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Thread

TUpdated v2.3.7

At a glance

  • 40+ standard thread series: UNC, UNF, Metric, ACME, NPT, and more
  • Multi-select — thread a dozen same-size holes in one operation
  • Threads through existing chamfers; add a 45°/60° chamfer as you thread
  • Cosmetic mode (annotation metadata) or Modeled mode (helical cut geometry)

The Thread tool (T) applies threads to any cylindrical face — a bolt shank, a bored hole, or a turned feature. Click a cylinder and JetCad3 reads its diameter and suggests matching sizes from the selected series automatically.

Thread many holes at once

Picking stays live after the first hole: keep clicking and every hole the selected size can produce joins the batch — even across different bodies. Each selected hole gets its own row in the dialog with an × to remove just that one, and hovering a row lights up the matching hole in the viewport. OK creates an independent Thread feature per hole, so each one stays editable on its own.

Mixed drill practice is fine — a hole drilled at the proper tap drill and one drilled at nominal both take the same thread, and the finished form is spec-sized either way.

Chamfers

  • Thread through an existing chamfer. A hole that was already chamfered threads correctly: the tool measures the true hole through the cone, the thread runs out through it the way a real tap leaves it, and the chamfer survives. Works chamfered on one end or both.
  • Chamfer and thread in one step. Tick Chamfer entry (and optionally Also chamfer far end on through holes) right in the dialog — pick 45° or 60°, size it by surface diameter (auto-sized to the thread by default) or by depth. Inline warnings stop a chamfer that's too small for the thread or too deep for the hole.

Cosmetic vs modeled

Cosmetic threads attach the thread spec to the face as metadata: fast, light, and what you want for drawings and documentation. Modeled threads cut real helical geometry into the part — built on exact helical surfaces, a typical bolt or tapped hole computes in well under a second and produces a clean, valid solid you can export or 3D print. The preview shows exactly what OK produces.

Standards

  • UNC, UNF, and the full inch series with 1A/2A/3A fit classes
  • Metric coarse and fine
  • ACME and other trapezoidal forms
  • NPT tapered pipe threads — modeled on the correct cone angle, 1/8-27 through 2-11.5
  • Optional rounded crest form for modeled threads
  • Right-hand or left-hand, on external or internal faces

Tips

  • Pick the series first, then click the face — the size list narrows to diameters near the cylinder.
  • Threads live in the feature history like everything else: edit the feature to change series, size, fit, or handedness later, and downstream features rebuild.