Thoughts on Creo
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:49 am
OK, straight up I’ll say we dropped our Creo subscription from April this year. This is not a reflection on the software, just the harsh reality of 2021 business overheads. For us Creo was always a nice extra tool to have for a couple of customers who used it, but the reality was they didn’t need us to use it, and when we did we had to supply Creo 5 files as that is what their corporate system used. I’ll also say we are not expert all round users of Creo. We used it only for modelling. Primarily complex surfaced parts. Comments below are us comparing it to Solidworks.
First off, Creo 7 and above are the only versions of Creo any User of other systems should even consider. With version 7 PTC introduced multi body modelling in parts. It totally changes the way you work in Creo, so it is much more Solidworks like. Also, if you do any kind of high level surfacing you need Style (as was ISDX). Core Creo has Freestyle, the sub d toolset and more basic standard surfacing tools.
What Creo does well.
Rock solid stability. As a Solidworks user this was almost shockingly good. We used Creo for 3 years, and we had maybe 10 crashes. Ok we use Solidworks a lot more, and probably challenged the software more, but still, I’d expect 2 or 3 Solidworks crashes a week. These are on dual processor Dell Precision 5900 series workstations btw running latest Windows 10.
Sub D surfacing and Style surfacing. PTC never really push this but honestly, when I saw the reseller model our benchmark bathtub in Freestyle and Style I was blown away (compared to the workflow in Rhino/TSplines and Solidworks). I literally signed the order on the spot. Of course demos by an expert rarely translate to reality, and there were issues with the workflow in Creo 4/5/6, but these were resolved in 7/8. Having said that I don’t think Creo’s non Style surfacing tools are as good as Solidworks core toolset. Also Style is a costly add on. It more or less doubles the subscription costs. But if you do any high level surfacing you need it. Doing realtime adjustments, not having to wait for rebuilds, is mind blowing for most Solidworks users.
On the subject of rebuilds. Creo is soooo much faster than Solidworks. So rebuilds are literally instantaneous, the more complex trees take maybe 1 or 2 seconds. Again this could be related to the type of work but even on similar tasks (surfacy 150 features parts) it has to be 10X faster.
Robust modelling. You know that thing when your tree goes red and the model falls apart in Solidworks? That still happens in Creo, but not to the same extent.
What Creo doesn’t do well:
Assembly modelling and in context parts. Shock horror the Creo folks will say no way! It built its reputation on this! Yes it is, and it is epic....if you have the Advanced Assembly Extension. Most corporate environments do have this, but our package didn’t and AAX is VERY expensive to add it on. Without it, in context modelling (top down) needs planning. Yes it can be done, and yes 7/8 make it much easier, but it is still more challenging than in other systems.
Drafting. We tried drafting a couple of times. Then we exported the data from Creo to Solidworks to do the drafting there. Enough said!
Applying colours to faces and splitting surfaces. Essentially, you can’t do it. There are some workarounds and if you have the Mold and Die Extension that lets you do it, but otherwise, this is a showstopper. For us, this was the biggest point of annoyance using Creo.
Contentious one. File export. I was so used to file export just working via Parasolid between Parasolid apps that coming across errors generated more that a few sweary sessions in the office. Features like Freestyle don’t always play well with STEP. It works 99% of the time bit that 1% sure is annoying.
In summary, Creo is a great platform. Very different from Solidworks, harder to learn in some respects. If you get the extras it will surpass anything Solidworks can achieve.
If you are a die hard Solidworks user and want to stay that way, I suggest getting yourself the brilliant low cost xnurbs add on. This has transformed our surfacing in Solidworks. Is actually quite similar to Style in Creo (without the live feedback) but results are right up there. Power Surfacing for SolidWorks will give you what Freestyle offers in Creo. Works in the same way, creates a feature in the tree. PowerSurfacing is now pretty good. I’d say, ultimately, not as good as Freestyle but if you stay in Solidworks it is your only native option (and that includes 3DSculptor....which isn’t native feature level...it’s more of the streamlined import export function).
