Woman working at a desk with an iPad

 

Attention engineers! There’s an easier way to conduct Tolerance Analysis for your CAD designs.

Transforming CAD designs into real and tangible parts is not only rewarding on a personal level but also professionally fulfilling. It combines creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on experience, all culminating in the sense of accomplishment that comes from creating something real from an abstract concept.

 

However, as you already know, physical parts deviate from the idealized representation (the design model) due to many different challenges and manufacturing constraints. Tolerance analysis involves assessing the impact of variations in dimensions, geometries, and other parameters on the final product’s performance and functionality. By utilizing Tolerance Analysis, designers ensure proper fit and alignment of the product components.

 

Improve Quality & Design Innovation

If the goal is to improve quality and design innovation, enable your engineers to perform comprehensive tolerance stack-up analysis. Traditionally this process is a massive pain i.e. repetitive trial-and-error tasks and tedious testing. This part of the design process can be frustrating and often slows down design teams. However, it doesn’t have to be this way!

 

The PTC Creo EZ Tolerance Analysis Extension is a dynamic computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool powered by leading Sigmetrix technology. This extension helps designers by creating a faster, more intuitive workflow to assess the impact of dimensional specifications on your product designs before prototypes or production.

 

The software provides algorithms to help engineers identify the optimal tolerance values that meet the design objectives while considering various constraints. This aids in making informed decisions and reducing the time spent on manual analysis and evaluations.

 

By considering these variations even earlier in the design process, engineers can make more informed decisions to ensure that the final product will perform as intended. Cheers to reinforcing Closed Loop Manufacturing!

 

The Positive Business Outcomes of Using EZ Tolerance Analysis

 

Below is a high-level overview of the positive business outcomes this PTC solution proves to provide for manufacturing companies:

  • Speed time to market
  • Mitigate risk
  • Improve productivity
  • Reduce costs by reducing rework and scrap

How EZ Tolerance Analysis Makes Your Workflow Less Stressful

Intuitive User Interface

Achieve your goals efficiently with minimal frustration. The EZ Tolerance Analysis extension’s user-friendly UI enables you to maintain a flow and continue work without disruptions as it is integrated into the familiar Creo environment. This mitigates any steep learning curve and helps with productivity to get new users up and running quickly and confidently. If you need help getting set up with the technology, give us a shout. We can help maximize your workforce capabilities and your technology investment.

 

Complexity Management

The EZ Tolerance Analysis software provides tools and features to manage complex designs efficiently. It offers intuitive interfaces and workflows that simplify processes regarding defining tolerance features. The extension extracts relevant information directly from your CAD models, reducing manual effort and potential errors. Visual dashboards: say goodbye to tedious spreadsheets.

 

Problem Identification and Resolution

No more flying blind, EZ Tolerance Analysis provides visualizations and statistical outputs that enable engineers to identify potential issues and bottlenecks in the assembly or system. After pinpointing problematic areas, engineers can devise effective solutions – such as adjusting tolerances, redesigning components, or modifying manufacturing processes.

 

Quick Iterative Design Refinement

Perform your “what-if” scenarios quickly and accurately. Using Sigmetrix technology, get immediate feedback on the effects of tolerance adjustments and trade-off analysis. Engineers can quickly refine and optimize tolerances based on the analysis results, reducing the time required for iterations.

Improved Collaboration

The software facilitates collaboration among multidisciplinary teams involved in the design and manufacturing process. Easily share tolerance analysis data, models, and reports via HTML reports to ensure everyone comprehensively understands design intent and can make informed decisions. Visual and data-backed reports can be shared with the shop floor, suppliers, or other stakeholders, facilitating effective communication and collaboration. Providing clear documentation helps to minimize misunderstandings and costly mistakes, saving time and effort in the design and manufacturing process.

Standards and Specifications Compliance

Ensure compliance with built-in libraries of industry standards and specifications. Engineers can access these libraries to ensure that defined tolerances comply with the relevant standards. Ensure compliance with ASME and ISO standards for your designs and create products that align precisely with customer requirements while operating within acceptable tolerances. This feature helps streamline the process of defining tolerance features by providing pre-defined templates and guidelines that match industry requirements.

