Creo 5.0 Update

The PTC Creo 5.0 release is jam packed with new features, Topology optimization studies, built in flow analysis, new rendering engine powered by Luxion Keyshot, further improved 3D printing support. In between the constant buzz about IoT, AR and Digital Twins over the past year, PTC also managed to release a new version of Creo Parametric.

PTC has announced that a new version will be released every year and in-between these major releases. Maintenance updates will follow in a greater amount than earlier. The new release schedule follows the ones seen at other great software companies that follow the software as a service licensing model and the sprint development methodology. This results in shipping smaller but more continuous updates to the users.

PTCs marketing department does a fine job to highlight these major improvements, so I would like to use this post to also shed a light on the smaller improvements. Perhaps the ones that make your daily tasks run a little smoother and saving you time.
User interface and experience
I am pleased to see that PTC has continued to work on the user experience with this release. For one, the mini toolbar introduced in 4.0 is added to more modes. Just as the name implies, it is a small toolbar that is displayed near your mouse pointer, only displaying possible actions based on what you have selected in your model. It´s very simple to customize so you can easily present just the actions you need at any given time.

The feedback messages that has previously been displayed in the lower left part of the application window are now also displayed as a tooltip. It will give you a short description of actions, step by step instructions and other useful information to guide you in your work.

A more dynamic filter/search tool is also introduced in the model tree. Start typing a search string and features or models highlight as the string starts to match.

Easily toggle the search string into a filter to only display the resulting objects in the tree.
Sketch Region
A new selection filter is introduced. Sketch regions displays possible regions of a sketch for further actions. For example, if two circles in a sketch intersect, the intersected area or the individual areas can be used for an extrude action without the need of any trimming in the sketch.
Drafts and mirror feature are improved
Applying a draft to a volume containing rounds and chamfers has in previous releases forced you to rearrange the model tree or removing the rounds and chamfers to reapply them after the draft. This can be a real headache when you prepare your model for manufacturing. If you give yourself the same exercise in Creo 5.0 you will create that draft without even thinking about what features you applied earlier. The improved draft tool does all the work for you.

In the same sense the mirror feature in part mode has been overlooked and now supports adding and removing features to it.
Improved large assembly performance
In short you will be able to open your drawings faster than before without doing anything. Sounds great right!? The improvement surrounds a classic computer graphics problem dated back to the dawn of CAD. When opening a drawing that has views representing an opaque object as a line drawing. CAD software must be able to decide which edges or which parts of the edges are hidden by an object itself or by other objects. This problem is known as hidden line removal.

PTC’s R&D department has overlooked how Creo Parametric handles this problem and allowed its algorithm to use multi-threading to improve the time to render the views. For drawings created in Creo 4.0 or Creo 5.0 this is activated automatically.

Drawings from older versions can use a drawing option named – hlr_multithreading – to activate the functionality. The improved opening times of drawings correlates highly to the specifications of your client machines. We have made simple tests on Dell Precision 5520 clients with Intel Quad Core i7, 2.9GHz processors. That gave us around 15% faster opening times. For the most accurate test, download Creo 5.0 and try for yourself.
New Volume helical sweep tool
A new sweep tool is introduced that creates accurate 3D geometric representations for parts machined with cutting tools instead of 2D sweep approximations.

 
Topology Optimization Extension
Creo Topology Optimization Extension uses VR&D (Vanderplaats Research & Development, Inc.) technology to create topology optimization studies. This optimizes your 3D model geometry to meet design goals such as reducing mass, minimizing stress, or minimizing displacement. The resulting futuristic geometries goes well in your additive manufacturing workflow.

Example of a resulting object from a Topology Optimization study

The extension is available in a free BETA version in the 5.0.0.0 release for you to try out!

Video:Topology Optimization Tutorial

 

 
Creo Flow Analysis

Creo Flow Analysis is fully integrated into Creo Parametric. It brings a cheap and easy CFD solution to perform internal and external flow analysis and animate flow results in real-time at an early stage of the design process. The solution supports heat, gas, liquid, radiation, particles and more.

Read more: Creo Flow Analysis
Summary
I hope you have found this brief summary of the news in Creo 5.0 interesting. I am glad to see that PTC is working on improving the user experience and traditional features as well as introducing cutting edge technology. For a full overview please visit the official Creo 5.0 homepage.

