Creo 13: Engineered for What’s Next

When I meet with engineering leaders across the globe, I consistently hear that their biggest priority is time to market, or in other words, efficiency. Now, as we’re releasing Creo 13, it’s a similar story: engineering teams need more time.

Time is one of the most precious things for engineers – not more tools, not more complexity, but more time to explore new ideas, improve product quality, and deliver new products faster.

That’s why our latest Creo release, Creo 13, is focused on helping teams move faster, without sacrificing the things that matter. It’s about letting teams take advantage of every second of engineering time possible – bringing together AI, integrated tools, and everyday usability improvements meant to help engineers stay focused on what they do best: solving problems.

Artificial intelligence

AI has a lot of promise, but the real question is how it helps engineers in their day-to-day work. In Creo 13, we’ve taken a practical approach with a framework built around three core principles: advise, assist, and automate.

It starts with advise, where the Creo AI Assistant helps users quickly get answers - right inside the design environment. Whether you’re new to a task or just haven’t used a feature in a while, guidance is always a question away.

With assist, AI becomes more aware of what you’re working on. It can look at your model, help identify issues, and provide recommendations based on the context of your design.

And with automate, we begin to take it a step further - allowing AI to carry out design changes in a controlled way, with engineers always in the loop.

The goal is simple: spend less time on repetitive work, and more time on engineering.

User productivity

A big part of giving time back comes from improving everyday workflows.

In Creo 13, you’ll see updates that make the system easier to use - from opening models in tabs, to quickly finding top-level assemblies, and using presets to more easily re-use common feature settings.

These aren’t headline features - but they’re the kinds of changes that add up. They reduce friction, simplify workflows, and make it easier to move between tasks without losing momentum.

Performance

As products become more complex, performance directly impacts how quickly teams can move.

Creo 13 delivers significant gains where engineers feel them most. Assembly retrieval from Windchill is up to 70% faster over a wide-area network, while global clearance checks are up to 11x faster and interference detection up to 5x faster.

We’ve also improved model interaction and regeneration behavior, giving users more control and visibility when working with large assemblies. The result is a more responsive system that keeps engineers focused and moving forward.

Model-based definition

Model-based definition has been a focus in Creo for years, and it continues to evolve.

In this release, we’ve made it easier to share and standardize information with improvements like customizable 3D PDF outputs and enhancements to GD&T capabilities.

These updates help ensure that critical product information is clear, consistent, and accessible - reducing ambiguity and improving collaboration across teams.

Composite design & manufacturing

Composite design is an area where performance and precision really matter.

With Creo 13, we’ve made it easier to reuse complex designs and dramatically improved performance for demanding calculations - up to 60x faster for complex ply transitions.

We’ve also improved the accuracy of draping simulations, helping teams create designs that better reflect how products will be manufactured.

For engineers working with composites, these improvements deliver industry-leading precision in much less time.

Simulation-driven design

The earlier you can validate a design, the better the result.

Creo 13 continues to expand simulation-driven design, making it easier for engineers to analyze performance as they work. From real-time simulation to deeper integration with even more Ansys capabilities, simulation is becoming a natural part of the design process.

We’re also advancing generative design - now allowing optimization within the context of assemblies, so constraints and requirements remain aligned and up-to-date as the design evolves.

The outcome is faster iteration, fewer late-stage changes, and better-performing products.

Advanced manufacturing

Creo has long provided a robust foundation for integrating design and manufacturing workflows, and this release further extends those capabilities.

With new enhancements such as swarf milling toolpaths, improved mold design workflows, and advanced additive manufacturing capabilities, Creo 13 enables a more seamless transition from design to production.

These improvements support higher-fidelity geometry, increased process efficiency, and faster progression from design release to manufacturing execution.

Design for electrification

Today, nearly every product includes electrical components - and that brings new complexity.

With Creo 13, we’re making it easier to design those systems together. Enhancements to harness design, improved reuse of components, and support for space-claim workflows allow teams to start earlier and collaborate more effectively.

This helps reduce late-stage conflicts and ensures mechanical and electrical designs come together as they should.

More to discover

What I’ve covered here is just a portion of what’s new in Creo 13. This release includes hundreds of enhancements across the product; all focused on one idea: helping engineers get their time back.

And don’t forget about Creo+. If you’re looking for a SaaS solution with all the same capabilities, and simplified license management, Creo+ is your answer.

If you’d like to explore more, visit the Creo page to see everything that’s new, and if you’re curious about how these enhancements can fit into your team’s workflows, reach out or follow me on LinkedIn. I’d also love to hear what you’re working on and how Creo is helping you get there faster.