CREO by PTC: A robust CAD solution for designers, engineers and product developers worldwide. This parametric 3D CAD software for design, simulation and product development is robust, scalable for small as well as complex projects. Industries like automotive, aerospace as well as consumer products use CREO for their design requirements.

Key Features of CREO

•      Parametric Modeling: This allows for designs to be changed easily by modifying parameters within the part or assembly, which then automatically change associated features.

•      Advanced Simulation: CREO is able to test designs within simulated real world scenarios to check for design failures before they happen.

•      Generative Design: CREO’s generative design capabilities enable users to explore multiple design alternatives based on specified constraints and requirements.

•      Collaboration: Working in multi-user environments and using cloud-based collaboration is very easy in CREO.

SolidWorks®. Another popular CAD solution that’s widely used by designers and engineers from various industries such as manufacturing, engineering and product design. Dassault Systems, the developer of SolidWorks, has millions of users around the world. Most of them are small to medium-sized enterprises. Even though there are many other solutions out there, SolidWorks has a huge fan base. This is largely due to the user-intuitive interface which is easy to learn even for people who have little to no experience with CAD in general.

Therefore SolidWorks is also great for beginners. The huge community of users and the large amount of resources (including plugins and add-ons) available makes SolidWorks a very popular solution for designers and engineers all over the world.

Key Features of SolidWorks®

•      Ease of Use: The software is the easiest to learn and use of the current solutions on the market for 3D design today. Therefore, it has become one of the most popular CAD systems in the market today among small to medium-sized enterprises, and it is very popular in the manufacturing industry.

•      3D Modeling: The 3D models can be created very quickly and easily using the very powerful functions of SolidWorks to create any kind of 3D shape.

•      Simulation and Analysis: SolidWorks contains a program called SolidWorks Simulation. This program can perform stress tests on designs. These tests can be based on certain parameters and check if the design can perform as required.

•      Large Ecosystem: SolidWorks has a vast library of SolidWorks Add-Ins / plugins, that can extend the SolidWorks CAD system and help perform more tasks, which otherwise would be done manually.

User Interface

•      CREO: A fully customizable interface which is very powerful for the designer but can be very disorienting for the beginner user.

•      SolidWorks: The software has an intuitive interface for starting to design right away.

Learning Curve

•      CREO: For more time is required in becoming fully proficient with all of the capabilities that are available to the designer.

•      SolidWorks: SolidWorks is relatively easy to learn. It has a short learning curve, which means that you can very quickly start creating your own parts, assemblies and even drawings. In addition, there are many online resources such as video tutorials and online training courses that can help you to get started and to learn how to use.

Performance and Scalability

•      CREO: Large assemblies with complex models can be managed by CREO with maximum performance.

•      SolidWorks: Even though it’s able to complete design related tasks at high speed SolidWorks sometimes struggles with large assemblies to make necessary changes.

Cost

•      CREO: Generally is the more expensive CAD-software. The licenses can cost differently, depending on what type of license it is.

•      SolidWorks: SolidWorks typically offers a very cost effective entry point for customers. This CAD solution can be affordably priced for very small businesses, or even individual designers.

CREO or SolidWorks? For your CAD projects the most important thing is to choose CAD software for your projects, for your work, fitting your requirements, your budget and the complexity of your work.

•      Choose CREO if: You require advanced capabilities for large-scale, complex projects and are willing to invest time in a steeper learning curve for superior assembly management.

•      Choose SolidWorks if: You are a user who needs to design quickly, that has an easy to use interface, and a huge user community for help and plugins for SolidWorks such as API for SolidWorks and much more! Happy designing with either CREO or SolidWorks CAD!

So there you have it – a review of two CAD solutions which are both very powerful and capable of doing lots of things. Each CAD solution will have its own set of strengths and weaknesses, but hopefully the review has helped you understand where each program excels. Your next step would be to take a look at each CAD solution through their trial software and hopefully this will allow you to get a feel for both CAD solutions and hopefully determine which CAD solution is best for your goals. Happy designing!

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