Computer-aided design is a way to digitally create 2D drawings and 3D models of real-world products—before they’re ever manufactured. With 3D CAD, you can share, review, simulate, and modify designs easily, opening doors to innovative and differentiated products that get to market fast.

CAD Software

CAD Software Solutions

PTC has been at the forefront with its computer-aided design solutions and is the industry standard for product design and development software for parametric modeling, simulation/analysis, and product documentation for more than 30 years. Everyone’s product development challenges are unique—so you need choices, from robust on-premises to innovative pure SaaS CAD solutions.

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How to choose CAD software

The mechanical 3D CAD buyer's guide helps you score and select the software that's the best fit for your organization. Using a 7-step process, you'll go through a worksheet of must-have fundamentals like sketching and parts and assembly modeling along with weighing more recent innovations like augmented reality and model-based definition.

Cummins: Prioritizing sustainability in product designs with Creo

Leveraging Creo Generative Topology Optimization, Creo Simulate, and Creo Simulation Live (CSL), Cummins is designing and testing digital prototypes to understand how they will perform in a real-world engine system.

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CUPRA: Optimizing vehicle component design with Creo

Thanks to PTC’s CAD software, CUPRA has managed to optimize the design and manufacturing of their vehicle components resulting in a 15% reduction in component costs.

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SoulArc Boards: Gaining competitive edge in skateboard design with Creo

SoulArc Boards credits Creo for playing a crucial role in the company’s success. Using Creo’s design platform, they meet their internal metrics and design groundbreaking products.

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PTC’s CAD Products

Creo—On the forefront of computer-aided design for more than 30 years

Creo delivers the most scalable range of 3D CAD product development packages and tools in today’s market. Its variety of specific features, capabilities, and tools help engineers imagine, design, and create their products better. Creo includes breakthrough capabilities in additive manufacturing, generative design, IoT (Internet of Things), model-based definition (MBD), and augmented reality (AR).

Empower your engineering teams with our robust design system to:

Perform structural, thermal, modal, fatigue, motion, and mold analysis, toggling between steady-state and transient simulation
Create multibody modeling, and exclude construction bodies from BOM information and mass property calculations
Run topology optimization studies based on both engineering requirements as well as manufacturing methods

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Onshape—Modernize your product design process

The industry’s first pure Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product development platform that unites robust computer-aided design with powerful data management, collaboration tools, and real-time analytics. The cloud-native solution is a perfect fit for companies requiring the flexibility of remote design teams, enabling engineers to work together from anywhere, any time, and on any device.
Quickly deploy Onshape on any computer or mobile device to enable your teams with:

Real-time design views and collaborative workflows for interactive design reviews and concurrent design edits
Built-in version control and data management to eliminate the need for separate PDM (Product Data Management) systems
In-sync bill of materials (BOM) tables with editing assemblies
A robust REST API for improved integrations across your systems
Increased security from role-based access, AES-256 encryption, and more

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CAD (Computer Aided Design): Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of Computer Aided Design? (CAD)

Computer-aided design (CAD) allows users to create digital 2D drawings and 3D models. The creation of these models allows users to iterate on and optimize designs to meet design intent. It increases the quality of the overall design, allowing users to test out real world conditions, loads, and constraints on the design thus creating a virtual prototype of any object.

What are the types of CAD?

2D CAD and 3D CAD are broad classifications of distinct types of CAD, and CAD with the addition of CAE (Computer-aided engineering) and CAM (Computer-aided manufacturing) software elements is now becoming the norm.

What are the advantages of CAD Software?

Presenting 3D objects accurately is easy in CAD software instead of relying on hand drawn models. Once modeled, a 3D object can be analyzed, optimized, and tweaked with technologies like generative design to create the best version of that object within the scope of design intent.

Who uses CAD Software?

CAD software is used by designers, engineers, and hobbyists to create virtual models of objects. Anyone can use CAD, but we see it most frequently used in the manufacturing space. Any company responsible for the design and creation of a product—from homes to industrial complexes, toys, electronics, cars, and everyday objects—can utilize CAD to create their products.

How do I learn CAD?

PTC’s CAD solution Creo is simple to learn and is known for its ease of use. We offer Creo training that lets you become a Creo power user.

How to choose CAD software

How is CAD Software Used?

Cummins: Prioritizing sustainability in product designs with Creo

CUPRA: Optimizing vehicle component design with Creo

SoulArc Boards: Gaining competitive edge in skateboard design with Creo

Creo—On the forefront of computer-aided design for more than 30 years

Onshape—Modernize your product design process

Design and innovate better with Creo

Explore the capabilities of CAD (Computer Aided Design)

Explore generative design

Explore simulation and analysis solutions

Explore additive manufacturing and CAM

Explore real-time simulation solution

Explore model-based definition (MBD)

Creo Ansys Simulation

What is the purpose of Computer Aided Design? (CAD)

What are the types of CAD?

What are the advantages of CAD Software?

Who uses CAD Software?

How do I learn CAD?

What is CAD?

How to choose CAD software

How is CAD Software Used?

Cummins: Prioritizing sustainability in product designs with Creo

CUPRA: Optimizing vehicle component design with Creo

SoulArc Boards: Gaining competitive edge in skateboard design with Creo

PTC’s CAD Products

Creo—On the forefront of computer-aided design for more than 30 years

Onshape—Modernize your product design process

Design and innovate better with Creo

Explore the capabilities of CAD (Computer Aided Design)

Explore generative design

Explore simulation and analysis solutions

Explore additive manufacturing and CAM

Explore real-time simulation solution

Explore model-based definition (MBD)

Creo Ansys Simulation

CAD (Computer Aided Design): Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of Computer Aided Design? (CAD)

What are the types of CAD?

What are the advantages of CAD Software?

Who uses CAD Software?

How do I learn CAD?

Get started with computer-aided design

CAD Packages

CAD Trial

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