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TIP:  Darin Grosser, DASI Solutions Sr. Application Engineer and CSWP since 1997, tells us that we get questions on a regular basis concerning the behavior of cosmetic threads in SolidWorks.  This month Darin gives you some guidelines for getting to the bottom of the hole and dealing with those threads.

When using the Hole Wizard to add Tapped Holes, be careful when it comes to the Cosmetic Thread Setting.....You could end up with the wrong size hole!!

What happens, and you can test this to see, is that if you use the Tap tool and select a 1/4-20 (for example) and you set it to ADD COSMETIC THREADS WITH CALLOUT, it will essentially make a Hole with a Virtual Thread.  I'm sure everyone knows this.  If you set the same 1/4-20 to NO COSMETIC THREAD, the Physical size of the Major diameter of the thread is CUT from the part, leaving 2 different diameter, concentric holes.  This Geometrically makes two completely different holes.

You can also make a Drawing to see how the Annotations behave.  All Hole Callouts work correctly with a mix of 'same size' Hole Wizard features using different Cosmetic Thread settings.  Each one you select will have the Exact same Callout......HOWEVER, the Hole Table DID have them listed as two different 'tags' of holes with the same callout for Size.

Now, if you never leave SolidWorks and you use our Tools, you should have NO PROBLEM....except for where the Hole Table is concerned.  The behavior can become a problem when you would be sending your Solids directly to CAM, STL or when exporting files to AutoCAD, where the intelligence would be lost.  These tools would manufacture or measure ACTUAL geometry.

 

 

Download Example File (*Requires SolidWorks 2006)

 

 

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