Make a Hole on Curved Surface in FreeCAD

Making a hole on a curved surface in FreeCAD should be easier than it is. In this video I show you an easy way to make a hole on a curved surface in FreeCAD.

[@repeters1]

This is exactly what I was looking for. You took me step by step through the process and I was able to follow your directions really easy. Thank you for a great how to video!

[@CreatewithTech]

Hello Pete B. Great! I'm glad that you found this video helpful. RG

[@Brazylizsek]

That's why I love FreeCAD. Yeah, it's hard, learning curve is steep and so on. But whenever I stuck at something I know if I put the right words in KZbin query I'd get an awesome tutorial from community. Thanks mate.

[@pw3111]

Fantastic video. Short, sharp and to the point.

[@sivoltage]

AMAZING!! This is exactly what I needed. Very well explained. Thank you so much.

[@stevecampbell4118]

Thanks for the video! I didn't have a clue how to accomplish that. Worked perfectly.

[@qualityphotos1]

An excellent video. Just what I was looking for. Thank you :)

[@johnmoniz3169]

Great video Ronen, really helpful.

[@ami6packs]

This is what I was looking for. Thanks for making a video on it.

[@vladimirastrelin1719]

Thanks a lot for your great tutorial. Very useful!

[@marioxxx888]

Amazing explanation; It helped alot!!! Quick Tip, If you wanna Pad over a curved surface, follow the video and don't cut any holes (Pocket, Hole) till finishing the 3D Model

[@qgysugfq3935]

beautiful. exactly what i needed for my project.

[@lesrehklau1965]

worked like a charm, thanks

[@haroldcampos9661]

Wow! Thanks so much. (I made a phone/tablet stand which is just like an 'S' shape with a little shelf; but padded sideways, and I needed to make a hole for a charging cable!). I also used the same 2d method and made a keyboard shelf that just hangs off the bar on a small cart with drawers and I put a all-in-one pc on top of. I actually made two shelves one for each side of the cart, but used one skin on the second one and it cracked when I used the heat gun to put it around the bar but lesson learned (I didn't need to punch a hole for that one I just put in the sketch), but it also rests on the cart for the lower end so it doesn't just swing and behind where it rests there is a channel for running the cord around to the other side and so it doesn't drag on the floor either. I'm new to printing and those 2d designs are my favorite right now. Will remember datum planes now. I always also make the mistake of choosing "make hole" instead of pocket knowing it won't work, but now that you explained it I have no excuse not to know! But for some reason it wanted to cut above the plane so I had to reverse the pocket and it worked for me. (My design is terrible actually because it didnt even have proper measurements and I had to print it at 200%, but the splines did everything so I went with it and got a product that works haha) Take care and I subscribed.

[@peterhalverson929]

Thank you! Very helpful.

[@deonhugo3442]

Thank you very much. Was most helpful

[@cray986]

I was trying to do basically the same thing but by offsetting the sketch with regard to the axis. I'm not sure what the substantive difference is between either process but at least something works.

[@AshbossG]

thanks help me out alot with my diy project

[@nosbig6462]

Great video! Helped me with a part I need for a progect.

[@CreatewithTech]

Great! I'm glad you found the video helpful. RG

[@robthetinkerer2308]

Thank you.

[@amplegfx]

thank you sir. respect and love from pakistan

[@Enjoymentboy]

This is absolutely BRILLIANT!!!! Thank you VERY much!!!! I was having no end of fits trying to figure this out and as a beginner I was not pleased. You answered my questions perfectly and you explained it in EXACTLY the way my brain needed. I've never been one to learn by being taught all the features but instead shown how to do a specific set of tasks and your video hit the nail on the head. Thank you so very much for taking the time to share this.

[@CreatewithTech]

Excellent! I'm glad this was helpful to you. RG

[@Enjoymentboy]

@@CreatewithTech It really was. I'm still hammering away trying to get so much of this FreeCAD info to sink in and much of it is. The one I cannot seem to figure out, nor wrap my head around, is how to create a sunken pocket at the end of a tube. Ie OD 20mm and ID 16mm tube with an 12mm ID indent at one end 3mm deep. Basically think of a tube as wide as a quarter with a cutout in the end that would allow a penny to sit in flush with the end. I've figured out how to do it with two separate pieces but not how to join them. Still trying though. :)

[@Enjoymentboy]

@@CreatewithTech I've been making excellent use of this so again I thank you. I have stumbled into a problem and I don't know if (or what) I am doing something wrong. I am trying to create a square pocket through a curved surface but no matter what I do following these steps here I just get a single vertical line on the face after I create the pocket. If I use the exact same steps with a circle in the sketch I get the pocket I'm looking for. But with a square in the sketch I can't get the pocket to form.

