Companies face a difficult decision whenever a software company releases a newer version of a critical tool. It isn’t always easy to cut through the hype around new features and balance improved productivity from new functionality against the cost of the upgrade. In an effort to help you make that critical decision of whether you should implement the new Creo update, we have looked at the feature sets of Creo 6 vs Creo 7.
Creo 6 vs Creo 7 Feature Comparison
Simulation-Driven Design
Creo 7 has significantly improved productivity by providing design engineers with the ability to analyze the performance of 3D prototypes before committing to real-world production. The two major enhancements included in Creo 7 that flesh out Creo’s simulation-driven design portfolio are Creo Simulate Live and Creo Ansys Simulation.
When comparing Creo 6 and Creo 7 consider whether you want to be able to implement more efficient simulation-driven design practices into your development process.
Creo Simulate Live
Creo Simulate Live offers major productivity enhancements. It includes real-time fluid flow simulation, parameter studies, transient thermal studies, plotting, graphing, and the ability to isolate components, which are often integral to your design process. The software runs in the background without slowing your engineers’ ability to work quickly and naturally and can provide instant dynamic feedback on design changes, to support rapid, fact-based decision-making. Engineers don’t waste time running simulations or waiting for simulation processes to complete. Simulations become a natural part of the workflow.
Creo Ansys Simulation
The acclaimed Ansys solvers have been embedded into the Creo 7 interface, so engineers can analyze designs quickly and easily, whether they need structural, modal, or thermal analysis.
Enhanced Support for Additive Manufacturing
Creo has long been a leader in additive manufacturing and when comparing Creo 6 vs Creo 7 their capabilities are relatively the same other than a few new additions. Creo 7 adds Swiss turning machines capabilities for mill working that allows engineers to simply select the machines being used rather than forcing them to create custom commands and codes. Creo 7 also includes enhanced support for stochastic lattices for prismatic shapes. These changes simplify the additive manufacturing setup processes so engineers can be more productive. Whether you run additive manufacturing for prototypes or production processing, these new capabilities will speed time to market and reduce design iterations.
Both versions of Creo include some additive manufacturing capabilities – Creo 7 just includes all the latest enhancements for Swiss Turning Machines and Stochastic Lattices.
Generative Topology Optimization
Creo 7’s powerful built-in AI component generates new, optimized designs quickly, right within the Creo 7 environment with your defined requirements and constraints, including materials and manufacturing processes. Engineers can quickly develop manufacturable designs that are high-quality and at potentially lower costs than designs generated through traditional methods.
Creo Generative Design Extension
Optimization studies have historically been a time-consuming process, but with the Creo design Extension running in the cloud, engineers can run multiple optimization studies at the same time, improving productivity and reducing time to market. It’s easy to evaluate the results of the multiple studies and choose the one that offers the most optimized solution. The unprecedented speed allows you to evaluate more design options, so you can feel confident that your design offers the best combination. In addition, the extension integrates directly into Creo, so engineers don’t waste time and effort uploading and downloading specifications and design parameters into third-party products.
The productivity improvements that can be made using generative design processes is one of the key reasons the latest version of Creo wins in our Creo 6 vs Creo 7 showdown.
Multibody Design
The modern design process is often a team activity, and products are becoming ever more complex. Creo 7’s multibody design enables engineers to work with complex designs that involve disjointed, touching, or overlapping geometry, even within the same part. This capability can be critical in designing for modern manufacturing methodologies such as 3D printing, and it also proves invaluable in designing multi-material overmolds for injection molded parts and components. As a result, the design process moves more quickly, with fewer errors. Your team generates designs for high-quality, cost-effective products that will reach the market faster than ever before possible.
Creo 6 vs Creo 7: Why Upgrade?
There is no question that Creo 6 is an excellent product. It has been universally acknowledged as a leader in 3D CAD packages, and it scores high for user satisfaction. If Creo 6 is working in your engineering department and you don’t need to improve productivity or reduce time to market, then, stick with Creo 6.
But as with any comparison of older and newer products, as is the case with Creo 6 vs Creo 7, the newer version has features that can help optimize processes for the better. If any of the new features in Creo 7 sound good, it might make sense to upgrade from Creo 6 to Creo 7, especially when you consider that the upgrade is free if you have an up-to-date subscription license and maintenance.
It’s not so much about Creo 6 vs Creo 7 – it’s about whether or not your team could benefit from new solutions that help increase productivity.
The Creo 7 user interface has been enhanced to streamline basic processes and includes other enhancements like expanded detailing and MBD standards compliance, Sketcher Tool modifications and so much more. Since you can gain access to all these enhancements without cost, why wouldn’t you upgrade? Creo 6 vs Creo 7 seems like an easy decision, and the sooner you make the decision to upgrade, the sooner you can gain the additional benefits of optimized designs in Creo 7.
