size pdf. we print a hard copy on 11x17 here in the office, and they can print whatever size works best for them there. pdf actually is great. i think we may even go from hard copy to pdf only if we can figure it out... then only print something out if necessary... which now that i think about is is all the time.. but what the hell... many wrong paths where departed walked with good intentions...
from the wall of our faa inspector.
"we will become a paperless office, when the earth becomes a treeless planet...then we'll switch to synthetics"
put me down for ansi b.
rerig