[@CreatewithTech]

@@Enjoymentboy Hi there. Sorry for the late reply but the last couple of days have been very busy and I haven't been able to try this. I'll try it tomorrow and let you know what I find. RG

[@Enjoymentboy]

@@CreatewithTech Well you certainly have nothing to apologise for. Life has a way of getting in the way of things. lol I've found a way to muddle around this in that I just make two separate tubes stacked on top of one another but I am sure there is a better way to do this. But this I suspect is all part of the FreeCAD learning curve. I'm getting there though.

[@audiodiwhy2195]

Excellent video! Thank you. As a FreeCAD newbie, It's good to hear an experienced user call Freecad what it is--unintuitive. As a newbie I was super stumped by a "hole" not cutting a simple hole (use "pocket", didn't know that, after watching your video, now I do). I know FreeCAD is free, but really--Why is "pad" not called "extrude"? Why can't "hole" cut the same simple holes as "pocket"? Anyway, seeing that pocket cuts holes and not to use holes to cut holes got me out of a pocket, er, I mean a hole that I was stuck in for hours. So to put it in datum plane English: your video padded me out of the pocket.....

[@Youshallbeeatenbyme]

Man, this is much easier than what I was doing to make holes in curved surfaces. Lol.

[@LeskovPV]

Спасибо!

[@nagesharas5136]

Thanks for this excellent video! At 8:52, you mention that to turn off the visibility of any selected node in the model tree, we have to press the RETURN key (= the ENTER key). But this key does not work: We have to press Space Bar to toggle the visibility on/off.

[@CreatewithTech]

Thank you for your comment. It's appreciated. That was my mistake. You are absolutely correct -- the only way to turn off the visibility is to press the Space Bar.

[@sysghost]

Exactly what I needed to know. I knew datum planes was the answer but I could not figure out the entire procedure. Kept getting errors. The answer I needed was to move the datum plane in front of the cylinder and not inside it.

[@rccasual7525]

thank you. free cad is annoying sometimes for no reason. thanks to ppl put it together though. real public service.

[@CreatewithTech]

Yes, it can be annoying sometimes. I think it's true of all CAD programs though, not just FreeCAD. Anyway, if you found this video helpful, I'm glad. RG

[@TheMajdi86]

It is possible to design helical joint using freecad?

[@ChakaHamilton]

Create video, I've been trying to figure this out for a bit now. How would we make holes on the face of around object but parallel to the face is that possible.

[@mk1479]

Excellent again... Followed you on my freecad. I have ver. 0.20.1 which is slightly different, but not a train smash.. I was pulling the little hair I have left trying to design a conical/truncated cone lighthouse, but could not find how to create doors and windows. This is exactly what was needed. Thanks again... Brilliant channel.

[@rohitthakur6001]

I have to make (0.5×0.5) mm holes on a PET sheet which I have. or can u guide me to a source where i can learn that?

[@CreatewithTech]

I think for that you'll need some kind of a laser cutter. I've never done that though so I can't give you any more specifics. Good luck.

[@emcofan]

5 minutes into the video you are moving the datum plane into the Z-direction, but Z is pointing upwards. My guess would be (i'm just a beginner) you have to move in the Y-direction. Is this a bug or what do i not understand?

[@liszcgsedt]

Wow, thanks a lot! I spent about a day (yes, on the "hole" tool, but these are my first steps with freecad ever, so I guess...) before I had to admit I may need to read a book. :D This has indeed helped a lot! Why there is nothing like "insert a [shape] and make it a negative space" such as in the tinkercad tool??

[@CreatewithTech]

Yes, this is a complicated program. Sometimes the tools can be a bit mystifying.

[@robertjohnloftus]

Actually there is. You just make another shape in the parts menu like going through the cylinder, and then use the cutout button. If you select them both using the CTRL button, the second one selected will be the shape cut out of the first shape selected. That's how I pretty much do all my cutouts, but I guess that's kind of hacky

[@liszcgsedt]

@@robertjohnloftus Yea, thanks, I figured out in the meantime. Things are often so different once one gets accustomed to something ... and I frankly do not play with FreeCAD often enoug to keep all the techniques in my head. I keep missing those small things such as moving two or three objects together to merge or hollow them out ... although I certainly did that in some tutorial.

