Creo Design Essentials

The Creo Tool Design Extension is a purpose-built set of mold and casting design tools embedded in Creo that streamlines the creation of parting lines, core and cavity splits, and more to move you from design to tooling faster and with few errors. This extension is ideal for teams that build manufacturing tooling for plastic injection-molded parts and casted components.

Core Capabilities:

• Process driven UI for mold and cast design
• Automated creation of parting line and parting surface geometry
• Associative design and tooling updates
• Automated creation of production drawings and deliverables
• Easy mold fill creation and opening
• Placement and analysis of runners, gates, sprues, and cooling waterlines
• Automatic change propagation across design, tooling, CAM, and drawings.

Using the Creo Tool Design Extension, you’ll be able to create guided and repeatable workflows that lead to faster tool turnarounds, lower costs, and better quality. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Tool Design Extension? Consider these as well:

• Expert Moldbase Extension: Add a 2D process-driven moldbase with libraries and automated ejectors, runners, and waterline checks.
• High Speed Milling Extension: Keep toolpaths and setups aligned by connecting to integrated machining capabilities in Creo.
• Mold Analysis Extension: Validate moldability earlier to avoid costly rework.

The Creo Mold Analysis Extension combines powerful simulation with real-time manufacturability insights – integrated directly into Creo. It empowers plastic part designers and mold designers to identify potential defects and optimize part and mold designs before production, avoiding costly rework.

Core Capabilities:

• Comprehensive analysis of melt-front time, fill pressure, moldability, fiber orientation, shear rate/stress, temperature and shrinkage.
• Animation of fill process and output of actionable recommendations to refine design, gating, and process setup.
• 3D simulation of injection molding to detect issues like short shots, air traps, weld lines, and sink marks.
• A true 3D solid solver for high-fidelity results – more accurate than 2.5D tools.

By flagging defects and optimizing gating and design upfront, this extension streamlines mold validation and reduces costly iteration cycles – leading to faster time-to-market, higher quality parts, and lower development costs. Engineer smartly from the start – deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Mold Analysis Extension? Consider these as well:

• Tool Design Extension: ensure associative tooling updates and eliminate defects before mold creation.
• Expert Moldbase Extension: combine moldbase automation with analysis-driven mold design.
• Production Machining Extension and High-Speed Milling Extension: seamlessly take optimized CAD models to manufacturing-ready tooling without recreating geometry after analysis.

The Creo Expert Moldbase Extension automates manual, time-consuming tasks in moldbase tooling design by combining a famililar 2D workflow with powerful 3D model generation. Mold and tooling designers can accelerate moldbase creation using intelligent templates and supplier libraries, enabling faster, standardized, and higher-quality designs.

Core Capabilities:

• 2D process-driven UI coupled with automatic 3D model generation for quick layout and detailing.
• Customizable component library supporting 17 moldbase/component suppliers.
• Built-in waterline designer and fluid circuit creation with interference and leak checks.
• Automatic placement of ejector pins, guides, cooling fittings, screws, plates, and runners.
• Automatic creation of BOMs and production drawings.

By standardizing processes and automating detailed moldbase tasks, the Expert Moldbase Extension speeds delivery, ensures consistency, and minimizes errors – resulting in faster time-to-market, lower costs, and improved tooling quality. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Expert Moldbase Extension? Consider these as well:

• Tool Design Extension: ensure core/cavity splits and tooling updates stay synchronized across workflows.
• Mold Analysis Extension: enable simulation-driven insights to detect moldbase issues early and reduce late-stage rework.
• Production Machining Extension and High-Speed Milling Extension: bring your fully detailed moldbase directly into manufacturing workflows.

The Creo Production Machining Extension brings advanced NC programming directly into Creo, enabling manufacturers to quickly create and optimize toolpaths for 3-axis milling, 2- and 4-axis turning and wire EDM. It’s ideal for teams needing precise machining control and associative CAD/CAM workflows to accelerate production.

