[JDPhillips]

I want to place holes around a cylinder as discussed in this thread, but I need to make them _parametric_, so that I can slide them around after drawing them, both along the cylinder axis and in azimuth. I do not need to change the number of holes after drawing them.

This seems to contradict an Autocad paradigm, that one establishes a sketch plane which is *not* adjustable parametrically, and works parametrically in it. Is my impression correct, and does anyone know a workaround?

For example, I can put a sketch or work plane perpendicular to the cylinder axis, but I don't know how to set up an adjustable dimension between that plane and the cylinder base. Further, I don't know how to make holes without a work plane perpendicular to each hole, at least perpendicular to the first hole of an array of holes. And I don't know how to set up an adjustable angular dimension to the first hole of the array.

I'm using Mechanical Desktop 2004 DX, but I'm not wedded to it, and if someone convinces me that this is easy in Inventor, I'll learn enough of that to do the job.

Thanks.

Jim