Overall, EZ Tolerance Analysis empowers engineers to make data-driven decisions, reduce uncertainty, and enhance the efficiency and quality of the design and manufacturing process. It aids in achieving design objectives, meeting customer requirements, and delivering reliable and cost-effective products.

Back-Up Your cad Designs with Stack-Up Analysis

The technology performs comprehensive tolerance stack-up analysis by applying two methods for increased accuracy and precision- worst-case analysis and statistical analysis.

Worst-Case Analysis: Worst-case analysis, commonly employed for critical components, examines the scenario where each component in the stack-up attains its maximum acceptable measurement.

Statistical Analysis: On the other hand, statistical analysis utilizes statistical distribution models to represent the variation of each component. These distributions are then combined to predict the overall distribution of the assembly measurement.

 

 

Related Technologies To Use With Tolerance Analysis

 

Combine Tolerance Analysis with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) to ensure your designs comply with ASME and ISO standards. Or take your designs even further to contain all the data needed to define the product with model-based definition (MBD). With MBD, your model becomes the source authority across the enterprise. The outcome is shorter product development cycles, reduced costs, and enhanced product quality.

 

PTC continues its investments in enhancing simulation-driven design and generative design with the new Creo 10. Some new features include Rotational Symmetry, Mass Point Constraints, and Remote Loads. Additionally, Creo Simulation Live now includes Contact Simulation options and improved options for fluid and structural results. Creo Flow Analysis and Creo Simulation now have better animation and multibody support. 

 

For more Simulation and Analysis, we also recommend PTC’s Creo Simulation Advanced powered by Ansys technology. The brand-new Creo Ansys Simulation Advanced analyzes nonlinear contact and materials, with combined thermal and structural analysis. For more information about the latest release of Creo 10 check out the blog here.

 

Creo Parametric is a powerful computer-aided design (CAD) software that has been helping engineers and designers bring their ideas to life for over 30 years. With the release of Creo 10, users can expect a number of new features and improvements in productivity, designs, and more!

What’s New in Creo 10

Discover Creo 10’s newest improvements and enhancements.

User Interface Enhancements

PTC has made a big splash with the release of Creo 10, including an enhanced user interface.

Split & Trim Tool

Use this tool to quickly and easily split or trim a model, making it painless to work with and modify your model. Additionally, the ability to propagate appearances and references during Boolean operations makes it easier to maintain consistency throughout a project.

Stretch Tool in Warp

Utilize the Stretch Tool to select defined references to stretch models, making it easier to create complex shapes and designs. Users now have the ability to select Datum Planes, Points, Axis, Coordinate Systems, Surfaces, Curves, Facets, and more.

Freestyle and Style Tools

Both tools are enhanced with Rotational Symmetry and Smooth Normal Connection, making it easier to create organic shapes and designs. These tools are perfect for designers who want to create complex, freeform shapes that are difficult to create with traditional CAD tools.

The Model Tree

Creo’s Model Tree tool has been improved, making it easier to restructure and reorder assemblies to reduce confusion and improve the management of complex projects.

New Pattern Parameters

Finally, the pattern capability in Creo 10 enables users to drive pattern member count for nested patterns. Create complex patterns quickly and easily, saving you time and improving overall productivity.

Optimize Your Design

Take your design process to the next level with Creo 10’s newest additions.

Composites

Designing composite materials has never been easier with the new features in Creo. The software now offers a broad set of functionalities for defining ply layup, ply sections, transitions, and ply order. This allows you to create a resulting solid geometry and inner mold line (IML) quilt that meets your exact specifications.

In addition, Creo’s new Splicing and Darting operations, makes it easier to create complex composite designs. Once a design is complete, you can automatically generate a complete plybook documentation of the final layup sequence.

With new composite design features in Creo 10, you can easily create high-quality composite materials that meet your needs and specifications. Whether you’re designing for aerospace, automotive, or any other industry, Creo’s composite design tools can help you create the perfect product.

Electrification

Creo 10 presents new features that streamline and enhance the process of designing for electrification.

