- Solve the problems right the first time
- Reduce equipment downtime
- Improve your bottom-line
Technology solutions available on the market today truly have the capability to empower you and your organization; especially during times like these where communication and collaboration are vital to your success.
Today, a high-performance workforce requires expensive training programs, equipment maintenance, travel budgets, and support systems. Yet, many are facing problems due to limited travel, social distancing, and enforced remote working policies.
Vuforia Chalk creates a new way to tackle these business requirements, and even better yet, we are offering free access to Vuforia Chalk for a limited time to help Manufacturing and Service organizations cope with the COVID-19 Crisis.
Vuforia Chalk Free Access Program
The Vuforia Chalk Free Access Program is available right now through August 31st, 2020. Fill out the form at the top of our Vuforia Chalk webpage.
Once you’ve filled out the form you’ll be auto-enrolled in our Vuforia Chalk Quick Start Program – a free consultative guide to get you started with the software on the right foot.
What is Vuforia Chalk?
Vuforia Chalk is an easy-to-use, powerful remote assistance support application that allows your workforce to collaborate in real-time, from anywhere. This application combines real-time video with advanced AR technology to create a simple and intuitive user-experience that anybody can use.
Why Vuforia Chalk?
The Vuforia chalk app is a great entry point for Augmented reality, especially when it comes to existing and long-standing workforces.
Why? Because it is simple and intuitive to use. This application requires a minimal amount of training, and doesn’t involve the use of specialized equipment, like many other Augmented Reality applications on the market today.
With Vuforia Chalk users are able to use mobile devices they already own today, meaning your most experienced minds are accessible anytime, anywhere.
How Vuforia Chalk enhances remote collaboration
Vuforia Chalk lets your employees share a live view of their workspace with an expert, or co-worker, allowing your workforce to easily connect for support or training.
With Chalk, simple instructions can help your team solve complex problems quickly and effectively while reducing costs and increasing technician efficiency.
The AR application also allows both users with the ability to draw on the screen directly from their mobile device to provide instructions as if they were right there face-to-face.
With Vuforia augmented reality, your annotations stick exactly where they are drawn, even when you move around as you work. In fact, you can even pause the live view to draw easy to follow, multi-step instructions.
Chalk is ideal for service and training, as well as other forms of collaboration too.
It makes it easy for your team to work together or give feedback from almost any place in the world – saving you time and money.
Having your best minds on a job remotely allows your organization to:
With Chalk’s simple learning curve, organizations are now able to implement an AR strategy into their business quickly and effectively, allowing even the aging workforce to be able to learn to use the tool efficiently.
Start using Vuforia Chalk for Free
Get enrolled in PTC’s Vuforia Chalk Free Access Program by filling out the form on our Vuforia Chalk webpage – which will auto-enroll you in our Vuforia Chalk Quick Start Program. Here’s the guide for reference to see what to expect.
This article talks about the barriers to simulation driven design faced everyday by engineers throughout the product development process – and how your organization can overcome them. We speak to product development companies and teams every day. Most strive to achieve:
- Deeper understanding of product performance
- Faster ramp-up, shorter development cycles and quicker time to market
- Reduced design-cycle times
- Fewer prototypes and first-time quality at reasonable cost
- Reduced warranty liability and exposure
Odds are you’re already familiar with the traditional product development process. Taking ideas from concept, to design, simulation, prototyping all the way to manufacturing your products. For many years, industry has tried to consistently use simulation as a part of that process; for good reason. It typically improves quality, on-time delivery, and customer satisfaction.
Unfortunately, when simulation is used as a part of the product development process, it’s almost always used as the final validation step after a design is practically complete. But the fact is… that’s not exactly the vision of “simulation driven design” that the industry has been striving to achieve for years.
So why is that? Let’s talk about the common barriers holding many companies back from achieving simulation driven design.
Common barriers of Simulation driven design
1. Engineers feel they need to consult a simulation expert
Often, engineers feel like they don’t have the expertise to run simulations while they design – they feel like they need to consult an expert that may not be directly accessible. This creates design challenges early in your product development process.
2. Engineers feel they need a simplified copy of the actual design model
Often, a simulation expert’s initial task is to figure out how to simplify a copy of the design model so that the simulation will run in a reasonable time and still provide an accurate actionable result. Many engineers don’t feel comfortable making the call regarding what part of their design is critical for a successful simulation.
3. The iterative design process can be complicated
We can all agree that the design process is an iterative one. We can also agree that designing products is complicated. If it wasn’t, everyone would do it.
Certainly, a design engineer would want to use simulation as he/she iterates a design, but this would require running a simulation that could take hours – on multiple uniquely simplified copies over and over again. It’s just not efficient. It’s too disruptive to the design process. Because of this, design engineers generally don’t do it.
The solution: Simulate Earlier in the Design Process
What product development teams really need is a simulation tool that is fast, responsive, and so simple to use that it can literally keep up with design engineers during every step of the way.
No copies. No waiting. Just immediate simulation results throughout the design process.
By using simulation capabilities that are ‘pervasive’ across a concept and detailed throughout design stages – your organization will break down the barriers between design and simulation. Requirements and Quality.
That is the key.
The best part? There are solutions that give every design engineer what they need to truly achieve simulation driven design.
They provide design engineers with the ability to instantly understand how product design changes can impact a products performance. These solutions are called Ansys Discovery Live and Creo Simulation Live.
The solution that makes simulation driven design easy
PTC and Ansys partnered together to achieve an overarching goal to remove simulation barriers for product development teams. They accomplished this by deeply integrating Ansys’ breakthrough of Discovery technology directly into Creo.
