SOLIDWORKS Lesson 2: Locate, Cut and Resize a Through Hole

Learning outcome

Locate a 6 mm hole in a 100 × 30 × 5 mm SOLIDWORKS plate, cut Through All, then resize the same sketch to 8 mm without moving its centre.

Before you start

Beginner lesson · 6:26 · English. Start with a copy of the final 5 mm plate from Lesson 1 and work in millimetres. This lesson uses genuine SOLIDWORKS screen recordings with AI-assisted English narration and illustrated presenters, Edgaras and Eve.

Step-by-step guide

Select the large flat face of the plate, start a sketch and draw a circle near one short end (00:27).
Use Smart Dimension to set a diameter of 6 mm. Check the diameter symbol, not a radius value (01:05).
Set the centre 15 mm from a short end and 15 mm from a long side. Across the 30 mm width, this centres the hole. Check Fully Defined (01:33).
Exit the sketch, choose Extruded Cut and select Through All. Inspect the preview and accept (02:15).
Check one solid body and approximately 14,858.63 mm³ volume. Save a separate 6 mm checkpoint (02:56).
Edit the existing circle sketch. Change only the diameter from 6 to 8 mm and keep both 15 mm location dimensions unchanged (03:50).
Rebuild, verify the 8 mm through hole and approximately 14,748.67 mm³ volume, then save a separate final native part (04:40).

Try it yourself

Repeat the exercise in your own copy of the plate. Keep the starter, the 6 mm checkpoint and the 8 mm final part. Reopen your saved SLDPRT file and check that the hole, position and editable feature history remain intact.

Check your result

The final part has one solid body and an 8 mm Through All hole. Its centre remains 15 mm from the short end and 15 mm from the long side. The plate remains 100 × 30 × 5 mm and the volume is approximately 14,748.67 mm³.

Common mistakes

A radius of 6 mm creates a 12 mm hole, so check the dimension symbol. A correct diameter does not guarantee the correct position: verify both offsets and Fully Defined. Use Extruded Cut, not Boss/Base, and Through All rather than guessing a blind depth. Edit the existing circle instead of adding a second cut.