Internal hole threading tool does nothing?

[Ken226]

There are some pretty knowledgeable folks here, so I'm hoping one of them may have a solution.

I'm making a few assumptions here, which could be flat out wrong. Correct me if so.

I'm assuming that the reason my hole threading button in the "view" tab and in 2d drawings doesn't work is because it populates using data from an excel file In Alibre. I have the Excel file, but don't have Excel. I much prefer OpenOffice for word processing and database stuff. I really don't want to get Excel.

I have no trouble opening and editing the Excel file using OpenOffice, but Alibre doesn't appear to play well with OpenOffice. Is there a way to get that function working?

I've come across lots of old threads that mention this issue, and even tried installing an old program that is supposed to do this, but nothing has worked.

The exernal thread button works fine.

 

[DavidJ]

Alibre does not need Excel to be present on the computer - the 'excel' file is just a container for the data.

Files saved in Alibre versions before the major update to threads management won't display cosmetic threads until re-generated.

You could have cosmetic threads disabled. Cosmetic threads are only created by the hole tool and the external thread tool

You must not be using Legacy Display if you want to see cosmetic threads.

Perhaps produce a simple part with threaded hole and post it here - see if the threads display when others open it....

Can you see cosmetic threads in this file?

 

[DavidJ]

Ken, there is only one button on the View tab for thread display - it handles male and female threads.

If the issue is with female threads in 2D drawings, then check which value you use in the Hole tool for 'source' - you'll need to use minor diameter if you want the cosmetic thread to display correctly in the 2D drawing. If you use Major diameter, there is no material left for threads to be shown in.

[EDIT - in 2D drawings the 'texture' representation only shows in 'shaded views' - in standard views you have to explicitly 'insert cosmetic threads' to the view.]

 

[Ken226]

Alibre does not need Excel to be present on the computer - the 'excel' file is just a container for the data.

Files saved in Alibre versions before the major update to threads management won't display cosmetic threads until re-generated.

You could have cosmetic threads disabled. Cosmetic threads are only created by the hole tool and the external thread tool

You must not be using Legacy Display if you want to see cosmetic threads.

Perhaps produce a simple part with threaded hole and post it here - see if the threads display when others open it....

Can you see cosmetic threads in this file?

Yea, i see them. That was my problem, I have been using extrude cut to make holes, not the hole tool. It works fine now that i tried the hole tool.

Another question. When I use the hole tool, all of my sketch tools and reference geometry tools are greyed out, so i cant figure out how to accurately locate the holes?

 

[Ken226]

Ok. i see how you did it in your part file.

Insert a point or points in a sketch, then position a holes. Use a feature pattern to create additional holes?

 

[DavidJ]

Ken - I used the HOLE tool to create the initial holes. The feature pattern was a convenient way to add more - alternatively I could have added extra nodes in the sketch created by the Hole tool.

The file was just to check if things are displaying correctly for you.

Articles

help.alibre.com

 

[Ken226]

Thanks David. That worked perfectly!

 

[simonb65]

@Ken226 , you don't need to use a 3rd party photo storage site to post pictures in the forum. Just 'Snip' the screen image you want to capture using 'Snipping tool' built into Win7 and Win10, then copy the image using the copy button in 'Snip' and paste (CTRL-V) directly onto the forum topic. That'll save you some time uploading images then linking them on the forum!

 

[Ken226]

I figured that out awhile back, but old habits die hard.

 

[simonb65]

I figured that out awhile back, but old habits die hard.

I know what you mean!