Split/Merge Harness Tool for Cabling

One of the most significant additions is the Split/Merge Harness Tool for Cabling. This tool allows users to split a harness into two separate pieces and later merge them back together. This feature is particularly useful when working on complex designs that require multiple harnesses.

Simultaneous Harness Design

Another key feature of Creo 10 is the ability for multiple users to work on the same harness design simultaneously. This collaborative design approach saves time and ensures that everyone is on the same page. The application-centric tree is another useful addition, which provides three different views, including Cables, Bundles, and Connectivity, to make it easier to navigate.

New ECAD Capabilities

Creo 10 includes new ECAD capabilities, such as paste masks and hole parameters. These features make it easier to create accurate designs that meet the specific needs of each project with greater precision and accuracy.

Ergonomics

Creo 10 optimizes and simplifies the design process for ergonomics.

The Visual Field

Perform Reflection Analysis to analyze the reflective properties of objects in the environment and how they impact the user’s visual experience. The reflective object orientation can be controlled by adding a rotation value around one or two axes, giving you greater control over the design process.

Creo Manikin

Another key feature of Creo 10 is the Manikin, which now support multiple reach envelopes, including the index and middle finger, thumb, and center of the palm. Creo Manikin allows designers to create more accurate models of human movement and reach, making it easier to design products that are comfortable and easy to use. Additionally, the Manikin libraries are now stored as inseparable assemblies to provide better management and user access.

Enhancing Model-Based Definition and Implementing the Digital Thread

Creo 10 introduces significant updates to Model-Based Definition (MBD) and Digital Thread capabilities, to better create, manage and access real-time product data across the entire product lifecycle.

Enhanced 3D Model Annotations

One of the most significant additions is the ability for users to relate symbols or surface finishes to other annotations in the 3D model. This feature allows designers to create more accurate and detailed models, making it easier to communicate design intent to other stakeholders and downstream activities.

Creo 10 adds the ability for annotations to inherit their annotation plane from the parent during placement. This feature ensures that annotations are placed correctly and in the right location, saving time and improving accuracy. Additionally, any movement of the related parent annotation would also be applied to related symbols, behaving as a group when being assigned to other combination states.

GD&T Advisor Updates

Creo 10 includes improvements to GD&T semantic behaviors, including general profile tolerances and enhanced compliance with detailing standards. These changes make it easier for designers to create accurate and detailed models, ensuring that the design intent is communicated effectively throughout the product lifecycle.

Furthermore, any changes made to GD&T annotations will automatically update the corresponding semantic references of general profile tolerance. Additionally, Creo 10 now supports straightness and profile of Line Geometrical Characteristics for ISO GPS models. Create more accurate and detailed models, ensuring that the design intent is communicated effectively.

Advanced Simulation and Optimization Capabilities

Creo 10 presents a range of new features that enhance and streamline the process of simulation and optimization.

Support for Non-Linear Materials

This includes Neo-Hookean hyperplasticity, linear orthotropic elasticity, and bi-linear plasticity.

Combined Thermal & Structural Analysis

Another key feature is the support for combined thermal and structural analysis. Enable your designers to easily simulate how a product will perform under both thermal and mechanical loads, ensuring that the design is optimized for real-world conditions.

Support for non-linear contact, including new contact types such as frictional and rough, helps to create more accurate simulations of real-world contact.

Expanded Contact Simulation Options

PTC included improvements to Creo Simulation Live, to improve result options for fluids and structures. Furthermore, Creo Flow Analysis and Creo Simulate now have better Animation and Multi-Body Support.

Rotational Symmetry

Allows designers to create more accurate simulations of rotational components.

Point Mass & Remote Loads

Finally, Creo 10 introduces the ability to add Point Mass and Remote Loads to create more accurate simulations of real-world loads.

Creo 10: Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing

With Creo 10’s latest features, manufacturing processes are now more efficient and effortless. One of the most significant additions is the support for additive manufacturing.

New Lattice Types

This enables your designers to create new beam-based lattice types, including rhombic, rhombic+diamond, dodecahedron, and elongated dodecahedron. For formula-driven lattices, Creo 10 supports simulation-based variable wall thickness and highly efficient I-graph-wrapped (IWP) lattice cell. Additionally, Creo 10 supports Auxetic Cells Structures for 3D printing. Auxetic Cell Lattices produce geometry that exhibit a negative Poisson ratio.

