WorldCAD Access: More Free Creo Software from PTC

By Admin | Published: August 26, 2011

 

“First PTC released Creo Sketch 1.0 as free software, and yesterday Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express 4.0 followed… you can download it from www.ptc.com/products/creo-elements-direct/modeling-express/. This page has some tutorials, and lists the differences with the paid version.”

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SolidSmack: PTC Excretes Creo Bliss- Direct Modeling Express Available for Free

By Admin | Published: August 25, 2011

 

“Here we go! PTC is steppin’ it up a notch and lathering our cad bagels with another free-to-squeeze ‘Creo app.’ No fiddling about with ‘Friskets’ and splines this time though. Now it’s all creamy, 3D infused app slapping that allows you to toy with their emotions direct modeling. And guess what? It’s also free. Let’s take a little look at Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express 4.0,”

Creo Elements Direct Modeling Express

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Desktop Engineering: Creo Elements/ Direct Modeling Express- A Free Push-Pull CAD Modeling App from PTC

By Admin | Published: August 24, 2011

 

“In Creo Direct Express, part modeling and assembly modeling are just a tab away. The software makes little or no distinction between the two. You can, for instance, create a new part within the assembly environment by sketching a profile on a new work plane and extruding it into a solid. It’s a lot easier to design interlocking parts (for instance, creating a shaft that must fit into a hole in an existing part) when you don’t need to launch a new modeling window to create a new part.”

 

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Creo Customer: Epson Technologies a Keeper

By Geoff Hedges | Published: August 12, 2011

 

Manufacturing moves fast, especially when it comes to printers. Models land on store shelves, and they’re obsolete less than a year later. That’s because consumers and the competition demand ever more features and conveniences in their electronics–so says Allison and Vince in this episode of The Product Design Show.

Yet, as the industry adds models and options, not everything changes. Not for Epson, the manufacturer featured in this episode. While Epson is one of the most successful printing manufacturers in the world, capable of designing new models in 12 weeks, the company also knows when to stick with what works.

In 1990, it developed a unique technology for inkjets, using mechanical pressure to fire ink onto the page. Other print manufacturers use thermal systems that vaporize the ink. Epson says its Micro Piezo system is more precise, looks sharper and smoother, and operates at a lower temperature. The company believes it’s still the best technology for inkjet printers today, 20 years later.

In 2000, the company made another lasting decision: it introduced 3D direct modeling . Managers at Epson say Creo’s direct modeling approach was easy for its 2D users to learn and adopt, and they’ve been working in 3D ever since. In fact, in 2006 they stopped designing new printers with 2D all together. Direct modeling technology has remained a “keeper” for the company because it continues to unlock value as engineers re-use and adapt existing models to meet the latest market demands.

Creo Customers: NASA Bids Atlantis Farewell

by Geoff Hedges

You've seen the news. On Thursday, July 21, 2011, the Atlantis landed in Florida marking the end of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program. But if you think it's the end of America's active involvement in the "out there," you haven't been reading beyond the headlines.

With STS-135, that is, the final flight of the Atlantis, the U.S. has completed construction of the International Space Station. The ISS is a cooperative effort by 15 countries and though the U.S. has grounded its human space flights, it expects to continue sending  Americans to the station until at least 2020--they'll just get there via Russian rockets rather than U.S. shuttles.

Then there's the robots
A lot of what goes on at the space station is done with robots.  You can send an unmanned vehicle and one of the space station's big robotic arms can catch and dock your craft.  Smaller arms take on finer motor tasks, like trying to refuel satellites (that were never built for refuelling).

How do they model robotic arms and payloads in virtual space? I'm very proud to tell you they use PTC's Creo's direct modeling approach. The engineers at NASA typically import STEP files into Creo, simplify, and then exported the data as VRML files. It was important to NASA engineers to "maintain a high degree of dimensional accuracy in our models due to their use in procedure development and clearance monitoring--a necessity when doing operations such as capturing ... and docking to the ISS" says John Rollfe, robotics analyst. Go to Creo's blog to read the full article.