Why Read the Technical Drawing?
You choose a bottle by looking at its photograph, but you order the label, the box and the carton by looking at the technical drawing. A photograph shows the shape; a drawing gives the millimetres.
A technical drawing (spec sheet) is the document that shows a package's dimensions and the acceptable deviation in those dimensions. Your label printer takes the wrap length from it, your box maker the internal box size, your filler the neck diameter. A box order placed without reading the drawing ends up in the bin when the bottle does not fit.
On esans.com.tr, the technical drawings of packaging products open from the "Technical Drawing" document on the product page and in the app.
What Do the Dimensions on the Drawing Tell You?
Six basic values recur on a bottle drawing.
| Dimension | On the drawing | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| Height | Height (usually without cap) | Box height, shelf spacing. Total height with cap is calculated separately. |
| Diameter, or width × depth | Diameter / Width × Depth | Box base, carton layout, label wrap length |
| Neck size | Neck / Neck ID | Valve and cap fit, filling nozzle diameter |
| Weight | Weight (empty, without cap) | Shipping weight, checking the filled product on a scale |
| Brimful capacity | Brimful / Brim Full Capacity | Fill quantity and headspace calculation |
| Base view | Footprint / Top view | Box and carton arrangement for non-round bottles |
For a round bottle a single diameter is enough. For a square, oval or asymmetric bottle, width and depth are given separately and a top-view drawing is added; you design the box not for the larger of those two values, but for both together.
Tolerance: That Small ± Sign
If the drawing says "88.7 ± 0.3 mm", the bottle's diameter can be anything between 88.4 and 89.0 mm. The whole of that range is acceptable product; an 89.0 mm bottle is not defective.
Tolerance defines the natural variation of production. Glass and metal bottles come out of a mould; every batch, and even every bottle in the same batch, differs from the next at micron level. Your job is to design your own item for the worst end of that range.
A real example: the values on the drawing of the 1000 ml aluminium bottle are as follows.
| Dimension | Value | Tolerance | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 88.7 mm | ± 0.3 mm | 88.4 mm | 89.0 mm |
| Height (without cap) | 259 mm | ± 1.5 mm | 257.5 mm | 260.5 mm |
| Neck inner diameter | 27.4 mm | ± 0.3 mm | 27.1 mm | 27.7 mm |
| Empty weight | 130 g | ± 8 g | 122 g | 138 g |
| Brimful capacity | 1300 ml | ± 20 ml | 1280 ml | 1320 ml |
If you are having a box made for this bottle, you specify the internal size not for 88.7 mm but for at least 89.0 mm plus working clearance. You plan the fill quantity for the smallest volume, 1280 ml. If you take the tare weight from a single bottle and apply it to the whole batch, you can be wrong within a 16-gram range; for precise filling, take the tare of each bottle separately.
From Drawing to Order: Step by Step
When you have the drawing in hand, follow this order.
- Identify the units and views
Dimensions are in millimetres, weight in grams, volume in millilitres. Establish which view is the front, the side and the top.
- Work out the label area
Find the height of the flat or cylindrical part of the body; the shoulder and base curves are not part of the label area. For a wrap-around label, calculate circumference = diameter × 3.14 using the smallest diameter, so that the label ends do not overlap.
- Match the cap and valve
The neck size and type (screw or crimp) determine the choice of cap and valve. If you will buy caps from a different supplier, test with a sample; even at the same nominal size, the thread profile can differ.
- Specify the box for the largest dimension
Add a few millimetres of working clearance to the total capped height and to the largest diameter or width and depth. Send the drawing itself to the printer as well.
- Calculate the carton
From the base dimension, work out how many bottles fit in a carton; from the weight, the weight of a full carton. Courier pricing is based on those two values.
- Compare the incoming batch with the drawing
Measure a few bottles from each batch with callipers and a scale. If the values are within tolerance, the batch is acceptable; if not, the drawing is the document you hold when talking to the supplier.
Frequently Asked Questions
The points that most often trip up people working with a technical drawing for the first time.
Where can I find a bottle's technical drawing?
What does the ± sign mean?
My bottle measures differently from the drawing; is it defective?
What does Neck ID mean?
What is FEA 15?
Is the height on the drawing with the cap?
How do I derive the label size from the drawing?
If I change supplier, can I use the same drawing?
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