Hole Feature vs. Extrude Cut: When Practitioners Choose Which

A recurring beginner question across CAD forums (NX, SolidWorks, Fusion 360 communities): why use a dedicated Hole feature instead of just sketching a circle and extruding a cut? Practitioner consensus, aggregated across several forum threads, is consistent enough across platforms to be a useful general rule for NX modelers.

When to use the Hole feature

• The Hole command directly supports counterbore, countersink dimensions, and drill point angle — if you need any of those, Hole is the faster and more correct path.
• If the design intent is a "standard" hole (a clearance hole for a specific fastener size, a tapped hole of a specific class of fit), the Hole feature carries the appropriate standard dimensions and can automatically generate the hole note for drawings — something a plain extruded cut does not give you.

When an extruded cut is preferable

• For non-standard geometry (odd shapes, non-round cuts, features that aren't really "a hole" in the fastener sense), a sketch + extrude cut is often easier or more flexible than trying to force the Hole command to do something it wasn't designed for.
• Cosmetic threads can still be added to an extruded cut — it just becomes another feature in the model tree rather than a property of the Hole command itself.
• An extruded cut in lieu of a Hole feature is not inherently a problem for downstream fastener/hardware workflows — teams sometimes over-worry about this. The main real loss is the automatic hole note on drawings.

Practical rule of thumb

Use the Hole feature by default for genuine fastener holes (you get the note generation and standard callouts for free); reach for extrude-cut when the feature isn't really a "hole" in the mechanical-fastener sense, or when you need geometry the Hole dialog doesn't directly support.

Sources: Hole feature in assembly level / NX1973 — Eng-Tips, general cross-platform forum discussion (Autodesk/SolidWorks communities) on the same question, referenced for the underlying rationale that applies equally to NX.