Problem

The Thread tool in SOLIDWORKS comes with many standard thread sizes available. However, what if you need to model a size that isn’t already included? This article will walk you through the process of adding a new custom thread size to the thread tool.

Solution

Follow the steps below to locate the Thread Profile files and modify them to create a Custom Thread:

1. Go to Tools > Options > File Locations and set the dropdown to “Thread Profiles”.

2. Browse to the file location listed. The default location is: C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS 2026\Thread Profiles. Note: If the ProgramData folder is hidden on the C drive, enable "Hidden Items" in the Windows Explorer settings from the View Tab on Windows 10 and View > Show > Hidden Items on Windows 11.

3. These SLDLFP (Library Feature Part) files contain all the data for the different thread sizes available in the Thread tool. They will always open as Read Only in SOLIDWORKS.

   

4. Open SOLIDWORKS and go to File > Open, and browse to your thread profiles file location
5. Open the existing file that most closely matches the type of thread to add. In this example, we will use the Inch Die file.

6. For the warning about Read-Only access, select “Open Read-Only” in the dialog window. Note: The default thread profiles MUST be opened Read-Only, so any changes or edits made will be saved as new files with new file names. 

7. Once the file is open, go to the Configuration Manager and delete all but one of the configurations. 

8. For the warning about making changes to a Read Only file, click "OK" on the warning to continue

9. Go back to the Feature Manager, right-click on the “ThreadProfile” sketch, and select “Configure Feature”

10. Right-click the Configuration Name to rename the existing configuration to whatever name makes sense for the custom thread size. 

11. Enter values for the Pitch, Profile_Land, and Profile_Height dimensions. See the image below for where these dimensions correspond to on the thread profile sketch.

12. To add multiple thread sizes, add more configurations to the table by clicking in the “Creates a new configuration” box and typing the name of the new configuration.

13. Once done adding all custom data, click “Apply” and then “OK” to close the configuration window

14. Go to the Configuration Manager again, and confirm that all the new configurations have been added

15. Go to File > Save As and give the file a name. This is the name we will see under the “Type” dropdown in the Thread tool. Save the new file to the same location as the other thread profiles.

16. Close the thread profile Library feature part
17. Open a new or existing part with a cylindrical body in it, and start the Thread tool.

18. Select the new file in the “Type” dropdown and test out the new custom sizes in the “Size” dropdown.

For additional support, existing customers can submit a ticket or new customers can contact Hawk Ridge Systems.