Users fortunate enough to attend PTC’s annual user meeting (now called LiveWorx) in Boston’s revitalized Seaport District were able to catch a glimpse of what the latest release of Creo has to offer. Although Creo 4.0 has been around since November 2016, most users are still hanging on to previous versions of the software. However, here are some enhancements that could be worth the price of admission.
Reason 1: Get Rid of the Clutter
CAD programs add more features with every release, and Creo is no exception. However, each new function adds another icon or menu item and the user interface gets crowded. You end up pushing the tool bars and menus around—or squinting through them—to see your model.
Creo 4.0 slashes away at the jumble of a cluttered user interface. Hit the F11 key and you suddenly have the most minimalist interface. In a full-screen mode, only a mini toolbar is visible at the top of the screen. In this mode, the history tree, ribbon bar and message area go away. If that made you break out in a sweat, don’t worry. The same F11 will bring back the old trusty UI right back. You also have a context-sensitive toolbar near the cursor, where you were probably already looking, so no reason for your eyes to have to dart around to menus and toolbars elsewhere.
Reason 2: Lose Weight on a Lattice Diet
Users 3D printing their parts need to worry about how much print material is used for each build. To save part costs—as well as decrease build time—why not make parts less than solid? Now, Creo 4.0 will make a solid part into one with an external skin and a geometrical 3D repeating structure. Parts with this internal lattice look the same as standard parts but weigh and cost less—perfect for most prototypes that are used for show and tell. But if the part is intended for actual use, Creo lets you change the shapes and orientation of the lattice to try and preserve as much of the solid part’s strength.
Some of the lattice structures can, however, result in closed volumes—a problem in 3D printing processes that can trap liquids or powders. For that, Creo lets you put in drain holes.
To create a lattice in Creo, you select geometry that will define a closed volume. You then pick one of three types of repeating lattice geometry (radial, herringbone, etc.) from a menu. The resulting geometry is previewed on-screen before it replicates itself in the volume. You can select small, medium and large to alter the size of the lattice geometry. There is an option to cut off dangling members caused by the cutting plane of the enclosed volume.
As with other lattice-creating algorithms in CAD programs, Creo also makes only uniform, one-directional arrays. In other words, the cell structure created by the lattice does not vary, nor does it turn to follow the curves in a part.
Creo can continue to do an analysis on the resulting lattice, which is a great way to see if the lightweight part has not sacrificed too much in strength. The mesh can be approximated with linear beam elements where appropriate, which can make for a more efficient solution compared to modeling the same thin, long structures with small solid elements.
Reason 3: Augment Your Reality
Want to make your new design really pop at the next design review? Show it on your iPhone—on a table—and have people walk around and view it. The M10 build of Creo 4.0 introduces augmented reality (AR) creation buttons to the toolbar to make an AR model from the CAD model. You have to download the ThingWorx View app (available for free for Apple, Android and Windows devices) and print out a ThingMark (PTC’s registration symbol that identifies and orients the CAD model). You can then see your design right in the meeting room—a far cry more impressive than viewing it on a projector screen.
AR models can also be viewed with the Microsoft HoloLens device. Rudimentary viewing is possible, though more sophisticated authoring will require a ThingWorx license.
Reason 4: Get Some Insight into IoT
Newly introduced in Creo 4.0, build 10 provides the ability to add sensors to a CAD part. A digital model of a sensor can be placed on a Creo model that will mimic a real-life sensor on the physical part. For example, say there is a sensor on a butterfly valve that reads the angle of the disk from closed to fully open. As the disc moves in the real world, the sensor data is piped into the CAD model, and the disk in the Creo assembly of the butterfly valve moves similarly. In a demo situation, with models and parts in close proximity, the movement of real parts and CAD parts is well synchronized. The movement can occur in reverse, with the Creo part controlling the real part.
Another example suggested is a real part deforming under load. The deformation is measured by sensors that feed a finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA keeps up with the bending of the part, and when the part starts to approach a failure, an alert is triggered.
This is part of PTC’s digital twin concept, now incorporated into Creo, with the help of ThingWorx. ThingWorx, acquired by PTC over three years ago, connects real-world sensors to the CAD model by managing the data flowing between the two.
Can the connection be made without ThingWorx? You can send ASCII files that show the position of the disc in the valve in the example above, which Creo could read, but, of course, this process would not occur in real time.