PTC Creo

PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) announced Creo 5.0, the latest release of its Creo 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software that enables users to go from concept to manufacturing in one design environment. Creo 5.0 introduces five new capabilities for product design and offers new productivity enhancements.

With Creo 5.0, concepts can be transformed into smart, connected products, bridging the physical and digital worlds with augmented reality (AR) capabilities in every seat. Creo 5.0 introduces capabilities in the areas of topology optimization, additive and subtractive manufacturing, computational fluid dynamics, and CAM.

“PTC is on the leading edge of some of the hottest technologies today with the Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR), but it has not forgotten its roots in CAD, instead transforming this business by infusing its leading Creo software with new technologies and capabilities,” said John Mackrell, chairman, CIMdata. “Creo 5.0 is yet another example of PTC’s continued innovation and ability to meet customer needs.”

Topology optimization
The physical design of products is often limited by existing designs and practices. Creo Topology Optimization Extension automatically creates optimized designs based on a defined set of objectives and constraints, unfettered by existing designs and thought processes. This helps users save time and accelerate innovation by enabling creation of optimized and efficient parts.

Additive and subtractive manufacturing
Creo enables users to design, optimize, print check, and additively manufacture parts without the need for multiple pieces of software. By streamlining the process and reducing the need to recreate models, more time can be spent focused on what is really important, the design. Creo 5.0 introduces the Creo Additive Manufacturing Plus Extension for Materialise, which extends these capabilities to metal parts, allowing customers to print production-grade parts directly from Creo. Additionally, the extension allows users to connect to the Materialise online library of print drivers and profiles.

The Creo Mold Machining extension provides dedicated high-speed machining capabilities for molds, dies, electrodes, and prototype machining. Creo 5.0 supports 3-axis and 3+2 positioning machining.

Creo Flow Analysis
The Creo Flow Analysis extension is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution, which allows designers, engineers, and analysts to simulate fluid flow issues directly within Creo. The seamless workflow between CAD and CFD allows users to integrate analysis early and often to understand product function and performance. The software is purpose-built specifically for the design engineer and is easy-to-use, directly integrated within Creo, highly accurate, and provides fast results.

Productivity improvements
Creo 5.0 also includes key productivity improvements for the fast-changing world of product design, such as an improved user interface, geometry creation with sketch regions, and volume helical sweeps. Other enhancements include improvements to surfacing, sheet metal design, and the application of draft features involving rounds. Users can also now design in Creo while maintaining perspective display mode.

The Creo Collaboration Extension for Autodesk Inventor enables organizations to consolidate onto a single CAD system, enabling them to reduce the cost and effort associated with maintaining multiple systems and integrations, and enabling better data reuse and resource sharing. Creo 5.0 will now support bi-directional exchange of both parts and assemblies with Autodesk Inventor.

“Product design is fundamentally changing, and Creo continues to evolve to meet the needs of our customers. With Creo, companies can go from the earliest phases of design to a smart, connected product,” said Brian Thompson, senior vice president, CAD Segment, PTC. “Improved functionality and new capabilities, like additive manufacturing, set Creo apart, and give companies a true competitive edge all the way from concept to manufacturing.”

PTC
www.ptc.com/en/products/cad/creo/whats-new

CAD software vendors have touted product usability for a long time. However, they haven’t really delivered on that promise until recently. There were a few software debuts in 2011 that changed that premise. True user usability could lead to a broader CAD audience and a bigger market share.

The product development team at PTC came up with the idea of a creating single program that does everything versus offering diverse programs with no connectedness. The strategy addresses its customer base and the trend toward solid modeling for the masses. Creo 1.0 is the result of that concept. The software currently has nine applications including Creo Parametric, Direct, Illustrate, Schematics, View MCAD, View ECAD, Sketch, and Layout.

The company focused on a group of traditional user problems and applied a core of technologies against them, specific roles having options for modeling modes with the click of an app. Simplifying a process that has plagued engineers and designers for decades makes using the software and being productive all the difference. The Creo GUI is much cleaner than the Pro/E GUI. According to those who have used the new product, the GUI strategy is most evident in Creo Parametric and Creo Direct. PTC leveraged the best features from CoCreate and made it easier to use. The company added features to Creo Parametric that will make Pro/E seem like ancient technology. Creo proves that a feature can live in a history-based and history-free environment keeping the parametric relation to features within each if needed.

Another 2011 debut was SolidWorks 2012 that also sports new features to help a more diverse audience. The software has improvements in assembly and drawing capabilities, built-in simulation, design costing, routing, image and animation creation, and product data management. Dassault Systemes says SolidWorks 2012 will help automate design functions, change product development processes, and extend support for collaboration and connectivity. This technology could change how the software is marketed and sold. The product helps users streamline design processes by removing traditional steps.

Autodesk’s AutoCAD 2012 and Design Suite 2012 series are available in a range of offerings including web and mobile applications. Thus more users have access to the technology and can stay connected to their work no matter where they are. In addition, AutoCAD 2012 and Design Suite 201212 are directly connected to the free AutoCAD WS web and mobility application.

With CAD pretty much saturating the engineering and manufacturing arena, CAD vendors are realizing that pumping out a redressed version of what went out the door at the last launch is not going to work much longer. They have to offer tools that appeal to other audiences. We have seen that starting to happen in the retail, hobby, and jewelry industries where non-engineering types are using 3D programs to crank out new products.

PTC
www.ptc.com

Dassault Systemes
www.3ds.com

Autodesk
www.autodesk.com