Vmc Hole Pattern Cycle App for PC

Hole patterns
In the area of coated abrasives a hole pattern describes the arrangement of the suction holes embedded in the corresponding disc or strip.


The type of hole pattern needed for a particular application always varies with the machine used. A list with an allocation of the most common hole patterns to the appropriate machine types


In the point-to-point machining operations, consisting of drilling, reaming, tapping, boring, etc., we are often required to machine either a single hole or a series of holes with the same tool, usually followed by other tools. In practice, several holes are much more common than a single hole. Machining several holes with the same tool means machining a pattern of holes or a hole pattern. An English dictionary defines the word pattern as a characteristic or consistent arrangement or design . Translated to the hole machining terms, any two or more holes machined with the same tool establish a pattern. The desired hole pattern is laid out in the part drawing either randomly . Dimensioning of a hole pattern follows standard dimensioning practices.


This chapter describes some typical hole patterns laid out on a flat part and the various methods of their programming. To make matters simple, all programming examples related to the hole patterns will assume a center drilling operation, using a #2 center drill, with chamfer diameter .150, to the rence point Z0) is the top face of part and the tool is assumed to be already in the spindle. For the purpose of clarity, no hole diameters or material size and thickness are specified in the examples.



The hole series is an assembly feature which creates hole features in the components of the assembly. You can create new holes or use existing holes. A hole series extends through each unsuppressed component in the assembly that intersects the axis of the hole (the components do not have to touch).


If you add new components between the start and end components after you create the hole series, you can choose to include the new components in the hole series. You must edit the hole series to update it.
The depth of each hole within each component is measured from the entry face of the component to the end of the hole in the component. The depth displayed represents the actual depth of the hole in each component, resulting in accurate production drawings.


Hole series previews specify individual components of the hole series. Smart Fastener components also highlight. For example, when focus is on the Last Part tab, the last part highlights in the graphics area.


You cannot use hole series on assembly components which are multiple instances of the same part, unless each instance is a separate configuration
If you underive the hole series hole in an individual part it becomes a Hole Wizard hole with no reference to the assembly.

You cannot create a hole series feature containing holes that affect different stacks of components. For example, two separate hole series features are required to define the holes in this assembly:


In SOLIDWORKS 2020, when you use a Pattern Driven Component Pattern with a Hole Wizard feature as its driving feature, you can align the pattern distances to the hole axis for each hole. In the Property Manager of the Pattern Driven Component Pattern, you have two alignment methods under “Driving Feature or Component” when you have a hole wizard as the driving feature:

Align to holes which would align the instances to the hole wizard feature. This option is the default alignment method for new pattern features.
Align to seed which aligns the instances to the seed instance. This option is the default alignment method for existing pattern features.
In the example below, we are exploring the alignment options for a pattern using a hole wizard feature. In this example, we pattern a rivet to a hole feature in order to connect to plates to each other and we use the hole wizard feature for alignment