Core Capabilities:

• Full support for CNC mills, 2- and 4-axis lathes, and wire EDM operations.
• Low-level NC sequence editing for fine toolpath control and optimization.
• Associative updates between CAD and CAM to propagate design changes automatically.
• Integrated GPOST post-processor generator for customer machine outputs.
• Built-in tool libraries for rapid setup and reuse of proven machining strategies.
• Automated creation of manufacturing process documentation and step-by-step production planning tools.

By combining CAD and CAM in one environment, this extension reduces programming time, eliminates translation errors, and ensures optimized machining – leading to faster delivery, lower costs, and improved part quality. Connect design to manufacturing and deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Production Machining Extension? Consider these as well:

• High-Speed Milling Extension: take advantage of advanced high-speed machining strategies.
• Tool Design Extension: keep tooling and machining workflows fully synchronized.
• Mold Analysis Extension: validate moldability of designs before machining begins.

Creo High-Speed Milling delivers advanced 3-axis machining optimized for molds, dies, electrodes, and prototype parts. It’s ideal for manufacturers who need fast, precise, and efficient high-speed machining capabilities integrated with CAD/CAM workflows.

Core Capabilities:

• High-speed 3-axis milling, powered by ModuleWorks, for adaptive roughing, rest-roughing, finishing, and rest-finishing.
• 3-axis trajectory milling and basic holemaking operations.
• Associative toolpaths that update automatically with design changes.
• Integrated GPost post-processor generator for customer machine outputs.
• Automated creation of manufacturing process documentation.

By combining adaptive strategies with Creo’s integrated environment, the High-Speed Milling Extension reduces machining time, improves surface finish, and eliminates costly rework – accelerating production and lowering costs. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the High-Speed Milling Extension? Consider these as well:

• Production Machining Extension: enable complete NC programming and process planning.
• Tool Design Extension: fully synchronize your process from mold and tooling design to machining workflows.
• Mold Analysis Extension: validate moldability of designs prior to manufacturing.

The Additive Manufacturing Extension enables designers to rapidly create and optimize high-fidelity 2.5D and 3D lattice structures and streamline printer setup – right inside Creo. Ideal for teams looking to enhance innovation, performance, and product differentiation.

Core Capabilities:

• Automated generation of 2.5D and 3D beam lattices (gyroid, primitive, stochastic, and Delaunay-based).
• Full B-rep lattice geometry (no faceting), with homogenized representations for fast simulation.
• Seamless lattice optimization via Creo Simulate.
• Tray assembly tools with automatic positioning, nesting, interference checks, and build-direction setup.
• Direct export to 3MF, STL, CLI, or AMF formats and print-check connectivity to 3D printers.
• Custom cell creation, dangling beam removal, and adaptive lattice variability based on geometry or analysis results.

Optimizing lattice design and print preparations within Creo reduces weight, material use, and iterations – accelerating development, improving performance, and streamlining production. Engineer correctly from the start – deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Additive Manufacturing Extension? Consider these as well:

• Creo Flow Analysis: analyze thermal fluid behaviors in lattice structured parts.
• Creo Simulation Live: validate structural performance of lattices in real-time.
• Tool Design Extension: integrate lattice designs into mold workflows for hybrid manufacturing.

The Creo EZ Tolerance Analysis Extension equips engineers to quickly analyze and visualize geometric tolerance stack-ups and dimensional variation using 1D worst-case analysis – perfect for those aiming for Six Sigma quality and competitive precision.

Core Capabilities:

• Performance 1D worst-case tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Visualize tolerance loops and dimensional variation directly in the Creo model.
• Identify critical dimensions driving variation for targeted design improvements.
• Assess tolerances’ impact on manufacturability and assembly quality.
• Automatically generate detailed HTML reports with loop diagrams, analysis results, and dimesion details.
• Easy-to-use graphical interface embedded in Creo – no need for external tools.

By enabling early tolerance validation and insight into dimensional variation, EZ Tolerance Analysis reduces rework, improves quality, and speeds development cycles. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the EZ Tolerance Analysis Extension? Consider these as well:

• GD&T Advisor: align tolerance schemes with ASME/ISO standards.
• Creo Simulation Live: validate structural behavior of your designs alongside tolerance constraints.
• Tool Design Extension: ensure tooling precision fits tight tolerance requirements.

