Creo, the shorthand name for Creo Parametric, (formerly known as Pro Engineer) is a powerful and intuitive 3D CAD software optimized to address the challenges organizations face as they design, analyze, and share information with downstream partners.

Developed by PTC, the original pioneers of parametric CAD, Creo is a powerful foundational software supporting an integrated family of product design tools used by thousands of manufacturers worldwide.

The Creo family of design applications, modules, and extension speak a common language, meet the needs of different stakeholders, and truly combine parametric and direct modeling techniques. Creo helps build bridges instead of barriers between you, your ideas, your teammates, your partners, and your customers.

Creo Parametric 3D CAD software can easily be customized and extended through the addition of modules and extensions, but the product family also contains stand-alone purpose build design applications such as Creo Simulate, Creo Direct, Creo Layout & Creo Options Modeler. Each stand-alone app serves a different purpose in the product development process.

From concept to design to analysis, to effectively sharing your information with downstream partners (such as manufacturing and technical publications), Creo is a rock-solid foundation for any design group. It supports the needs of modern manufacturing and product development organizations.

What makes Creo Parametric such a powerful product design and development tool in your company’s quest for a competitive advantage?

There are many unique aspects of the innovative Creo product family – Here are my top 4.

Flexibility

For designers who are involved in multiple phases of the product development process, PTC Creo provides scalable access to the right capabilities. Subscription licensing enables to adjust and right-size their software over time.

For those involved in specific aspects of the product development process, there are apps tailored to meet individual needs. Regardless of your role in the product development process, you can use the right tool at the right time.

Interoperability

All of the products in the PTC Creo family speak the same language. Because of this common language, your data flows seamlessly between different apps. This means no more recreating work as you move through the design process and no more walls to throw your data over.

Combined benefits of both parametric and direct modeling

PTC Creo integrates the power of both 3D CAD modeling approaches into a single system, so you get the power and control of parametric modeling combined with the speed and flexibility that’s only available through direct modeling.

Multi-cad Data Handling

PTC Creo includes an incredible convince ability to work with and edit data from any CAD source. This means no recreating designs because of incompatible data, and no need to ask your partners or customers to change CAD software systems.

Want to learn more about what PTC Creo Parametric 3d CAD software can do for you? Download the Creo Parametric Datasheet or contact us to talk with a technology specialist today!

Download the Creo Parametric Data Sheet

PTC is changing the way Creo Design software is being sold. As of January 1st, 2018 new 3D modeling software licenses for PTC’s core solutions are only available by subscription in North America.

This makes it easier for users to utilize new functionality and keep up with the latest release of PTC Creo Parametric CAD software. It also gives organizations the flexibility to choose a 3D CAD package according to specific needs at a given time, and ensures access to the latest capabilities and premium support.

Changes in PTC Creo CAD Packaging

PTC has retired and consolidated the following CAD packages into one of 4 new tiered PTC Creo Parametric Design packages: Essentials, Essentials Plus, Essentials Premium, Engineer 1, Essentials Team, Engineer 2, Engineer 3, and Engineer 4.

You can see from the table below that Creo Design Essentials (T1) replaces Essentials, Essentials Plus, Essentials Premium, and Engineer 1; Creo Design Advanced (T2) replaces Essentials Team and Engineer 2; Creo Design Advanced Plus (T3) replaces Engineer 3; Creo Design Premium (T4) replaces Engineer 4; and Creo Design Premium Plus (T5) is an entirely new package that becomes the fifth tier for the new Creo packaging.

New PTC Creo Design Packages

With Creo Parametric and its extensions you can create, analyze, view, and share designs using 2D CAD, 3D CAD, parametric design and direct modeling capabilities along with additive manufacturing, model-based definition (MBD), and smart connected design. Every package includes the industry’s most comprehensive set of 3D CAD tools to allows you to design with maximum potential.

Every package comes with the Core Capabilities and the power to publish, share, and create augmented reality experiences right inside of your 3D CAD models. This allows you to add value to your customer experience because they can now visualize your design with AR.

