Holes options

Set the default hole options on the Holes page of the Options dialog:

1. Click File > Options > Application Options > Object > Holes.
2. Use the following options to specify settings for holes:
   • Hole Category and Use — Use the lists to specify the default settings to be used in the Hole dialog.
     1. Select a hole category from the first list.
     2. Select the default use for the selected hole category.
   • Create — Click this button to open the Hole Use dialog to define a new category and use.
   • Edit — (Available only if a user-defined hole use is selected) Click this button to use the Hole Use dialog to edit the hole use.
   • Delete — (Available only if a user-defined hole use is selected) Click this button to delete the selected hole use.
   • Delete Category — (Available only if a user-defined hole category is selected). Click this button to delete the selected user-defined category. If the category is a standard one, all the user-defined holes used within the selected category are deleted.
   • Mark centre of holes — Select this option to mark the centres of all hole features. When the centres are marked, you can snap to them and generate construction lines from them.
   • Reuse last hole definition — Select this option to use the definition of the last hole feature created, to create the next hole feature, even if it is on another solid. Deselect this option to only remember the definition while you are still in the current hole creation session.
   • Show hole threads — Select this option to display the thread detail for hole features.
   • Give holes meaningful names — Select this option to give each hole a meaningful name based on its use or tapping standard. Deselect this option to name the hole according to the integer name system.

The following alignment options let you set initial options when placing a hole. You can reset the hole alignments for individual cases using the alignment options on the hole Plane Details dialog.

• Align with any surface — Select this option to align new holes to any face normal. Deselect this option to alignnew holes to planar face normals only.
• Align with active workplane — Select this option to align the hole to the normal of the active workplane. Deselect this option to align the hole to the face normals based on the Align with any surface option.
• Create chamfers on holes — Select this option to create chamfers on the holes. If deselected, chamfers are not included. Define the chamfers using the following options:
  • Chamfer size — Enter the default size of all the chamfers on a hole.
  • Chamfer angle — Enter the default angle of all the chamfers on a hole.
• Recognise tapped holes — This option is selected by default. Deselect this option to prevent holes from being recognized as tapped.
• Only create lightweight holes — When using Smart Feature Recognition, select this option to recognize all holes as lightweight hole features. This is particularly useful for models that contain holes with complex geometry, which may not normally be recognized, or for history-free solid models, such as those created outside PowerShape. You can then export solid models and their features to PowerMill to create drilling toolpaths.