Since we are already in December, we can start to look forward to the release of Creo 6.0 in March 2019 and what that has to offer. Sneak peaks tells us that it will for one feature AI technology from newly acquired Frustum.

Thanks for reading!

Great Regards,
Nils Persson

Saving Heat Treatment Steps Means Saving Costs

Cut manufacturing costs with MAGMASoft
Many of our customers ask me if we can help them to cut manufacturing costs.

The short answer is yes!

We have a great example with two of our customers who are using our casting simulation software, MAGMASoft and have decreased their manufacturing costs. MAGMASoft enables the analysis of casting product manufacturing and the prediction of the final product capabilities. We can also connect MAGMASoft to ANSYS for additional product performance analysis like fatigue.
Please read the full story about Componenta and Wärtsilä
Residual stresses that evolve in the casting process during solidification and cooling may cause problems during subsequent machining or component use. In one particular case, dimensional changes of a ductile iron main bearing cap for marine applications had been observed after storing of the part. For this reason, the typical practice was therefore to apply an annealing heat treatment to release residual stresses after casting.

The Finnish foundry group Componenta and the marine and energy component manufacturer Wärtsilä jointly investigated whether it would be possible to omit the annealing step for cast iron main bearing caps. The parts are typically exposed to a heat treatment at around 550-600 °C for about a day. Being able to skip this annealing process would advantageously shorten foundry lead times and allow for significant cost saving potentials. Both partners are used to using information generated from MAGMASOFT® during casting processes.

Several simulations and mold cooling rate measurements were performed to find suitable simulation parameters for accurate cooling conditions from solidification up to shake out, which are the basis for reliable residual stress results.

The simulated stresses were compared to measurements on the produced castings to fully understand the residual stress state of the main bearing caps.

Finally, dimensional measurements of main bearing caps without heat treatment before and after storing them were carried out to verify the robustness of the castings against dimensional changes during storage.

In order to measure the cooling curves, sensors were placed in the mold cavity, and the mold was closed and poured under normal production conditions. The casting was shaken out after 24 hours of cooling, and the temperatures at that point of time were about 290 °C. Virtual thermocouples were placed at the same positions in the simulated model to compare temperatures with the measured curves.

The initially simulated cooling curves differed strongly from the ones measured in the production mold. Based on experience with other simulation projects, it was decided to adjust the sand properties for simulation to attain a better fit of simulated and measured curves. The casting process was then simulated to predict the residual stress formation using the sand properties found using this inverse procedure.

After that, real castings were produced and their residual stresses were measured by means of X-ray diffraction at two locations in two perpendicular coordinate directions on the casting surface. The stresses at the casting surfaces are generally affected by the shot peening process, which creates high compressive stresses in the material within about 1 mm of the surface. Therefore, any comparison of measured and simulated residual stresses is only valid for the material below this layer.

The von Mises stresses were calculated from the measured stresses in the two directions. The values for measurement point 1 can be seen in the figure above, together with the appropriate simulation results.

At position 1 of the casting, the simulated residual stress is about 45 MPa, which is confirmed by the measured values which vary from 16 to 53 MPa (from 1.5 to 5 mm below the casting surface).

The simulated distribution of maximum principal stress in the main bearing cap is shown in the figure below. The highest stress is in the center of the casting, which is not a critically loaded area. The maximum principal stress is about 60 MPa.

The simulation with MAGMASOFT® showed that the residual stresses occurring during casting and cooling were not sufficient to distort the part significantly. From a stress evaluation perspective, no significant dimensional changes were to be expected from storing the casting for some time without prior stress-relief heat treatment.

In order to check this assumption, 3 main bearing caps were machined without annealing. Their exact dimensions were measured in a 3-D coordinate measurement machine before storing them for one month.

The measurement after storage proved that the dimensions did not significantly deviate from those directly after casting. All dimensions were within the tolerances, particularly the critical ones. Consequently, the stress annealing stage for this type of casting was waived, saving significant time and costs for both parties.

Please contact us if you would like to know more about MAGMASoft

Mikko Hinkkanen

*These customer cases are created and published by MAGMASoft GmbH and used by PDSVISION. PDSVISION has for many years been a MAGMASoft partner providing training, consultancy and support for MAGMASoft users.

Wärtsilä from Finland is a global leading supplier of ship engines and power plants.

Componenta is a Finnish technology company, specializes in the supply of cast iron and machined components.

Courtesy of Wärtsilä and Componenta, Finland