Historically, someone who produced engineering drawings from ideas and specifications was known as a  draughtsman, with the 'man' in draughtsman referring to the species rather than the gender.
   

The site name "Draughts'man" is taken from this era.
   

In that same historical period the "draughtsman" was a highly skilled and much respected employee who, in addition to producing accurate readable drawings was technically qualified and very much a part of the design process in the Drawing Office.
From the UK alone, consider a few technical landmarks ... Stephenson's Rocket (birth of the railway?)
The Forth Railway Bridge (how long has that been in use?) The Jet Engine (revolutionised air travel?)
The Hovercraft, The Harrier Jump Jet all came from a Drawing Board.

Modern Britain has completely forgotten it's industrial roots and today, tends to look down on engineering as a serious and rewarding profession, and salaries in the engineering trade reflect this.
  
How would the modern world manage without the jet engine?
  
The draughtsman/drawing office is an integral part of a highly skilled and proud profession with a history second to none, so let's get back up there and be rewarded as the major players we are.  
     

For a watch to function correctly, ALL components, no matter how small or unnoticed, have to be working
together or the very much noticed, hands and face, serve no useful purpose at all.

Today, most draughtsmen are working with CAD software, and are known by many new names, so, in an attempt to include everyone concerned in the production of drawings, be they electrical, mechanical, civil, architectural, automotive, jig and tool, male or female, long or short etc. the term 'drafter' will be used by this web site to encompass all
  .
 

happy drafting