If I was a startup would I get Creo over Solidworks? Impossible to answer that as it depends entirely on what the products are and on the skill level if your employees. In truth, as a startup I’d start with Fusion 360 then add to that if I needed it. For price of a few seats of Creo or SolidWorks you could get a few seats of Fusion, and a decent 3D printer and Desktop CNC. Which, for agile hardware development and extending funding runways, will bring significantly more value in my opinion.
First off, Creo 7 and above are the only versions of Creo any User of other systems should even consider. With version 7 PTC introduced multi body modelling in parts. It totally changes the way you work in Creo, so it is much more Solidworks like. Also, if you do any kind of high level surfacing you need Style (as was ISDX). Core Creo has Freestyle, the sub d toolset and more basic standard surfacing tools.
What Creo does well.
Rock solid stability. As a Solidworks user this was almost shockingly good. We used Creo for 3 years, and we had maybe 10 crashes. Ok we use Solidworks a lot more, and probably challenged the software more, but still, I’d expect 2 or 3 Solidworks crashes a week. These are on dual processor Dell Precision 5900 series workstations btw running latest Windows 10.
Sub D surfacing and Style surfacing. PTC never really push this but honestly, when I saw the reseller model our benchmark bathtub in Freestyle and Style I was blown away (compared to the workflow in Rhino/TSplines and Solidworks). I literally signed the order on the spot. Of course demos by an expert rarely translate to reality, and there were issues with the workflow in Creo 4/5/6, but these were resolved in 7/8. Having said that I don’t think Creo’s non Style surfacing tools are as good as Solidworks core toolset. Also Style is a costly add on. It more or less doubles the subscription costs. But if you do any high level surfacing you need it. Doing realtime adjustments, not having to wait for rebuilds, is mind blowing for most Solidworks users.
On the subject of rebuilds. Creo is soooo much faster than Solidworks. So rebuilds are literally instantaneous, the more complex trees take maybe 1 or 2 seconds. Again this could be related to the type of work but even on similar tasks (surfacy 150 features parts) it has to be 10X faster.
Robust modelling. You know that thing when your tree goes red and the model falls apart in Solidworks? That still happens in Creo, but not to the same extent.
What Creo doesn’t do well:
Assembly modelling and in context parts. Shock horror the Creo folks will say no way! It built its reputation on this! Yes it is, and it is epic....if you have the Advanced Assembly Extension. Most corporate environments do have this, but our package didn’t and AAX is VERY expensive to add it on. Without it, in context modelling (top down) needs planning. Yes it can be done, and yes 7/8 make it much easier, but it is still more challenging than in other systems.
Drafting. We tried drafting a couple of times. Then we exported the data from Creo to Solidworks to do the drafting there. Enough said!
Applying colours to faces and splitting surfaces. Essentially, you can’t do it. There are some workarounds and if you have the Mold and Die Extension that lets you do it, but otherwise, this is a showstopper. For us, this was the biggest point of annoyance using Creo.
Contentious one. File export. I was so used to file export just working via Parasolid between Parasolid apps that coming across errors generated more that a few sweary sessions in the office. Features like Freestyle don’t always play well with STEP. It works 99% of the time bit that 1% sure is annoying.
In summary, Creo is a great platform. Very different from Solidworks, harder to learn in some respects. If you get the extras it will surpass anything Solidworks can achieve.
If you are a die hard Solidworks user and want to stay that way, I suggest getting yourself the brilliant low cost xnurbs add on. This has transformed our surfacing in Solidworks. Is actually quite similar to Style in Creo (without the live feedback) but results are right up there. Power Surfacing for SolidWorks will give you what Freestyle offers in Creo. Works in the same way, creates a feature in the tree. PowerSurfacing is now pretty good. I’d say, ultimately, not as good as Freestyle but if you stay in Solidworks it is your only native option (and that includes 3DSculptor....which isn’t native feature level...it’s more of the streamlined import export function).
If I was a startup would I get Creo over Solidworks? Impossible to answer that as it depends entirely on what the products are and on the skill level if your employees. In truth, as a startup I’d start with Fusion 360 then add to that if I needed it. For price of a few seats of Creo or SolidWorks you could get a few seats of Fusion, and a decent 3D printer and Desktop CNC. Which, for agile hardware development and extending funding runways, will bring significantly more value in my opinion.