Here’s a breakdown of what is included in each package:

Creo Design Essentials

  • Creo Parametric
  • Design Exploration Extension
  • Flexible Modeling Extension
  • Human Factors
  • Human Factors Analysis
  • Advanced Framework Extension
  • Collaboration Extension for Autodesk Inventor and SolidWorks
  • Intelligent Fastener Extension
  • Legacy Data Migration Extension
  • Piping and Cabling Extension
  • Render Studio Extension
  • Mathcad Express
  • Simulation Elite (Linear Structural Analysis)

Creo Design Advanced

**includes everything in Design Essentials and also includes:

  • Prismatics and Multi-Surfaces Milling Extension
  • Advanced Assembly Extension

Creo Design Advanced Plus

**includes everything in Design Advanced and also includes:

  • Interactive Surface Design Extension II
  • Behavioral Modeling Extension
  • Mechanism Dynamics Extension
  • Additive Manufacturing Extension – Standard
  • Tolerance Analysis Extension
  • GD&T Advisor Extension
  • Tool Design Extension
  • Expert Moldbase Extension
  • Mold Machining Extension
  • Layout Extension

**includes everything from Advanced Plus and also includes:

  • Collaboration Extension for CATIA V4 and V5
  • Collaboration Extension for NX
  • Simulation Extension
  • Fatigue Advisor Extension
  • Flow Analysis
  • GD&T Advisor Plus
  • Production Machining Extension
  • NC Sheetmetal Extension
  • Mathcad

Creo Design Premium Plus

**includes everything from Design Premium and also includes:

  • Advanced Simulation Extension
  • Complete Machining Extension
  • Flow Analysis Plus
  • Options Modeler Extension
  • Topology Optimization
  • Additive Manufacturing Extension – Plus

For more details on the extensions in each of the new packages, watch our webinar replay, “New PTC Creo Design Packages Overview.”

FAQ on New Packaging

Q: What is the price for existing customers upgrading to the new packages?
A: If you already have a subscription license, then you may upgrade to the new packaging through a contract amendment. If you are still on a perpetual license, then you may convert and upgrade at the same time and pay the subscription conversion price.

Q: Do the new packages contain PTC Windchill?
A: Creo Design Advanced (Tier 2) contains Windchill PDM essentials. Design Advanced Plus, Design Premium, and Design Premium Plus is bundled with Navigate Author, MCAD Data Management I, BOM Management, and Project Management at no increased cost. These three packages will also be available without PDM.

  • Q: Do we offer node-locked licenses?
    A: We offer a locked license for Design Essentials and Design Advanced only.

Q: Can I still buy Creo extensions that are now bundled in the new packages?
A: Yes, all extensions will still be available to be purchased separately. If you are subscribing to a new package that does not contain an extension that you need, that extension will be available separately.

Q: Are trials for the Creo software available online?
A: Yes, you can download a free 30-day trial here

Q: How would upgrades work if I already have subscription license?  Do I pay the difference on the remaining contract?
A: Subscription upgrades are handled through a contract amendment. You would pay the difference between your current package and the upgraded package.

If you have more questions or would like to talk to us about the new Packages and Pricing, then contact us and we’ll give you more information.

Looking to make some major advances in innovation and digital transformation at your company? Check out how PTC Creo is the leading 3D CAD software in the industry.

I’ll start off explaining to you what exactly PTC Creo Parametric is and what it does for your design process.

What is PTC Creo Parametric?

PTC developed a premium parametric and direct computer-aided design (CAD) modeling software called Pro/ENGINEER. Pro/E was rebranded into PTC Creo Parametric and is now the leading product design software in the product development industry. Over 12,000 manufacturing companies worldwide use PTC Creo (Pro/E) software.

PTC Creo software gives you the ability to work with and edit data from almost any CAD source without recreating designs due to incompatible data. Creo provides a robust and scalable 3D CAD product design toolset for all different skill-levels of engineers and designers. With Creo CAD software you can quickly create 3D models of any part or assembly and improve existing designs with comprehensive surfacing capabilities.

