Hole wizard vs cut extrude for holes

[gurujeff]

A while back the advantage of hole wizard was that it worked with automatic mates for toolbox fasteners. Now if you bring in a toolbox fastener it will automate to both cut extrude and a hole wizard feature.

Any other reasons to use hole wizard over cut extrude besides the obvious that you can change the hole type?

 

[takedownca]

Automatic parametric hole callouts in drawings. You don't have to lookup what the diameter should be for a 1/4-20 clearance hole. Automated counterbores and countersinks. Automatic feature naming (e.g. "1/4 Clearance Hole1"). The list goes on. If you're making a hole that is meant for a fastener, you may as well use hole wizard. The reasons for using it greatly outnumber the reasons against.

 

[gurujeff]

Yeah I know about those features all great reasons, thanks. I'm teaching a SW class and I didn't realize they updated the cut extrude feature to have automate. I've been stressing hole wizard and I was going to show that the cut extrude didn't automate when we got to assemblies so now that it does it takes a little wind out of my sail.

 

[smcadman]

I usually use the hole wizard, but one of the exceptions is whenever I am using round or square tubing. Many times I have a left and right handed tube for a project, and using the extruded cut lets you change which wall the hole will go through in a configuration.

In the sample part below look at the feature labeled "Side Hole". The circle is drawn on the center plane, and by simply changing the direction of the cut, I have left and right versions.

If I had used the hole wizard, I would need to add a hole on one side, a separate hole for the other side, and suppress the holes not needed for that configuration. In addition to that, I would need to constrain the holes together in case the location changed.

http://paul-flores.com/temp_files/holes_on_tube.SLDPRT

Flores

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Flores,
You can change the direction of a HW hole also.
Just toggle the End Condition direction.

 

[ShaggyPE]

One of the features about hole wizard that I love is the ability to use it in a feature driven pattern. i.e. In an assembly, insert one fastener (or fastener stack) into the seed hole of a hole wizard hole and then do a feature driven pattern to fill all of the holes of that feature. You can't get that from an extruded hole.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

FLores,
Ignore my post. That doesn't work per configs. ER time?

 

[smcadman]

CBL, I tried your suggestion out to see if I overlooked something, but I believe you might be wrong. Per the example above, in order to have the hole on the opposite side of the tube you have to pick a different face.

(I have been wrong before, and please clarify if I misunderstood your reply)

Flores

 

[fcsuper]

In S/W 2009, extrude-cut holes might become more popular since 2009 will allow you to drag a sketch as an extrude or an extrude-cut automatically.

Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

smcadman,
A HW hole can be placed on a reference plane the same as a regular cut-extrude sketch. Once created the direction can be flipped. However, it cannot be flipped per a configuration. The change in direction will affect all configs.

fcsuper,
Is that different from what SW08 does with its Instant 3D function?

 

[smcadman]

CBL,
Thanks for clarifying. (I didn't read your post that was 3 minutes before mine)



Flores

 

[SincoTC]

If you're intending to read the model into a good CAM package, it will automatically read the HW callout info and do the appropriate thing for each hole; it they're all just cut extrudes, it will try and mill everything as a circular pocket, so you'll have to manually define each hole.

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

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