What is CAD?
Computer-aided design (CAD) 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.
In 1985, Dr. Samuel Geisberg formed Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) and defined a radically new approach for CAD software. This innovation produced the first parametric and feature-based solid modeling CAD software in the market, which today is known as Creo, the industry standard for product design and development software.
More than 30 years later, the product development industry is beginning to adopt the next wave of technology-driven innovation, as so many other industries already have.
What is a CAD drawing?
A computer-aided design (CAD) drawing is a digital representation of an object, structure, or system created using specialized software to create precise and detailed visual plans. CAD drawings, utilized across various industries, such as architecture, engineering, and manufacturing, enhance accuracy and efficiency in the design process by streamlining development and production workflows.
How to choose CAD software
Artificial intelligence in CAD
PTC’s CAD Products
Creo—Deliver your best designs in less time
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 generative studies based on both engineering requirements, as well as manufacturing methods
Onshape—Modernize your product design process
The industry’s first pure Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product development platform unites robust computer-aided design (CAD) 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
Put the power of the cloud to work for you with Creo+
Design and innovate better with Creo
Up to a
INCREASE IN OPERATION EFFICIENCY
Up to a
REDUCTION IN DESIGN TIME
Up to a
REDUCTION IN PROTOTYPE COSTS
Up to a
REDUCTION IN TIME TO MARKET
Computer-aided design (CAD) capabilities
Explore Creo's advanced toolset to see how we enable users to expand deeper functionality. From generative design and additive manufacturing to simulation and analysis, learn more about Creo's capabilities in 3D part and assembly design, analysis, manufacturing, and more.