Creo’s GD&T Advisor Extension provides standards-compliant guidance for applying GD&T in CAD, ensuring tolerancing accuracy and model-based definition compliance with ASME and ISO standards.

Core Capabilities:

• Wizard-like dashboard guiding correct GD&T application per feature.
• Feature-centric interface showing only valid GD&T options.
• Highlight errors, warnings, and guidance in the Advisor Tree.
• Constraint-state legend for surface highlighting and tolerance status.
• Faster GD&T authoring.
• Compliance checks against ASME Y14.5 and ISO 1101 standards.

By simplifying GD&T creation and reducing errors, the GD&T Advisor speeds MBD documentation, improves product quality, and lowers manufacturing costs. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the GD&T Advisor Extension? Consider these as well:

• EZ Tolerance Analysis: validate that GD&T implementation meets stack-up and worst-case variation goals.
• Creo Simulation Live: assess functional performance of designs where toleranced features matter.
• Tool Design Extension: ensure tooling designs align with defined GD&T constraints for manufacturability.

The Creo GD&T Advisor Advanced Extension builds on the core features of the basic Advisor by adding powerful assembly-mode guidance and reuse of existing annotations. Ideal for engineers and teams needing streamlined, standards-compliant GD&T across parts and assemblies.

Core Capabilities:

• Guided GD&T creation in both part and assembly models, enhancing consistency across multi-component designs.
• Validation against ASME Y14.5 and ISO 1101 GPS tolerance standards.
• Informative Advisor Tree displays messages with errors, warnings, and advisory feedback.
• Ability to import and validate legacy annotations, highlighting non-compliant GD&T and offering corrective guidance.
• Feature-centric interface presenting only relevant GD&T options for each feature.
• Visual surface highlighting via constraint-state legend to indicate tolerance status.

With assembly-mode guidance and legacy reuse functionality, this extension ensures consistent and accurate GD&T application – reducing errors and streamlining MBD documentation. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using GD&T Advisor Advanced? Consider these extensions as well:

• EZ Tolerance Analysis: validate stack-ups and worst-case variation alongside GD&T implementation.
• Creo Simulation Live: link tolerances to real-time performance checks.
• Tool Design Extension: ensure tooling precision is aligned with GD&T requirements.

The Creo Mechanism Dynamics Extension enables engineers to model and optimize mechanism behavior under real-world forces – such as gravity, friction, springs, dampers, belts, and gears – directly in Creo. Ideal for designers who need to ensure dynamic performance and product quality without relying solely on physical prototypes.

Core Capabilities:

• Simulate kinematic (position, velocity, acceleration) and dynamic behaviors with real-world loads.
• Model realistic components like springs, dampers, belts, gears, and contact surfaces.
• Detect clearance issues and interference in moving assemblies.
• Graph and measure reactionary forces, torques, and motion for design insights.
• Seamlessly transfer loads (gravity inertia, reaction) into Creo Simulation Live or Creo Simulate for structural analysis.
• Generate high-quality animations and production instructions.

By enabling virtual prototyping and structural simulation, the Mechanism Dynamics Extension reduces physical testing, speeds design cycles, improves mechanism reliability, and minimizes lifecycle costs. Simulate early and deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Mechanism Dynamics Extension? Consider these as well:

• Creo Simulation Live: immediately validate dynamic loads and structural responses in real-time.
• EZ Tolerance Analysis: verify that toleranced mechanisms maintain performance under dynamic loads.
• Creo Flow Analysis: evaluate fluid interactions in dynamic components like valves or pistons.

The Creo Flow Analysis Extension brings computational fluid dynamics (CFD) directly into Creo, enabling engineers to analyze and optimize fluid and gas flow for improved product performance and functionality. Ideal for teams designing components where flow, heat transfer, and turbulence impact quality and efficiency.

Core Capabilities:

• Calculate internal and external fluid and gas flows with high accuracy.
• Perform heat transfer and turbulence analysis to optimize thermal performance.
• One-step creation of solid and fluid domains for fast CFD model setup.
• Real-time animation of flow results for intuitive visualization and design validation.
• Integrated solvers for steady-state and transient simulations within Creo.
• Automated reporting and result interpretation to accelerate decision making.