PTC Creo Parametric provides 3D capabilities such as:

  • 3D Part & Assembly Design
  • Automatic 2D Drawing Creation
  • Parametric & Freestyle Surfacing
  • Assembly Management & Performance
  • Sheet Metal Design
  • Mechanism Design
  • Plastic Part Design
  • Direct Modeling (Flexible Modeling)
  • Additive & Subtractive Manufacturing
  • Augmented Reality
  • Multi-CAD
  • Collaboration
  • Piping & Cabling
  • Rendering
  • Design Exploration
  • Fastener Design
  • Advanced Framework Design
  • Legacy Data Migration
  • Human Factors Design
  • Core Simulation Capabilities

How to Download PTC Creo

“I’m already using another CAD software. How do I know PTC Creo is right for me?” Chances are you like to ride the bike before you buy it, right? That’s why PTC allows you to try it out before you decide to purchase. Download a free 30-day trial of PTC Creo here.

PTC Creo Parametric Software is constantly improving

Every version of Creo is better than the last! For instance, when Creo 4.0 was released it included capabilities for additive manufacturing, model-based definition (MBD), and smart connected design that allows engineers to leverage 3D modeling to define individual components and product assemblies. With Creo 5.0 building on the previous release, it contains all of Creo 4.0’s functionality and more!

The Intelligent Mini Toolbar: the mini-toolbar gives you access to relevant options while staying focused on the graphics area.

Creo Intelligent Mini Toolbar | EAC Product Development Solutions

Customizable Menus: you can now tailor the tool for optimal productivity to customize your own workflow.

Creo customizable menus | EAC Product Development Solutions

Flexible Modeling for Sheet Metal: you can now edit sheet metal bends, bend reliefs, corner reliefs, corner seams, and forms – simplifying designs for faster analysis.

Creo Flexible Modeling for Sheet Metal | EAC Product Development Solutions

Enhancements to Geometry Manipulation: accessibility to side 2 directly from graphics window when you right-click on a feature without navigating to the dashboard each time; the extrude and revolve tools allow you to specify negative direction values to invert materials for offset geometry; extrude is added to offset to eliminate the step of creating intermediate construction features.

PTC Creo 5.0 includes Topology Optimization, Additive/Subtractive Manufacturing for metal 3D printing, Mold Machining, Flow Analysis, Multi-CAD Collaboration, and improved enhancements with geometry sketch regions, subdivisional modeling, surfacing, sheet metal tools, and volume helical sweeps.

Read more about the newest release in our blog called, “What’s New in Creo 5.0?” or download the data sheet here.

Creo Software – Technology of the Future

When you purchase PTC Creo Software, you have the power to publish, share, and create augmented reality experiences right inside of your 3D CAD models. This allows you to add value to your customer experience because they can now visualize your design with AR.

With Creo Parametric, you also have the power of simulating digital twins within your CAD models to collect real-time data from sensors on a physical product. You can reduce downtime while using this data to find performance issues and schedule predictive maintenance.

As the physical and digital worlds converge, digital transformation starting with the right CAD software is more relevant than ever. PTC Creo software eliminates barriers to innovation and is a solution for product development challenges.

Download a free 30-day trial of PTC Creo to see for yourself how the right CAD software gives you the tools you need to design above and beyond anything you’ve ever imagined.

Remember in 1977 when Ken Olson, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said, “there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home”? Boy was he wrong. Not even a leader in the technology industry could predict how quickly our usage of technology would change.

If you don’t make an effort to keep up with the fast pace of technology; you will fall behind. It’s critical that you proactively embrace and move towards digital processes to ensure that future products better meet the needs of customers.  

What better way to keep up with the future than making highly accurate product performance and behavior predictions with the right design tools? 

PTC developed a Creo extension called Creo Product Insight. It lets designers and engineers incorporate the latest sensor technology into their designs.

What is Creo Product Insight?

Creo Product Insight captures and analyzes product data from live sensors on prototypes and products directly within your CAD model. This tool produces a digital twin, an exact replica of a physical prototype in a virtual CAD model, to mirror the performance of a product under real-world conditions.  

