This activity is likely the second most important lesson in Part Design. How to create a hole in the Active Body.
Once we have a Padded body, or a body with some kind of thickness we can now add holes in the this body.
IMPORTANT: Remember the “Part Design Workbench” works with single contiguous bodies. Cutting a hole in the Active Body, that will result in two distinct bodies will result in an error.
Creating a Pocket
Using a Sketch on a Feature.
The most direct way to add a pocket is to add a Sketch to a face then Pocket that Sketch.
1.) Select the face to which you would like to add the Pocket. Hover over the face and left click with the mouse. If correctly selected the face will turn light green.
2.) Add a new Sketch by clicking the Create Sketch Toolbar Tool
3.) Add the outline of your pocket to the sketch. Be certain that all geometries form a closed shape and do not effectively cut off a portion of the pad.
4.) Close the Sketch when you are finished.
4.) Click the Pocket Toolbar Tool. ( There is also a Hole Tool, this is something else. )
Alternatively you can select the Pocket option now available in the Tasks Tab or the Pocket Command from the Part Design Menu
5.) For this excersize leave all default as is and click OK
You will be left with A Pocket 5 mm deep and the pocket will be active in your Tree View.
Note that the sketch you used to create the pocket is now a descendant of the Pocket. The sketch is the basis for the pocket.