Make Custom Cutouts and Complex Models using the Hole Tool in Tinkercad

Hi, it’s Jacob here for another Tinkercad QuickTip. In this video, I’m going to show you how you can turn any shape in Tinkercad into a hole tool – basically a cookie cutter – and how you can then merge shapes together to create some really interesting and intricate designs.

Here, I haven’t got anything interesting or intricate… I’ve just got a yellow cuboid. Next to it, I’ve placed an orange cylinder. I want you to imagine this cylinder boring a tunnel straight through that cuboid. It’s not sitting on top – it’s passing right through the space.

At the moment, both of these shapes are solid. Neither one is cutting into the other. But if I tap on the cylinder and open up the Inspector, next to the colour picker you’ll see an option called Hole. When I tap this, it turns grey with some diagonal stripes to show it’s now a cut-out shape.

Now we can do the clever part.

With the hole in place, I’m going to select both objects – the cuboid and the cylinder – and then tap the Group button on the top toolbar. After a moment, you’ll see what’s happened: the cylinder disappears and leaves a perfect circular tunnel through the cuboid.

At this point I’ve got a brand-new custom shape. But here’s the amazing part – if I double-tap that grouped object, it opens up the group so I can edit the original components. For example, I can move the cylinder upwards so it doesn’t cut all the way through but instead creates a little dip or holder in the middle. When I tap away, the group re-forms automatically and my edit is applied. It now looks more like a tealight holder.

This is a simple demo, but the hole tool can do far more. For example, you might want rounded corners. So if I bring in a cube and another cylinder, I can create a rounded corner by turning the cylinder into a hole, placing it over the cube’s corner, and grouping them. That creates a new shape – and I can even turn that shape into a hole too.

Now I’ve got a brand-new cookie cutter shape I can use repeatedly. I can place it on any corner of my yellow block, group them together, and instantly create rounded edges.

Once you get the hang of it, you can use holes to build really complex and interesting models. It’s incredibly powerful.

If you want to learn more about Tinkercad, I’ve made a full playlist of QuickTips showing AR mode, the Scribble tool, grouping and duplication, and lots more. It’s all completely free and an amazing tool for students. I’ll see you soon for another Tinkercad QuickTip.