CONCEPT DESIGN

WITH CREO 2.0

S P E C I A L R E P O RT

CONCEPT DESIGN WITH CREO 2.0

Concept design is a fundamental part of the product development process. Whether using
traditional methods or computerised techniques, its here that a products potential can
be explored most fully. DEVELOP3D explores how Creo 2.0 can fit into the process

Creos Trace Sketch tools can arrange drawings to

provide a reference for the Freestyle modelling tools.
Each plane can be adjusted to the correct size

Freestyle allows the use of a primitive as the base

feature. Automatic mirroring means that symmetry
can be maintained in the model where needed, saving
lengthy set-ups to control tangency and curvature
continuity

Surfaces are edited using drag and drop of edges, faces

and vertices of the control cage. The influence of each
entity can be adjusted to build in hard edges

aking a quick sketch, creating a simple

model or just throwing together ideas
for conceptual design is something that
designers and engineers excel at. Its at this
formative stage that creative ideas can have
their biggest impact before a design is encumbered with
weeks of development.
Traditional & digital sketching
A hand drawn sketch using pencil, marker and fineliner is
the traditional way to capture a concept. However, some
designers are also keen to dive into the digital realm and
flesh out an idea using digital sketching.
If your designs do start on screen, then theres good
news. Creo 2.0 supports the import of many common data
formats including those from scanned hand sketches,
industry standard systems such as Photoshop and
Illustrator or from PTCs own Creo Sketch (which is a free
download for anyone).
Creo 2.0 allows these sketches to be imported into image
planes, scaled to size and used as reference for the 3D
modelling.

CONCEPT DESIGN WITH CREO 2.0

Single parts can contain multiple

Freestyle primitives which,
when combined with the Solidify
commands remove material
option, allows the creation of
negative features with ease
while retaining editability of the
originating geometry feature

Here the power switch area has

been recessed by removing the sub
division surface primitive from the
model, giving a smooth area

A second Freestyle feature is used

to create a rocker switch cover
intended for over moulding in a
more flexible material

Rounds are used to break the sharp

edges. When used in combination
with the curvature continuous
geometry is highly mouldable

The recessed rocker switch cover

and product details (on/off switch)
are all added into the model with
minimum feature overhead. The
recess has been created in a single
feature. With traditional modelling
methods (either surface or solidbased) this would have been
problematic to create and not offer
as much in terms of editability.
Three additional features and this
portion of the concept is complete

CONCEPT DESIGN WITH CREO 2.0

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Fill Patterns provide a wide range of possible patterns

for bristle positioning. These can be driven by a
standard form (such a linear, circular, spiral or angular)
or using tabular information for positioning

Fill Patterns can also be used to drive feature or part

placement as shown with the bristle features. More
regular features such as protrusions, cuts and revolves
can then be used to add additional form where required

The final concept is ready for rapid prototyping, for

visualisation using either the rendering tools built into
Creo or one of the partner applications.

3D concepting benefits & inefficiencies

There is a lot of benefit of conceptualisation in a 3D
modelling system, irrespective of whether youre starting
with 2D sketches or diving straight into the 3D world.
3D models can be used to visualise a concept in a more
realistic way, to build rapid prototypes for quick aesthetic
and tactile evaluation, or to generate photo realistic
renderings. But diving straight into 3D modelling also has
its drawbacks.
Traditional 3D modelling tools require a great deal of
effort to generate 3D forms. The historical weight of these
modelling tools means that experimentation is limited
by the time it takes to create and iterate ideas. These
barriers occur at a point where experimentation should be
at its most free and unencumbered.
Into this environment comes PTCs Creo and a set of
tools targeting this inefficiency. By combining Creos
pre-existing capabilities with new technologies based on
sub-divisional surface modelling, designers can create
and edit forms quickly and efficiently. The resultant
geometry can then be moved into further design work and
engineering production.
Freestyle: the gateway to clean surfaces
At the core of this new toolset is Freestyle. Included as
part of every Creo installation, Freestyle contains all of
the sub division surface modelling tools.
Use depends entirely on the type of geometry required,
but the starting point is always a primitive cylinder,
sphere, box, or a simple face. These are then manipulated
using a control cage, which allows quick edits to be made
either globally across multiple faces or to tweak specific
areas.
Figure 4 shows how a single sphere can be manipulated
to create a relatively complex form in a single feature.
Creo 2.0 brings another level of control to Freestyle
with new tools to further refine smaller features where
needed, but retains the editability of the whole by either
scaling or refining the control cage.
Intelligent iteration & experimentation
While the ability to quickly generate complex forms using
sub-D modelling tools isnt unique to Creo, there are some
additional benefits to using this particular toolset.
The first is that it is included in the base level package.
This means there is no add-on cost and it is available
for every user to take advantage of. Data is fully
transportable between users and remains editable at all
stages.
The second (and arguably more important) is that due
to the integrated nature of the tools, design iteration,

CONCEPT DESIGN WITH CREO 2.0

experimentation and editing, are more seamless. If the
designer wants to make an edit, either as a tweak of form
or a more extensive change, then the appropriate features
are edited and the system propagates the changes.
Moving into detailed design & engineering
While Freestyle introduces a raft of surface manipulation
tools, the user also has the benefit of Creos interoperability and legacy with Pro/ENGINEER to assist with
taking that concept through the refinement phase, into
detailed design and engineering.
Using either the same dataset or supplementing it with
parametric modelling features and additional surface
models using Creos Interactive Surface Design Extension
(ISDX), everything can be handled in a single system
without having to worry about passing data back and
forth.
Conclusion
Concept design is at the heart of every project, whether
starting with a blank sheet or working on a design refresh.
Whether physical tools (pens, paper, napkins) are used or
a more technology-led approach is preferred, the ability
to flesh out those ideas into something more tangible,
then evaluate and refine is key.
Only through quick iterations of these variants,
experimentation with form and features can new avenues
be found to solve a customers problem or create market
demand.
PTC has a legacy of providing advanced shape
description tools backed up with some seriously hardcore
engineering tools. What Creo brings is the ability to
generate concepts that can feed into those tools in
a dramatically shorter time than is traditionally
the case.

PRODUCED BY X3DMEDIA
www.x3dmedia.com
UNDERWRITTEN BY PTC
www.ptc.com

At any point in the process, Creos set of mould design

tools can be used to perform draft and thickness
analysis to ensure that the end result is not only
aesthetically pleasing, but can be manufactured

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The benefit of using integrated tools for concept design

is that the surfaces can be taken through into the
detailed design and engineering development. Here the
split line is found in the direction of draw and a parting
surface is built to assist with tooling design

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