Introducing Creo 7.0.2: Here’s What’s in It

Creo 7.0.2 is a significant intermediate release of PTC’s 3D CAD software. It includes two breakthrough additions: Creo Ansys Simulation and Creo Generative Design extension.

For the past several years, PTC has delivered a new version of Creo every spring. (Think Creo 5, Creo 6, Creo 7.) And while these annual releases draw attention from press and industry watchers, sometimes an update arrives in between major releases that you can’t ignore.

That’s Creo 7.0.2. Here’s why:

Creo Ansys Simulation

Creo Ansys Simulation puts high-fidelity thermal, structural, and modal analysis directly into your Creo software. This new tool adds easy-to-use, fully featured simulation (using Ansys’ industry-leading solver technology) to the CAD environment so that design engineers can refine and validate their models with high accuracy.

What studies can Creo Ansys Simulation carry out?

Creo Ansys Simulation capabilities include:

• Finite element analysis for parts and assemblies
• Automatic meshing
• Finite element modeling idealizations
• Static structural analysis
• Modal analysis
• Steady state thermal analysis
• Linear contact analysis
• Joints

How Creo Ansys Simulation differs from Creo Simulation Live

This isn’t the first time PTC and Ansys have worked together. You may recall that PTC recently partnered with Ansys (the industry leader in engineering simulation software) to deliver Creo Simulation Live.

The hallmark of Creo Simulation Live is its speed. The software draws from your computer’s graphics processing unit (or GPU) to deliver real-time analysis. That means design engineers get immediate feedback on their work as they design.

Creo Ansys Simulation trades some of that speed for a level of accuracy that you can count on for fully validating your designs.

Which should you use? That may depend on where you are in the design cycle. In general, Creo Simulation Live helps most during early concept design, when speed matters. Creo Ansys Simulation is a good choice later in the design cycle, when you want fidelity. The slide below illustrates:


Image: Creo Simulation Live works quickly and effectively for the early stages of design, while Creo Ansys Simulation can help you refine and validate models before sending them to prototyping.

As you might expect, if you use both tools, you can easily share loads and constraints you develop in one tool with the other.

To see a quick demo, watch the video below:

Creo Generative Design extension

The cloud-based Generative Design extension (GDX) automatically creates multiple innovative CAD models based on your engineering requirements – including materials and manufacturing processes.

The AI-driven system then identifies your top options, including those you probably hadn’t considered. So, you produce high-performing designs at breakneck speed, all from within your Creo environment. You can even convert your models into rich B-rep geometry so it’s easy to modify and analyze later.

The best part is that it so easy to use that both experienced and junior engineers can use it to produce high-quality, lower-cost, manufacturable solutions.

How Generative Design extension differs from Generative Topology Optimization

Not long ago, PTC released the Generative Topology Optimization (GTO) extension. This technology also creates CAD models based on your constraints and requirements – including material and manufacturing process. And like GDX, designs can all be converted into rich B-rep geometry in Creo.

But unlike GDX, GTO runs on your local machine and can only evaluate a given design for a single material and set of constraints.

Which should you use? That depends on how many options you want to compare.

If you don’t have many choices about materials or manufacturing methods, and you can afford to optimize your models one at a time, run GTO locally. It will suggest the best model based on your constraints.

To produce and evaluate more options with a broader selection of materials and manufacturing processes, upload your GTO constraints into GDX and let AI and the cloud do the rest. It will quickly produce multiple options that meet your specs. It will even help you narrow your choices so you can quickly compare and pick the best one.

In short, GDX will save you hours or even weeks of work, so you arrive at your best design faster.


Image: Comparison of GDX and GTO.

To take a quick look, watch the video below: