Dimetric 30°/60°

About Dimetric 30°/60°

A dimetric axonometric template in which two axes share a 30° inclination while the third tilts at 60°. The asymmetry foreshortens one face slightly, producing a more "cinematic" pictorial than isometric while still staying easy to measure with a parallel rule. Further reading: A practitioner reading list covers the standards lineage in more depth.

Standards lineage

Conforms to the dimetric projection definitions in ISO 5456-3:1996 §5.3.

A short history

The 30/60 dimetric grid became the de facto standard for technical illustration in U.S. military maintenance manuals after MIL-STD-100A standardised it for "exploded view" service diagrams in the 1960s.

Where designers reach for it

• Mechanical assembly drawings where one face deserves emphasis
• Cabinetry plans presented to clients
• Game-development tile mock-ups (the classic 2:1 video-game projection)
• Patent illustration in jurisdictions that disallow perspective

Printing this grid

Every variant on this page is delivered as a vector SVG with physical millimetre dimensions baked into the file, so a compliant printer driver will reproduce it at exact 1:1 scale by default. Choose the sheet size that matches your printer tray, set scaling to 100 % (never "fit to page"), and verify with the calibration check on our how-to-print guide. Buyer's guide: Comparing the major architectural scale rulers can help you pick the right physical scale rule to use over the printed grid.