High-Speed Milling

High-Speed Milling supports barrel tools for both wall and floor 5-axis finish, reducing tool path time and improving surface finish quality. Additional control for CUTCOM and clearance has been added to Area Turning, making it easier to create accurate and efficient toolpaths for subtractive manufacturing processes.

Get started with Creo 10 Today

Creo 10 is an exciting new release from PTC that brings a plethora of new features to the design table. Whether you’re a designer or an engineer, Creo 10 is a game-changing tool that will help you create complex shapes and designs, manage projects, and improve productivity for more innovative products.

To learn more about how Creo 10 can positively impact your business or to experience the new features first-hand, book a free demo now.

INTAMSYS Funmat HT Printer - Partnering with EAC Product Development Solutions

EAC and INTAMSYS are partnering to expand 3D printing solutions for the Midwest

EAC Product Development Solutions, a Premier PTC partner, has recently entered into a strategic alliance with INTAMSYS to amplify their concentration and assistance towards Additive Manufacturing concerning product development.

Who is INTAMSYS?

Specializing in high-performance materials, INTAMSYS is a world-renowned expert in advanced solutions for 3D printing and industrial additive manufacturing.

INTAMSYS offers advanced 3D-printing solutions that are fine-tuned to cater to the specific needs of various industries and organizations, with the support of its partner network.

Offering a diverse array of 3D printing hardware, INTAMSYS effectively meets the needs of various industries, including but not limited to Aerospace, Automotive, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Healthcare, and Research.

INTAMSYS operates across multiple locations. They are headquartered in Shanghai (China) with regional offices in Stuttgart (Germany) and Minneapolis (Minnesota), where they extend their services to offer sales, operations, and support for their cutting-edge technology.

“We are very excited to be partnering with EAC Product Development Solutions”, says INTAMSYS CEO Charles Han. “EAC Product Development Solutions have a proven track record with various product development software offerings that strongly reside adjacent to our solutions. We believe this is the beginning of a strong partnership as they further dive into additive manufacturing with INTAMSYS. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they are right down the street from our Minnesota office.”

EAC’s Industry Role

EAC Product Development Solutions, a predominant player in the product development industry, prioritizes staying ahead of the curve by providing top-of-the-line technology solutions to clients while also being responsive to market trends and customer demands. Teaming up with INTAMSYS enables EAC to enhance their market offerings, addressing additional business challenges encountered by their customers.

EAC Product Development Solutions (EAC) provides innovative solutions that transform the way companies design, manufacture, connect to, and service their products. The organizations’ primary objective is to improve and optimize product development systems, with the ultimate goal to help clients succeed in the marketplace.

EAC is renowned for their unparalleled expertise in product development, systems, architecture and innovative solutions, particularly in the areas of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), the Internet of Things (IoT) and Augmented Reality (AR).

“We help businesses and organizations in various industries change the way they design, manufacture and service their products by implementing a two phased digital thread strategy. We first optimize information flow and then transform business processes to enable companies to gain a competitive advantage with faster time to market, less waste, increased innovation, lower costs, and higher profits.” Thane Hathaway

EAC’s Partnership with INTAMSYS

Prior to the partnership, INTAMSYS aimed to form a strong alliance with a technology solutions provider in the Midwest region, renowned for exceptional customer service. After considering various options, INTAMSYS determined that partnering with EAC would result in an unmatched collaboration that would surpass any other potential partnership.

With the ability to leverage EAC’s broad portfolio of technology, services, and solutions; INSTAMSYS plans to enhance offerings revolving around anything from prototypes to functional real-world end-use parts that encompass real material properties for production, manufacturing, and industrial applications.

Expanding territory coverage and market presence, the partnership greatly aids both organizations, as well as their clientele, providing each to benefit from the proficiencies of one another.