How does it work? You add digital sensors from a library directly into your CAD models in Creo. Then you connect them to the data streams from physical products. Whether you’re looking to get more value out of your prototypes, design smart connected products, or use data to improve the quality of existing products, the Creo Product Insight Extension allows you to design smarter. 

So how are organizations keeping up with the digital transformation with the Creo Product Insight Extension?

Improving New Product Design

When you’re improving new product design you’re most likely basing your design decision on assumptions and historical data. This puts you in a difficult spot because you may not have up-to-date-information which may cause inaccurate solutions and error-prone results. 

Creo Product Insight Extension | EAC Product Development Solutions
Sensor data from CAD model shown in picture above

Creo Product Insight allows you to validate design assumptions using real-world data from the field directly in Creo’s simulation and analysis tools. Using this extension also decreases your reliance on building prototypes because it gives you live product performance and behavior. 

Improving Existing and Next-Generation Product Designs 

The absence of real-world product data stunts the optimization of current and future products. If you had access to real-world data, you would be able to validate design criteria against customer usage data and mitigate risk of product failure, warranty, repair, and liability. 

With Creo Product Insight and ThingWorx you can analyze field data and provide meaningful information back to engineering. Using real-world data allows you to identify opportunities for new products in the market and understand over and under engineered designs to reduce product life cycle costs. 

Improving Smart Connected Product Design 

The lack of specialized tools that support smart connected products puts you at risk of falling behind the digital transformation process. When sensors and a strategy to capture real-live data are disconnected from your design process there is no way to deliver the value that your customers deserve out of their products.  

Creo Product Insight gives you the ability to optimize sensor replacements, choose a sensor type, and validate data capture requirement during the design process. The extension creates an integrated design process that delivers optimal value from smart connected products.  

Creo Product Insight Digital Twin | EAC Product Development Solutions
Digital Twins bring value to design engineers by showing one twin’s real-world data synced into its other twin’s CAD model datatracking product performance along the way

Creo Product Insight Capabilities and Benefits

Capabilities:

  • Reuse and instrument released designs
  • Embed sensors into new designs
  • Connect CAD models via digital twins to real-world data
  • Use real-world sensor data in CAD design
  • Integration with ThingWorx, the world’s leading industrial IoT platform
  • Prepare for Product as a Service

Benefits

  • Eliminate manual workflows to use real-world sensor data in design
  • Optimize products to real-world conditions
  • Ensure that future products better meet the needs of customers
  • Creo analyses outside of the design office
  • Decrease reliance on physical prototyping

Creo Product Insight Licensing and Creo Version Capabilities

The Creo Product Insight is an add-on extension that is available for subscription licensing only. You do not need ThingWorx to use this extension – although using ThingWorx with it will fully optimize your results.

“Physical” Sensors – Creo 4 (M020):

  • Easily define and place ‘measure’ sensors by adding physical sensors to Creo Assemblies
  • New Instrumented sub-type to protect reused/released design data
  • Associated parameter and input definitions and associated calculations
  • Define (physical) calculating sensors (M020) to report analysis results (center of gravity, mass, area, etc.)

UX Sensors – Creo 4 (M030 & M040):

  • Connection to ThingWorx to support reporting analyses results (M040)
  • Run Creo analysis using Behavioral Modeling, Simulation, and Mechanism Dynamics (M040)
  • Read real-world data from ThingWorx (or CSV data file) and use input variables to run analyses and report results back to data tables

“Virtual” Sensors – Creo 4 (M050):

  • Specialized Virtual sensor handling – (excluded from BOM, meshing, and graphics)
  • Directly connect and read sensor data from file or ThingWorx
  • Use real-world sensor data to drive simulations
  • Creo as a Service from ThingWorx (M050)
  • Save/Export analysis results together with input values back to data file

Get live data from CAD models

Download the Creo Product Insight datasheet or watch this webinar replay to learn more and see if your organization could benefit from collecting live data directly within your CAD models. I’m willing to bet it can.