Hole Management Definition
- Last UpdatedNov 27, 2025
- 6 minute read
The Hole Management Definition window allows the user to specify what type of hole (or holes) will be created in the penetrated item.
The Hole Management Definition window will display different input criteria depending on the Hole Shape Selection Class.
If the Class is set to Standard Types then the Hole Management Definition window will display as follows:
Single or Merged hole penetrations
The first part of the window specifies the type of hole that will be created in the penetrated item. If there is only one penetrating item then the Single or Merged hole penetrations part of the window will be ghosted.
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Single |
This option creates one hole for each penetrating item. All penetrating items will share the same hole definition parameters. |
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Merged |
Select this option to create a single hole that contains all of the penetrating items. |
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Add |
Allows another penetrating item to be selected (for example, Pipe) and added to the item(s) already being managed on this window. |
Hole shape selection
There are three main types of hole that can be selected from the Class drop-down option. Depending on what data has been set up by an administrator in the catalogue database the list of selections available in the Class drop-down will change.
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Standard Types |
This option will always be available for selection. Standard Types are pre-defined hole shapes provided by the system |
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Selection Tables |
Hole selection tables appear in the list only if the catalogue has been configured to provide one or more hole selection tables. |
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User Defined Profile |
This option is only available for merged holes. This is a hole shape calculated by the system that contains all penetrating items. This type of hole is not selected from the catalogue. |
After selecting the Class the user must select the hole shape Type. If the Standard Types Class has been selected then a list of pre-defined types can be selected. Otherwise the Type drop-down list will change depending on the data configured by an administrator in the catalogue database.
Hole Size Options
Use the Hole Size Options part of the Hole Management - Definition window to control how the hole size is derived from the 3D model for holes in the Class Standard Types and to indicate whether insulation thickness should be included in the hole size calculation.
Note: The default size and insulation functionality has no effect on user defined holes types and is unavailable for selection for merged holes.
Pipe Penetrations
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Default Size |
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Pipe |
Adds 2* clearance to the minimum size of the hole, the hole size will increase if necessary to be the minimum hole size. The hole size parameters are not reduced to the minimum calculated size unless the Set to Minimum functionality is selected. Note: Catalogue hole size parameters are ignored and the user has full control over the hole size, provided that it is bigger than the minimum hole size. |
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Catalogue |
Calculates the hole size based on the local conditions at each penetration.
If the software finds a pipe component that can control the size of the hole (for example: COUP or adjacent FLAN) and that component has a hole size specified by an AHDI property, the value of the property is used and the clearance is ignored. If the software does not find a pipe component that can control the size of the hole then the tube size is used and the minimum clearance is applied (pipe OD + 2* clearance). The hole size parameters are automatically set to the calculated hole size, and the diameter parameter is greyed out. |
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Insulation |
Adds insulation thickness to the minimum hole size calculation. |
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Pipe + insulation |
Adds insulation thickness if set (pipe OD + 2* insulation thickness). |
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Catalogue + insulation |
Adds 2* insulation thickness to the hole size calculated at each penetration. |
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Minimum Clearance |
Enter the clearance between the penetrated and penetrating item |
HVAC Penetrations
In principle, the HVAC Penetrations functionality acts in the same way as Pipe Penetrations except with a slight difference of the when the Catalogue option is selected.
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Catalogue |
If the software finds an HVAC component can control the size of the hole and that component has a hole size specified by AHDI, AHX or AHY properties, then the value of the property is used and the clearance is ignored. If the software does not find an HVAC component that can control the size of the hole, the duct size is used and the minimum clearance is applied (pipe OD + 2* clearance). |
Hole shape parameters
Depending on the hole shape Type selected, the input criteria under Hole shape parameters will change. For example if Symmetrical (Oval) hole has been selected as the hole type then you will be prompted to enter numeric values for the Width and Height of the hole. The Set to Minimum option can be used to try to find the set of minimum values that will still create a valid hole.
Note: If multiple single penetrations are being created, the affected hole shape parameters will become temporarily disabled after using the Set to Minimum option as each penetration may be of a different size and there is no guarantee as to which of the penetrations the displayed value(s) will correspond.
Positioning
Specify values in following fields to adjust the position of the hole.
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X Offset |
Offset the hole from the position of penetrating item along the X axis. |
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Y Offset |
Offset the hole from the position of penetrating item along the Y axis. |
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Rotation |
Rotate the hole shape fitting around its axis. Specify this value as a numeric value in degrees. |
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Orientate Hole |
Appears only for penetrated items that are not planar (that means, a curved or knuckled surface). This is used to set the direction of the penetration normal to a point selected on the non-planar surface. |
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Panel side |
Appears only for penetration components that may be attached to either side of the penetrated item. |
Information
The penetration purpose for the element is displayed below Information for example PIPE.
Clicking OK on this window creates an entry in the Hole Management system, and creates a Penetration ATTA element on the pipe.
Code
A production code that is stored with Managed Hole data, this code can be extracted and used by a production system.
Note: The production code entered in the system is stored in a dataset under the managed hole association along with other managed hole data. The data element has DKEY= PCOD. The values stored in this data element is a string.
Hole Management Definition: Selection Table Hole Types
When a Selection Table has been selected in the Class drop-down then the window will change to display as follows:
In this example the Class has been set to Piping penetration piece table which is a Selection Table that has been configured in the catalogue database.
Each Selection Table contains one or more penetration sub-classes which can be selected from the Type drop-down list.
The Hole Shape Parameters section of the Hole Management - Definition window previously visible when the Class was set to Standard Types is now replaced by the Hole shape selection section. The drop-down lists represent penetration selection criteria defined in the catalogue database.
As the selections are made in the drop-down lists, the number of penetrations available for selection in the Penetration drop-down is filtered to those penetration components that match the current selection criteria. If the Penetration drop-down contains no entries then there are no items in the catalogue that match the current selection criteria.
The Properties option shows the standard catalogue component parameters window where the dimensions of the penetration piece are defined.
Clicking OK on this window creates an entry in the Hole Management system, and creates a Penetration ATTA element on the pipe.
The next step is to change the status of each new penetration to Requested using the Hole Management window described previously.