In a recent Tip of the Week video over on our YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/eacpds) I talked about a new feature in PTC Creo 5.0 – Topology Optimization. Topology optimization has been around for about 20 years, but primarily as stand alone solutions. In spring 2018 PTC announced they had fully embedded a solution from the folks over VR&D into their flagship CAD tool.

This is big news because it allows every user to easily optimize designs in new ways; whether designing for traditional manufacturing or additive manufacturing / 3D printing. Light weighting a part or assembly while maintaining structural integrity is an important part of modern product development. Optimizing topology reduces shipping weight and costs, may improve user experience, and lowers material costs. I’m sure there are other benefits, but those alone can help companies compete in today’s global economy.

After talking with some of our technical resources and engineers, it sounds like the built in Creo 5.0 tool does a fantastic job shrink wrapping/finalizing the optimized geometry to ensure the surfaces can be solidified and don’t have any weird overlapping surfaces or gaps. Most topology optimization tools kick out facetted surfaces that still need to be smoothed out in another tool. Creo turns the optimized geometry into a Creo Freestyle surface that can be easily solidified. This is especially important when optimizing parts for 3D printing.

We’d love to show you this Creo functionality live. So, after you watch the tip of the week video, head over to our contact page to request a demonstration.

In the last 6 or so months, I have had the honor and privilege of interviewing some of our customers. At EAC, we are dedicated to continuous improvement and one way we gain perspective of where we stand is by capturing voice of customer metrics and case studies. It not only validates how we operate, but it also gives us an opportunity to share our customer’s successes with other companies that might be facing similar challenges. These customers are real, industry leaders who are PTC software users and cheerleaders for EAC. I hope you can relate to our customer’s stories and enjoy reading how they worked through their business challenges and objectives with the help of EAC and PTC.

For today’s voice of customer bit, I’d like to highlight FSG Design (Pennsylvania). They produce innovative solutions for a variety of industries, including: robotics, military, automotive, and medical.  Because of the strict tolerances within these industries, FSG’s projects require a CAD tool that is powerful, adaptive, and has the capability to create pristine surfaces.

CEO & Principle Frank Glogowski has found that using Creo Parametric 2.0 along side the Interactive Surface Design Extension (ISDX) has increased his overall productivity by a whopping 25%. Glogowski also said that ISDX meets 98% of the surfacing needs for his organization.

Glogowski has also used other tools like ICEM-Surf, which is for highly complex surface modeling geared toward the automotive industry. My favorite quote from the interview came from his experience. “There is a direct connection with the ICEM-Surf data and ISDX data and I am able to work bi-directional which is really nice. Once one surface is set in, I can take care of all engineering with Creo and the ISDX Module.”

In the grand scale of company size, FSG Design is considered a Small Business. It is worth pointing out that world-class tools are not out of reach for smaller companies. FSG was looking for a way to adopt and upgrade to great software while keeping the budget in check.

If you’ve got comments about how ISDX is working for you, or have questions, get the conversation started below.