How to create a pattern of holes (Linear or Circular) in SolidWorks?
Short Answer
To create a pattern of holes in SolidWorks, use the Linear Pattern or circular pattern feature after making the first hole, most commonly with Hole Wizard or an existing cut. Select the feature to pattern, define direction or axis, set spacing and instances, then confirm. Limitation: patterned holes can fail if parent geometry changes.
What You Need to Know Before
Warning: patterned holes in SolidWorks are highly dependent on the seed feature and reference geometry. If the original hole, edge, axis, or face is modified or deleted, the entire linear or circular hole pattern may fail or rebuild incorrectly.
How to Create a Pattern of Holes in SolidWorks
Command: Linear Pattern / Circular Pattern
Shortcut: No default keyboard shortcut
Quick Steps:
- Create the first hole using Features > Hole Wizard or a cut feature, then go to the Features tab in the CommandManager and click Linear Pattern or Circular Pattern.
- In Features to Pattern, select the hole feature, then choose a direction edge for linear patterns or a center axis/cylindrical face for circular patterns.
- Enter the Spacing and Number of Instances for a linear pattern, or the Angle and Number of Instances for a circular pattern, then enable Geometry Pattern if appropriate and click OK.
Variables & Settings
Key Setting: Geometry Pattern
Expert Setting: This option patterns the resulting geometry instead of recalculating each feature instance. It is faster and more stable for simple hole patterns, but it may not work correctly if the hole end condition or local geometry varies between instances.
Why it Fails
- Cause 1 (Geometry): the hole pattern crosses changing faces, draft, fillets, or non-uniform thickness, causing some instances to terminate differently or fail.
- Cause 2 (layers/Locks): the reference axis, sketch, or driving feature may be suppressed, hidden in a different display state, or lost through external reference changes.
- Cause 3 (Command/Logic): the wrong item was selected for patterning, such as sketch entities instead of the hole feature, or Geometry Pattern was enabled when feature recalculation was actually required.
Quick Fix & Best Practice
- Quick Fix: Edit the pattern and disable Geometry Pattern, then reselect a stable edge, axis, or temporary axis as the direction reference.
- Manager’s Verdict: use feature patterns for standard production hole layouts because they are faster to edit and more robust in design changes. Avoid sketch-driven workarounds unless spacing is irregular or driven by custom geometry.
FAQ
Can I pattern Hole Wizard holes in SolidWorks?
Yes, Hole Wizard features are commonly patterned with Linear Pattern or Circular Pattern.
Should I pattern the sketch or the feature?
Pattern the feature in most cases, because it is more robust and easier to manage.
Why do some patterned holes disappear after editing?
The pattern likely lost its reference direction, axis, or valid target geometry during rebuild.
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