Creo 6.0: Three Technologies That Are Changing CAD Software as We Know It

We launched Creo 6.0 on March 19. I’ll admit to being pleased when Engineering.com wrote that the announcement “warrants an exclamation mark in the headline!”  

You wouldn’t expect such punctuation for a technology that’s 30 years old and a ‘mature market’. And yet, over the past year, CAD has undergone a renaissance of sorts. Companies stepping away from the ‘feature wars’. Instead, they’re looking at how to reinvigorate every step of product development, from the way engineers create designs, to the review process, and even model validation. 

What’s powering this new activity?  

First – and no secret – digital transformation in all its forms presents opportunity on a massive scale. At PTC, we see many customers determined to get their digital houses in order, and CAD has to be part of that. Second, new technologies continue both to disrupt CAD and amplify its importance as part of a digital transformation strategy. Think augmented reality, real-time simulation, and additive manufacturing all major players in Creo 6.0.  

Below, I talk briefly about each one – what it means for design engineers and for moving a business forward.  

Augmented Reality (AR) and Collaboration

A cloud-based technology, integrated Augmented Reality technology, based upon our award-winning Vuforia platform, allows anyone with a mobile device to view a CAD model in context and at scale, instantly. Yes, the ‘cool’ factor is big, but the point is that AR makes collaboration inside and outside of your company easy, secure, and quick. You make a few clicks inside your CAD model, recipients get a link, they click on their mobile device, and your CAD model appears in the real world at scale. When you’re racing to be first to market, AR is a huge enabler. 

Additive Manufacturing

Almost every visit to a customer has additive manufacturing (3D printing) on the agenda. Additive manufacturing is the process of building an object one thin layer of material at a time.  The implications are profound for manufacturers: they now can produce shapes that can’t be made any other way and enjoy far greater flexibility in the manufacturing process. Creo 6.0 brings new self-supporting, formula-driven lattices, amazing dense foam-like lattices, slice-by slice communication to printers, support for the emerging 3MF standard, and many other enhancements. 

Real-time Simulation

The announcement of our partnership with ANSYS was one of our biggest moments of this past year. The result of that partnership is Creo Simulation Live, a product that gives design engineers design guidance as part of their daily, in-the-minute workflow. Creo Simulation Live runs quietly in the background, showing the results of decisions as they’re made. Now designers can iterate faster, consider more and better options, save the complex problems for analysts, and get their best work to market faster.

Looking Forward

To have one of these technologies in Creo 6.0 would be exciting. To have three of them? Mind-blowing. In the next year, you can look to Creo to drive transformation in artificial intelligence, IoT-driven design, and generative design. 

But, we’re by no means done! Expect more in Simulation and big things in AI-driven generative design – all deeply integrated into our customers’ every-day workflows in Creo. It’s no wonder PTC’s CAD business is consistently taking share from our competitors and outpacing market growth!