Creo file of part being designed

PTC Creo: Explained

PTC Creo is a powerful 3D modeling and simulation software that helps engineers and designers to create virtual prototypes of their products. The software is used in many industries, such as aerospace, automotive, medical devices, consumer electronics and more.
PTC Creo provides users with a wide range of features including:

  • Modeling capabilities for creating complex shapes using parametric geometry or direct modeling tools

  • Test your designs before they’re manufactured

  • An integrated environment where you can work on multiple projects simultaneously without having to switch between different programs

The Benefits of PTC Creo

This powerful 3D CAD software offers advanced tools for product development, including:

  • Cost-effectiveness – The ability to create high quality products at lower costs through an improved design process. This effective simulation tool saves you money on

  • Improved accuracy – The ability to create accurate designs faster with less manual intervention.

  • Speed of design – A streamlined workflow enables you to quickly move from concept to reality by automating repetitive tasks so you can focus on what matters most – your ideas!

Creo Parametric CAD design with dimensions

Creo Parametric

One of the key features of PTC Creo is its parametric design capabilities. This means that users can create models that are based on a set of parameters, such as dimensions or material properties. If any of these parameters change, the model will automatically update to reflect the new values. This can save a lot of time and effort in the design process, as designers don’t have to manually update every aspect of the model.

Creo Simulation

PTC Creo also includes a range of simulation tools using Creo Simulate or Simulate Live, which allow designers to test their models under various conditions. For example, they can simulate how a product will perform under different loads or temperatures. This can help to identify any potential issues before the product is manufactured, saving time and money in the long run on prototype waste.

You save time and money on production runs of components made from materials such as steel or plastic resin molds. There is no worrying about unexpected costs due to mistakes made during manufacturing process because of pre-printing simulation with Creo. Without simulation, there could be overproduction waste due poor quality control measures and lack of environmental testing.

Another useful feature of PTC Creo is its collaboration tools. With this software, multiple users can work on the same model simultaneously. This can be especially helpful for large design projects, where different teams may be responsible for different aspects of the design.

So, who uses PTC Creo?

As we mentioned earlier, it’s used in a wide range of industries. For example, automotive designers may use it to create models for car parts or assemblies. Aerospace engineers may use it to design aircraft components. And manufacturers may use it to create models of production equipment.

The PTC Creo User Interface

The user interface is where you’ll spend most of your time in PTC Creo. It’s made up of four main sections: Design Tools, 3D Model Creation, Drag-and-Drop Feature and the Model Browser.
The Design Tools section is where you can access all the tools needed for creating your models and assemblies. These include sketching tools for drawing 2D sketches on planes or surfaces; editing tools such as move, copy/paste and rotate; drawing aids like grids; dimensioning tools that let you add dimensions to your designs; assembly creation options that allow users to create assemblies from parts imported into Creo Elements/Pro by means of an external CAD system (such as AutoCAD) or built within Creo Elements/Pro itself; plus many more features!

Support Resources

Tutorials:
PTC has a library of tutorials for all levels, from beginner to advanced. The videos are short and easy to follow, so you can learn the basics in no time.

Documentation:
If you need more detailed information or want to dive into the details of your project, there’s plenty of documentation available on EAC’s website. You can search through the Creo Help Center or look at specific guides that cover topics like creating parts or assemblies in Creo Parametric 3D CAD software.

Creo Experts:
If you have questions about how something works in Creo, ask them here! Our PTC Creo experts are ready to help with any questions, issues or if you want to know how you can optimize your usage of the CAD program.

Conclusion

Creo is a powerful, flexible CAD/CAM software package. It’s used by manufacturers across a variety of industries to create parts and assemblies that are accurate, efficient and cost-effective.
Creo offers an extensive range of capabilities for product development teams:

  • Conceptualize your ideas with intuitive 3D modeling tools that help you quickly visualize your designs before building them in the virtual world.

  • Use parametric design capabilities to create variations on existing models so you can test different options quickly and easily without having to start from scratch each time (and potentially waste time).

  • Create fully functional prototypes using built-in simulation tools that allow you to see how parts will function together before they’re even built!

Connect with one of our experts to see where Creo could positively impact your business processes. If you’re looking to learn more, check out how Creo helped Merrick and the race to space.