A feature is a small piece of a part such as a hole, slot or notch, which is the result of an operation such as machining or punching. The standard part library contains several standard features that you can insert directly into a drawing.
The AMCONTENTLIB command displays content from all the content libraries your computer is configured to access. Additionally, AutoCAD Mechanical toolset has commands to directly access features by category. This is a convenient way to access a filtered list of standard parts/features.
Features not associated with a drafting standard, cannot be accessed via the AMCONTENTLIB command. These features are called user defined features, and you are able to access them directly by category. When you insert such features, AutoCAD Mechanical toolset prompts you for the size and you are free to provide any size.
| Category | Command | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard features | |||
| Cylindrical Holes | |||
| Through Holes | AMTHOLE2D | ||
| Blind Holes | AMBHOLE2D | ||
| Counterbore Holes | AMCOUNTB2D | ||
| Countersunk Holes | AMCOUNTS2D | ||
| User-defined through holes | AMUTHOLE2D | ||
| User-defined blind holes | AMUBHOLE2D | ||
| User-defined counterbore holes | AMUCOUNTB2D | ||
| User-defined countersunk holes | AMUCOUNTS2D | ||
| Tapped Holes | |||
| Through Holes | AMTAPTHOLE2D | ||
| Blind Holes | AMTAPBHOLE2D | ||
| Taper Holes | AMTAPITHREAD2D | ||
| External threads | |||
| Plain threads | AMEXTHREAD2D | ||
| Thread ends | AMTHREADEND2D | ||
| Taper threads | AMTAPETHREAD2D | ||
| Shaft Features | |||
| Undercuts | AMUNDERCUT2D | ||
| Center holes | AMCENTERHOLE2D | ||
| Slots | |||
| Blind slots | AMBSLOT2D | ||
| Through slots | AMTSLOT2D | ||
| User-defined blind slots | AMUBSLOT2D | ||
| User-define through slots | AMUTSLOT2D | ||
| User-defined features | |||
| User-defined through holes | AMUTHOLE2D | ||
| User-defined blind holes | AMUBHOLE2D | ||
| User-defined counterbore holes | AMUCOUNTB2D | ||
| User-defined countersunk holes | AMUCOUNTS2D | ||
| User-defined blind slots | AMUBSLOT2D | ||
| User-define through slots | AMUTSLOT2D | ||
The insertion process is similar for each feature. Select the feature you want to insert, select the view to insert, and then specify the size.
If you use the AMCONTENTLIB command, you can select any standard or custom feature for insertion. If you use a command that directly access a feature by category, you can only access the features associated with that command. The procedures linked to this page provides access to two sets of procedures. One set (procedures to insert a through hole) illustrates the process of using the AMCONTENTLIB command. The other set (procedures to insert a user defined through hole) illustrates the process of using a command that directly access features by category.
You can quickly generate a view from a standard feature that already exists in a drawing (for example, create the top view from the front view) with the AMPOWERVIEW command.