By embedding CFD into the design process, the Creo Flow Analysis Extension reduces reliance on external tools, shortens development cycles, and improves product performance – leading to lower costs and faster time-to-market. Engineer smarter from the start – deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Creo Flow Analysis Extension? Consider these as well:

• Creo Simulation Live: validate structural and thermal performance alongside flow analysis.
• Additive Manufacturing Extension: optimize lattice structures for fluid and thermal behavior.
• Mechanism Dynamics Extension: analyze fluid interactions in moving assemblies like pumps or valves.

Creo Simulation Live integrates ANSYS technology directly into Creo, delivering real-time structural, thermal, and modal analysis within the design environment. Perfect for engineers who want instant feedback to guide design decisions without leaving CAD.

Core Capabilities:

• Instantaneous static structural, thermal, and modal simulations.
• Apply loads (force, pressure, gravity) and constraints (fixed, displacement, frictionless).
• Combined structure and thermal analysis for comprehensive insight.
• Contact simulation for realistic assembly behavior.
• Real-time visualization of stress, deformation, temperature, and mode shapes.
• A continuous design-validation loop.

By enabling simulation-driven design, Creo Simulation Live reduces prototypes, rework, and scrap – accelerating development and improving product quality. Shift simulation earlier into your design process and achieve your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using Creo Simulation Live? Consider these as well:

• EZ Tolerance Analysis: validate tolerances alongside structural performance.
• GD&T Advisor: ensure tolerancing decisions align with functional requirements.
• Tool Design Extension: confirm tooling designs meet performance criteria as you design.

Creo Simulation Live Advanced includes all the Creo Simulation Live capabilities, plus real-time fluid flow simulation, enabling engineers to analyze internal and external flows, pressure drops, and thermal conditions without leaving Creo. Perfect for designs involving cooling, aerodynamics, or fluid systems.

Core Capabilities:

• Full Creo Simulation Live functionality (structural, thermal, and modal analysis) plus fluid domain creation.
• Steady-state and transient flow simulation for internal/external flows.
• Apply thermal and flow boundary conditions (velocity, pressure, and mass flow).
• Visualize velocity vectors, streamlines, vortices, and pressure fields.
• Instant design updates and optimization.
• Supports combined thermal-fluid analysis for heat transfer studies.

By adding fluid simulation to real-time analysis, Creo Simulation Live Advanced helps engineers optimize performance early, reducing costly iterations and speeding development time. Deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using Creo Simulation Live Advanced? Consider these as well:

• EZ Tolerance Analysis: ensure dimensional accuracy under thermal/flow conditions.
• GD&T Advisor: maintain compliance while optimizing fluid-driven designs.
• Mechanism Dynamics Extension: evaluate dynamic systems impacted by fluid forces.

The Creo Mold Analysis Extension combines powerful simulation with real-time manufacturability insights – integrated directly into Creo. It empowers plastic part designers and mold designers to identify potential defects and optimize part and mold designs before production, avoiding costly rework.

Core Capabilities:

• Comprehensive analysis of melt-front time, fill pressure, moldability, fiber orientation, shear rate/stress, temperature and shrinkage.
• Animation of fill process and output of actionable recommendations to refine design, gating, and process setup.
• 3D simulation of injection molding to detect issues like short shots, air traps, weld lines, and sink marks.
• A true 3D solid solver for high-fidelity results – more accurate than 2.5D tools.

By flagging defects and optimizing gating and design upfront, this extension streamlines mold validation and reduces costly iteration cycles – leading to faster time-to-market, higher quality parts, and lower development costs. Engineer smartly from the start – deliver your best designs in less time with Creo!

Thinking of using the Mold Analysis Extension? Consider these as well:

• Tool Design Extension: ensure associative tooling updates and eliminate defects before mold creation.
• Expert Moldbase Extension: combine moldbase automation with analysis-driven mold design.
• Production Machining Extension and High-Speed Milling Extension: seamlessly take optimized CAD models to manufacturing-ready tooling without recreating geometry after analysis.