Editing Engineering drawing (section)

==Abbreviations and symbols==
{{main|Engineering drawing abbreviations and symbols}}
As in many technical fields, a wide array of abbreviations and symbols have been developed in engineering drawing during the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, [[cold rolled steel]] is often abbreviated as CRS, and [[diameter]] is often abbreviated as [[Engineering drawing abbreviations and symbols|DIA, D, or ⌀]].

Most engineering drawings are language-independent—words are confined to the title block; symbols are used in place of words elsewhere.<ref>
Brian Griffiths.
[https://books.google.com/books?id=eZkRaV9wyHMC&pg=PA13 "Engineering Drawing for Manufacture"].
2002.
p. 1 and p. 13.
</ref>

With the advent of computer generated drawings for manufacturing and machining, many symbols have fallen out of common use. This poses a problem when attempting to interpret an older hand-drawn document that contains obscure elements that cannot be readily referenced in standard teaching text or control documents such as ASME and ANSI standards. For example, ASME Y14.5M 1994 excludes a few elements that convey critical information as contained in older US Navy drawings and aircraft manufacturing drawings of World War 2 vintage. Researching the intent and meaning of some symbols can prove difficult.