Amidst the fanfare of a multimedia presentations and a completely
new brand strategy, PTC pulled back the covers
on its Project Lightening initiative announced earlier this year, revealing
details on a new scalable suite of interoperable design apps under the Creo
moniker.
Described by CEO Jim Heppelmann as a "fresh start" and the
next-generation mechanical tool platform for the next 20 years, PTC laid out
its vision for Creo, which incorporates key elements in its existing product
lineup along with a range of new patent-pending technologies. Creo, which
companies executives insisted is not a simple repackaging of products, is
specifically being architected to address the unsolved problems that have caused
the mechanical CAD marketplace to remain stagnant: Usability, interoperability,
vendor lock-in and assembly modeling. "If we take stock of what we have, we
have a lot of the right elements to build a new solution that addresses those
big problems," notes Brian Shepard, executive vice president of product
development for PTC.
There are four principle components of the Creo
architecture:
AnyRole Apps: This is a concept PTC describes as a
right-size, role-based application as opposed to serving up a single,
monolithic CAD platform that tries to be everything to everyone in the design
chain. This strategy, designed to simplify CAD and make it more inclusive,
would result in dozens, maybe even hundreds of "apps," built by PTC and a
partner ecosystem, for specific roles within the design process. In this
scenario, for example, there could be an industrial designer app that has
select surfacing tools for that individual, an analyst app with functionality
specific for simulation experts or a service platform app that might let those
individuals easily create 2-D and 3-D technical illustrations. "These are
purpose-built tools for specific roles," explains Mike Campbell, PTC's
divisional vice president. "There's nothing extra and nothing missing."
|
AnyMode Modeling: By creating a common data backbone, Creo
will allow users to design in any paradigm-2D, 3D direct or 3-D parametric-yet
still be able to share and access data from any other mode. Key to this
capability is patented technology that will let users seamlessly switch between
modes without losing intelligence or design intent. "What's critical important
here is that there is data flow-there are no dead ends," Campbell says. Users
can start a design in 2D and then flow it into 3-D when it is appropriate,
providing a better transition between the two paradigms then what has
previously been available, he explains.
AnyData Adoption: While AnyMode modeling addresses data
sharing and interoperability between apps in the Creo suite, it doesn't account
for data and models created in other CAD systems. Heterogeneous CAD is fact of
life in today's design environment and sharing data between systems-and having it
be useful-is a long-time challenge for customers. "One of the barriers for
interoperability in CAD systems is that is been very difficult to share this recipe-based
approach to geometry construction that is parametric modeling," Shepard said.
"Creo adopts [data from third-party apps] as if it were created in the system."
AnyBOM Assembly: This design principle of Creo addresses the
challenge of assembly modeling as companies struggle to create highly
configurable products. Using the PTC's Windchill PLM software as the
configuration kernel, Creo will enable a top-down approach to assembly
modeling. Companies using Windchill will be able to push parts and assembly
models into the CAD environment, enabling reuse and simplifying the design of
new configurations. "Here to date, the integration between CAD and PLM has been
around sophisticated document management and the vaulting and storing of CAD
data," Shepard says. "This is the next level of integration between PLM and CAD
tools, enabling business processes around configuration management."
Creo 1.0 will roll out in Summer 2011 with the first AnyRole
Apps: Parametric; Direct modeling; Conceptual Engineering; Structural
Simulation; Schematics; 3-D Technical Illustration; and Visualization. Creo 2.0
will follow up for release in the fall and will include AnyBOM Assembly.
Pricing on the apps and modules has not yet been determined.
In addition to the new Creo platform, PTC has rebranded
existing products. Pro/ENGINEER becomes Creo Elements/Pro; CoCreate becomes
Creo Elements/Direct; and ProductView becomes Creo Elements/View.
Customers and industry analysts generally applauded PTC's
efforts, particularly around the concept of AnyRole Apps, which they said would
make CAD more accessible, and the idea of tackling the problems around
configuration management. Execution, they said, would be PTC's biggest
challenge. "The real truth of the matter comes when the software becomes
available and gets tested by users," says John MacKrell, a senior consultant at
CIMdata.
Tweet This
2 
