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Fundamentals of Graphics Communication, 3/e
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Bertoline - Fundamentals of Graphics Communication Third Edition

Glossary M

Please click on the desired term below to view the glossary definition.
machine  (n) A combination of interrelated parts used for applying, storing, or transforming energy to do work. Machines consist of one or more assemblies, which are analyzed using techniques such as kinematics and dynamics.
machine control  (n) A process that directs the machine tools necessary to transform raw materials into a finished product. Machine control has evolved from human control to machine automation using numerical control (NC) and then computer numerical control (CNC).
machine screw  (n) A mechanical fastening device with a slotted head on one end and threads on the other. The threaded end can screw into either a mating part or a nut. A machine screw is similar to a slotted head cap screw but is normally smaller.
machine tool  (n) A production device used to change the shape, finish, or size of a piece of material, typically using some type of cutting edge.
major axis  (n) The long axis of an ellipse. In a pictorial projection, this axis represents the true diameter of the circle being projected.
major diameter  (n) A threading term referring to the largest diameter on an internal or external thread.
manifold models  (n) Models that unambiguously define a boundary between the inside and outside of an object. Solid modelers are usually restricted to manifold objects, whereas surface modelers often define unclosed, nonmanifold objects with no clear division between inside and outside.
manufacturing automation protocol  (n) See MAP.
manufacturing processing  (v) An activity concerned with the scheduling, forming, treating, shaping, joining, and cutting of raw material in the production of goods.
MAP  (n) An acronym for manufacturing automation protocol, a communications standard being developed for compatibility between different automated manufacturing systems. The goal of MAP is the total integration of islands of automation in manufacturing, regardless of the type of hardware and software used in each system.
marketing  (n) The division of a business involved with convincing customers to purchase the product or service provided by the company. In order to sell the product more effectively, marketing will gather information on potential customers, both directly and indirectly, and will use these data to influence the design of the product so that it more closely matches the customer’s needs.
marks  (n) The fundamental graphic elements used to encode data in a visualization. Marks can be thought of as graphic primitives and are typically classified as either simple or complex. Simple marks include points, lines, areas, and volumes. Complex marks are also called glyphs. All marks interrelate closely with the dimension of the data type.
mass properties analysis  (n) Analytic techniques directly related to the geometric properties of an object. Typical calculations are the mass, centroids (center of gravity), and intertial properties of the object. In order to successfully use these techniques, the model must be able to unambiguously define the volume the object occupies and the density of the material within the volume.
material control  (n) A term describing the management of the flow of materials through the production process. Just-in time (JIT) techniques are used to recognize which raw materials are needed and when.
material requirement planning  (n) See MRP.
materials engineering  (n) A field of engineering that comprises a wide spectrum of activities directed toward the design, development, and production of metals, alloys, ceramics, semiconductors, and other materials for engineering applications.
mathematics  (n) An abstract symbol-based communications system based on formal logic. Geometry is one of the oldest fields of mathematics and underlies most of the principles used in technical graphics and CAD.
matrix charts  (n) A visualization technique that uses grids to show relationships between at least two, often qualitative, variables. Each variable is represented along a scale, and the interior grid cells represent possible combinations of variable values. Marks are placed in the grid cells, representing the relationship between variable values.
maximum material condition (MMC)  A tolerancing term defining the condition of a part when it contains the most amount of material. The MMC of an external feature, such as a shaft, is the upper limit. The MMC of an internal feature, such as a hole, is the lower limit.
mechanical engineering  (n) A field of engineering comprising a wide range of activities, including research, design, development, manufacturing, management, and control for engineering systems and their components. Mechanical engineers work in such fields as transportation, power generation, energy conversion, environmental control, aeronautics, marine science, and manufacturing.
mechanical fastening  (v) A process that uses a manufactured device added to an assembly to hold parts together. Mechanical fasteners include threaded and nonthreaded fasteners, such as rivets, keys, pins, snap rings, and clips.
mechanics  (n) An area of applied physics which, at a macro level, deals with the response of bodies (parts) to the action of forces, and, at the micro level, with the response of materials.
mechanism  (n) A mechanical system made of rigid structures, such as shafts, housings, and pillow blocks, and connected by various linkages, such as gears, cams, and cranks. A mechanism is activated by applying a load or force at one or more points in the mechanism.
mechanism analysis  (n) An analytic technique that determines the motions and loads associated with mechanical systems made of rigid bodies (links) connected by joints. The two most common types of mechanism analysis are kinematic and dynamic.
media  (n) A means of conveying information, both graphic and textual. Traditionally, this refers to the types of paper used in drafting; more recently, it has also come to refer to the types of information storage and playback technology, such as video, audio, CD-ROM, etc.
memory device  (n) Computer hardware used to store information, such as CAD data. Transient storage is random access memory (RAM); more permanent storage includes floppy disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic tape, etc.
minor axis  (n) The short axis of an ellipse. In a pictorial projection, the length of this axis varies with the relationship of the view direction to the surface of the circle the ellipse represents.
minor diameter  (n) A threading term referring to the smallest diameter on an internal or external thread.
miter line  (n) A special construction line used to share the depth dimension between the top and right side views of a multiview drawing. The line is drawn at a 45-degree angle and is used as a point of intersection for lines coming to and from the right side and top views.
MMC  (n) See maximum material condition.
modeling  (v and n) Often referred to as geometric modeling, which is both a process and a product. Modeling is used to analyze preliminary and final design solutions, as well as provide input to the production process in the form of a computer database. Modeling is a product since it is a result of the design process, which uses graphics as a tool to visualize possible solutions and to document the design for communications purposes.
model solid  (n) In a modeling system, the solid object being manipulated by tool solids during the course of creating the final model. Whereas the tool solids are transient in nature, the model solid defines the state of the object as it evolves into the final model.
modem  (n) A computer hardware device that uses standard telecommunications lines (phone lines) to send computer data from one computer to another. Modems are used to connect computers at remote sites not connected by local area networks. The speed in which modems can transfer information is measured in bits per second, or baud.
motion  (n) The movement of a part, either linearly or angularly, over time and space.
mouse  (n) A small, hand-held computer input device that rests on a work surface and is moved in two dimensions to correspond to locations on the computer monitor. A cursor on the screen indicates the current location of the mouse and buttons on the top of the mouse are used to indicate the action to be performed at that location.
MRP  (n) An acronym for material requirement planning, a process used to calculate the amount of raw materials necessary to manufacture a specified number of products. MRP uses the bill of materials from the engineering drawings or CAD techniques such as attribute assignments. MRP has evolved into material resource planning, which includes both materials and financing.
multimedia  (n or adj.) A term used to refer to the systems or methods that convey information in more than one media form and often through more than one sense. The integration of text and graphics could be thought of as a simple multimedia system.
multiple-line graph  (n) A visualization technique similar to a regular line graph, except that an additional independent variable is mapped. The second independent variable typically has only a few discrete values, each of which is mapped as a separate line on the graph. Color or symbol coding is used to distinguish between the lines on the graph.
multiview drawing/sketch  (n) A type of orthographic drawing based on multiview projection techniques in which two or more views of an object are arranged in a single drawing. Each view shows only two dimensions of the object and is chosen to depict specific features of the object clearly and distinctly.
multiview projection  (n) A special type of orthographic projection that places the object in a unique position behind a projection plane such that a view is produced that shows only two dimensions of the object. The outline of the features of the part shows where the parallel lines of sight pierce the projection plane.
mutually perpendicular  (adj.) Two or more lines or planes that are at 90 degrees (right angles) to each other, that is, orthogonal.