[@marekzyla1659]

however, when you change the proportion of the cilinder, for ex. make it wider, the support plane will be fixed where it was and eont be touching the surface againg. In Inventor and Crro it is possible to fix it without adding distances in mm and when cilinder changes, the support plane moves too. Thats what I am looking for right now

[@CreatewithTech]

If I understand you correctly what you're talking about are the parametric options in FreeCAD which I didn't touch on in this video. Using the parametric options you should be able to do what you describe. If you do a search for parametric modeling in FreeCAD you may be able to find what you're looking for. RG

[@EJK1949]

Don't use a datum plane. Rather, once you pad the cylinder create a normal sketch on the XZ plane. Press the 'View Section' button on the Sketcher Toolbar so you can see the sketch. Create your hole and constrain the diameter and vertical dimension as in the video. Close the sketch and select the Pocket button. In the Pocket window, change the type to 'Through All' and check the box 'Symmetric To Plane'. Press OK. Repeat the procedure on the YZ plane. You should now be able to change the diameter of the cylinder to whatever you want and the holes will always go through.

[@petrsedlak4761]

I thought that I can move from fusion360 to freecad, but I'm not willing to spent two weeks just by creating few holes.

[@HK-uq9by]

Nice video, thanks. is there a way to make one hole and then rotate it to make many holes?

[@CreatewithTech]

You may be able to use the Polar or Linear Pattern tool to do what you're describing. You'll find it in the Part Design bench. RG

[@HK-uq9by]

@@CreatewithTech Thanks and have a good day.

[@spaghettigod1794]

doesn't work im creating a hole through a sphere when click create pocket it disapear

[@CreatewithTech]

It should work on a sphere. I'll try it and let you know. Thanks.

[@davido4793]

why is it better to do this with a datum plane? I see an option to offset the sketch (select sketch, sketch menu --->reorient) ??

[@CreatewithTech]

And this allows you to make a hole on a curved surface?

[@dooo679]

@@CreatewithTech yeah try it

[@CreatewithTech]

@@dooo679 Can you please explain step by step how you go about doing this? If you try to create a sketch on a curved surface FreeCAD throws an error without a planar plane. I don't see how the reorient option allows you to create a hole on the curved surface of an object.

[@dooo679]

You're the one with the "how to tech" channel, empower yourself my friend! Let me repeat "SKETCH MENU --> REORIENT SKETCH".

[@CreatewithTech]

@@dooo679 Right! I am the one with a tech channel and I tried what you said...while your way makes a hole on a flat surface, it doesn't seem to make a hole on a curved surface. This is why I asked for more clarification. Are you saying that you can make a hole on a curved surface with the technique you're using, so on the curved part of a cylinder? Thanks.

[@itzik4x6zh]

I'm looking for E MAIL Of RONEN

[@CreatewithTech]

Hello Itzik...may I ask why?

[@itzik4x6zh]

@@CreatewithTech We may be relatives

[@CreatewithTech]

@@itzik4x6zh Yes, I think we may be. Is your brother's name Roy? My email is [e-mail]

[@magnusbeischer1264]

Not necessary at all to use a datum plane for this. Just make sketch number 2 as anormal sketch in the middle of the cylinder and make a pocket. Much easier.

[@pcdoc2000]

This is probably the most complicated way to do this. Just use the normal xz and YZ plane and select "symmetrical" when using the whole function. Or just do it once and do a circular pattern. Die the second axis.

[@CreatewithTech]

Yes, thank you...I made another video showing the simpler method... kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3TEmWSnpqufjq8 ...and even in this new video I didn't use the "symmetrical" option and "view section" options which would make it even simpler. RG

[@petrsedlak4761]

Ok, this was simple. And now three holes. This software sucks! Not all is in xz or yz plane.

[@stustockwell]

Far too much talking

[@CreatewithTech]

Can't please everybody!

[@motorheadproductions865]

For some reason whenever I move the datum plane it just gets taller and bigger, it doesnt move. Any ideas?

[@motorheadproductions865]

I just answered my own question, just mess around with clicking different planes in the attachment modes, then change the values of the Attachment Offset (in local coordinates), until the plane is in a desired place. Just gotta play around with it, I originally was trying to move the plane I think parallel to the origin planes, creating some sort of redundant effect. Also dont forget the flip sketch feature on the bottom if your sketching on the wrong side.