Creo Parametric 2.0

[gonzo]

I am starting to work with Creo ( the new version of ProEngineer). Any advice?

 

[alidesigner]

Hanseatic Marine model their super yachts with it. If you get the work flow right it is very capable software. My 2c, be prepared to work differently and when you get stuck dont give up on it. (I dont use it - too expensive - but I wish I did)

 

[gonzo]

I have only been using it for a month. It is quite amazing all it can do. For example, you can make a part, specify the alloy and the load and it will calculate the fatigue, etc.

 

[TANSL]

How can calculate the fatigue if you do not give the part's boundary conditions?. Perhaps I have not understood what you mean.
What else besides calculated fatigue?, calculates, for example, the shear stress, the maximum stress in the part?.
Thanks for the clarification.

 

[gonzo]

Yes. You can simulate load cycles and breaking load. Of course it will not take the place of actual testing, but does speed up preliminary designs.

 

[Ad Hoc]

For example, you can make a part, specify the alloy and the load and it will calculate the fatigue, etc.

Be careful with that Gonzo. Otherwise you'll fall into the usual trap "wow, nice colour plots" like those using CFD or FEA.

It would be of use for a guide and indication of the change, but all fatigue codes are based upon uniaxial, not multiaxial loadings, nor do they take fabrication effects and environment into account. Thus, take note of what it may be telling you, but it is by no means an absolute nor complete!

 

[gonzo]

I agree, that is why I said preliminary design. I have a background in building and repairing, so it gives me a different perspective from people that design things they have never seen or operated. Thanks for the warning though, it should be on the first page of the software user agreement

 

[alidesigner]

Once you get your head around 3D design with parametric software you will never look at Rhino the same way again, especially once you see drawings and bill of materials updating automatically to design changes.

 

[SukiSolo]

I have used parametric modellers since 1996, including Pro-E and Wildfire and it is horses for courses. For the price Rhino is an exceptional tool and affordable for an individual. You need a pretty good turnover to pay full whack for support etc with the higher end packages which do have more in them. Less of a problem with a small company rather than an individual.

Beware of the decimal point when FEA type stuff is done ie quick hand calc to confirm. Also occassionally volumes. I have had stuff outsourced where bend was out by a factor of 10.......

 

[gonzo]

It is easy to get lazy and not double-check the program's output. Most of these programs produce something that looks really nice and pretty. The design has to make sense. A factor of 10 is huge. However, the files are relatively small compared to older programs, and it also works fast.

 

[SukiSolo]

Agreed Pro-E is fast, they halved the file size by going to binary so SolidWoks could not read in the files about 10 years ago. It is very capable with tapers and filleting. One interesting feature is how good is the tangency? If you export a tight tolerance file out and read it into Rhino (tight tolerance input) you will find the tangency is actually not quite as good as you might think!. Pro-E takes expressions pretty well too, in the sketcher, some 2D CAD stuff does too, an important feature for some of us.

In the real world it (tangency) is well inside manufacturing tolerances, but I have noted that the Rhino tangency can be tighter. Rhinos 'engine' is the NURB one from Integrity Ware.

The factor of 10 was noted when a shelving unit for a 21" CRT monitor (remember them!) bent 27mm instead of the 2.7mm predicted. I noted our original design was sufficient but had been reduced by the FEA specialists.....

 

[gonzo]

The tangency tolerances seem to be reasonable and within limits. I have not compared them to other programs though. I will check them and see. Thanks

 

[SukiSolo]

You will not have any problems with Pro-E and tangency in the real world. I mention it out of interest because the Pro-E algorithms to solve fillets and tangency are very fast and powerful. I think Rhino runs slower on fillets because it is 'more accurate' or has a less efficient algorithm!. In the real world a few thousandths or hundredths of a mm are not going to make any difference.
Might just be a quirk, but a Rhino file into Pro-E is usually 'tighter' on tangency even if you do have to knit the surfaces together.

It might be more important on large surfaces, maybe car or commercial truck stuff upwards. It is good enough for Boeing so unless thay have some internal checks, it is OK on foil surfaces and multi foils like yachts.