{"id":118277,"date":"2026-10-02T23:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T23:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/?p=118277"},"modified":"2026-10-02T23:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T23:53:08","slug":"solidworks-thread-modeling-realistic-cosmetic-rendering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/filetage-solidworks-cosmetique-reel\/","title":{"rendered":"Threads in SOLIDWORKS: Cosmetic or Real\u2014Which to Choose and How to Create Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>TL;DR:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Default styling: light, standardized, legible in plan view.<\/li>\n<li>Intended solely for 3D printing, realistic rendering, or mesh simulation.<\/li>\n<li>Actual threads make the assembly much heavier: never use them on standard fasteners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr>\n<p>In 90 % of cases, we want a <strong>cosmetic threading<\/strong> : a standardized, lightweight representation that appears correctly in drawings and bills of materials, without modeling the threads. It is created using the\u2019<strong>Drilling Aid<\/strong> (tapped holes) or Insert \u2192 Annotations \u2192 Cosmetic Thread (on a cylinder). The <strong>actual thread pitch<\/strong> (Thread tool, from <a href=\"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/solidworks\/\">SOLIDWORKS<\/a> (2016) is used only for 3D printing, local simulation, or a part where the mesh is the feature.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"cosmetique-trou\">Cosmetic Threading on a Hole: The Drilling Wizard<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Functions tab \u2192 <strong>Drilling Aid<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Type: <strong>Threaded hole<\/strong> ; ISO standard; size (e.g., M8); finish specification.<\/li>\n<li>\"Positions\" tab: Click the face, place the points, and add dimensions.<\/li>\n<li>Validate: The hole is drilled to the specified diameter and features an M8 decorative thread, with automatic dimensioning in the drawing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"cosmetique-cylindre\">Cosmetic threading on a cylinder (screw, shaft)<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Select the circular edge at the end of the cylinder.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Insert \u2192 Annotations \u2192 Cosmetic Thread<\/strong>. Standard, size, depth (or \u00abup to the shoulder\u00bb).<\/li>\n<li>In the drawing, enable the display of decorative threads (Options \u2192 Document Properties \u2192 Appearance): the standard thin lines will appear.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"filetage-reel\">Actual Threading: The Threading Tool<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Functions tab \u2192 <strong>Thread<\/strong> (or Insert \u2192 Functions \u2192 Thread).<\/li>\n<li>Select the starting circular edge. Profile type: ISO metric, size, method: <strong>Remove<\/strong> (external thread on a cylinder) or <strong>Extruder<\/strong> (attached net).<\/li>\n<li>Length or number of turns, starting offset for the thread entry.<\/li>\n<li>Confirm. The mesh is modeled in 3D.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"piege\">The Pitfall to Watch Out For<\/h2>\n<p>The actual thread on an M8 screw weighs more than an entire housing. In an assembly of 200 screws, that\u2019s what causes the system to freeze up. Rule: Standard fasteners = Toolbox with cosmetic threads; actual threads are reserved for one-of-a-kind parts where they really matter.<\/p>\n<section class=\"omc-faq\" aria-labelledby=\"omc-faq-article\">\n<p class=\"omc-faq__eyebrow\">FAQ<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"omc-faq__title\" id=\"omc-faq-article\">Frequently asked Questions<\/h2>\n<details class=\"omc-faq__item\">\n<summary>Do cosmetic threads appear in 3D prints?<\/summary>\n<p>No, that's an annotation, not geometry. To print a thread, you need the actual thread (Thread tool), and you often need to slightly oversize it depending on the printer.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"omc-faq__item\">\n<summary>How do I show cosmetic threads in a drawing?<\/summary>\n<p>Options \u2192 Document Properties \u2192 Layout \u2192 Check the box to display cosmetic fillets and, if necessary, the shaded display. Cross-sectional views show them as standard thin lines.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/section>\n<p>See also in our knowledge base: <a href=\"https:\/\/hub.ohmycad.com\/fr\/kb\/realiser-un-taraudage\/filetage-solidworks\">Creating a Thread in SOLIDWORKS<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Further Reading<\/strong> : Find <a href=\"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/solidworks-tutorials\/\">All of our SOLIDWORKS tutorials<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/training\/\">SOLIDWORKS Training by Ohmytraining<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cosmetic by default, real for 3D printing: step-by-step guides for both methods and the pitfall of assemblies that freeze.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[498],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutoriels-astuces"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118312,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118277\/revisions\/118312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohmycad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}