Technical drawing. How this invention changed history
But let’s think about it for a moment!
The locomotive has developed all over the world thanks to technicians and engineers who have worked to modify it and adapt it to different territories.
But how could these projects communicate?The answer lies in a very simple and brilliant idea!
It is technical drawing that allowed the development of design in the world
Verbal communication can create problems or misunderstandings, and it’s not possible to verify the actual dimensions of the piece.
Technical drawing saw the light in the Renaissance, thanks to architects and shipwrights, who helped each other with the first written documentation to explain to their subordinates how work should be carried out.
One of the fundamental texts from which we can trace this technique is called “De Pictura” by Leon Battista Alberti, where he depicted the proportions through numerous examples and primary geometric figures, in such a way as to give certain references to both his own generation than to the future one.
From that moment on there was a continuous development by various artistic, architectural, mathematical figures etcetera up to the military engineer Gaspard Monge, who defined the techniques of representation, such as orthogonal proportions.
Observing the drawings of this designer, it can be seen how he dictated a line in the history of design, as henceforth everyone gradually began to use his system of representing an object.
Craftsmen, and the problem of technical drawing
The artisans initially saw the birth of this style of representation as an obstacle, because it could favor the control of their work, with the risk of having their projects, or their knowhow stolen. It was a very delicate moment in history, because each artisan shop had its own processes and experience handed down from generation to generation.
Gaspard Monge’s representation system therefore could offer a real revolution to the artisans of the time, but also, on the other hand, the real risk of losing one’s job.
Over time, the technique of representation created by this military engineer was adopted within the education system both in Europe and in the United States of America.
In England the Royal Navy began to create a scale model and a plan of each ship in its fleet, in such a way as to be able to reproduce it faithfully, or to be able to repair it following the initial indications of the designer. As a result, each ship was equipped with its own drawings so that wherever it was in the world it could be easily repaired, precisely because the technical drawings could be read by anyone.