This partnership provides the best and broadest portfolio of engineering simulation software – putting the best in class design and simulation capabilities into a single product available to the fingertips of every design engineer – it’s called Creo Simulation Live.
How Creo Simulation Live Works
Creo Simulation Live uses a unique technology approach to deliver simulation results interactively as a product is being designed.
This solution compliments existing simulation offerings that tend to focus more on the analyses that require higher levels of fidelity or are used as a final validation step.
Creo Simulation Live works differently because it does not require the user or designer to be an expert in the field of analysis. They simply need to know basic constraint techniques and away they go.
Using this simulation technology analysis setup and simulation is fast and easy.
In fact, engineers are able to quickly learn the tool navigating a familiar command ribbon UI, context sensitive menus, RMB command access, simplified workflows and engineering terminology. Because, again, Creo Simulation Live puts real-time simulation right in your Creo design environment.
Creo Simulation Live even uses intuitive menus to define and place loads, and constraints. It allows simulations to be created and visualized in minutes and updated on-the-fly. It gives design engineers instantaneous feedback on design decisions.
How much can Simulation Driven Design Save You?
Solving design challenges with instantaneous simulation sounds great, but let’s talk about the return on investment (ROI) it could provide your organization.
Engineers across a diverse range of applications can take advantage of the many features that Creo Simulation Live offers to reduce both time and expense in the design process. These include:
- Optimizing the product design and identifying issues early in the design process
- Reducing the need for multiple heavy analysis iterations or prototypes
- Mitigating the risk of product failure, warranty and liability claims
Investing in Creo Simulation Live gives your engineers a tool that enables them to realize their full design potential.
Just like any business investment, engineers must be able to prove that the results obtained by using Creo Simulation Live are greater than the resources invested, and it’s worth the investment. On a basic level the return on investment (ROI) is the calculation of an investment’s cost versus its benefit.
To calculate an approximate ROI on Creo Simulation you don’t need to be an accountant, I will keep it simple! Try using the following formula: ROI = ((Gain of Investment)- (Cost of Investment)) / (Cost of Investment)
The Gain of Investment is the amount of money your organization will gain from using Creo Simulation Live.
Remember, money your organization does not have to spend, such as prototype costs, should also be included in your Gain of Investment number. E.g. the value of reducing the number of physical prototypes, the expense saved by reducing the number of hours spent on non-final design simulations, etc.
Your organization might also include the improved quality resulting in reduced cost of product warranty and repairs. In addition, you may also consider the value of the time saved in the product development process when using Creo Simulation Live.
Creo Simulation Live can significantly reduce the number of design and prototype cycles, allowing more robust products to be marketed earlier. The Cost of Investment is the amount of money your organization will spend on Creo Simulation Live. The most obvious cost is the price of the Creo Simulation Live software. To obtain specific costs for your organization feel free to reach out to us.
Your organization may also want to include the cost of training or implementation for the software. We can help you figure out the bottom-line investment in things like software and training. When calculating ROI make sure to document two things that will have an impact on your calculations, the timeframe, and the precision of your numbers.
Pick a timeframe for your calculation that is relevant to your organization (in the case that you are unsure as to what this might mean for your organization, we would be happy to assist). One year is a good timeframe to start, allowing the results to be annualized.
Your ROI calculation should be an estimate, and not down to the last dollar. Many of your numbers will be approximations. Document your assumptions as you compile the numbers. That way you can voice your justification if asked later on.
Let’s look at an example taken from the Aberdeen Group – Industry Averages for Simulation Driven Design (2008, 2016).
Current Customer Numbers:
- Annual Product Revenue: $100M
- Percentage of Product Revenue from New Products: 25% ($25M)
- Cost of Poor Quality (% of revenue): 8% ($8M)
- Annual Cost of Prototypes (% of new product revenue): 2% ($500,000)
- Number of Design Engineers: 100
Sample Creo Simulation Live Benefits:
- Cost of Poor Quality: 10% savings – ($800,000)
- Annual Cost of Prototypes: Decreased by 39% – ($195,000)
Creo Simulation Live Cost:
- 100 Engineers x (~$2,400/engineer) = $240,000
ROI Calculation:
- ROI = (($800,000+$195,000) – $240,000) / $240,000
- ROI= 3.1
This demonstrates approximately a 300% return on investment!
Given this kind of return on investment, you now have a solid argument as to why purchasing Creo Simulation Live is the best option to overcome your design challenges!
Now more than ever, product design and manufacturing teams are expected to create efficient, cost-effective products, without sacrificing innovation or quality.
That’s why so many organizations use the 3D CAD software known as PTC Creo Parametric to accelerate the design of parts and assemblies. Working with many product development organizations, we know that not every product is made equal.
The purpose this EAC Creo Clip is to show PTC Creo users, like you, functionality and capabilities you might not know about. Short clips, useful features, better designs – It’s that simple.
Fortunately, Creo delivers the most scalable range of 3D CAD product development packages and tools in today’s market.
In this Creo clip, we talk about how to check design interferences with Creo Parametric 5.0. We talk about how you may be able to skip the full interference check if you are looking to do a very quick analysis for interferences in specific areas of your models. Learn why, in some situations, the sectioning tool might be the best option.
Why are we talking about finding interferences with Creo’s sectioning tool? Most people are familiar with finding interferences in their models by using global interference checks, which is a great tool. Unfortunately, with larger models, it can take some time to run and it might not pinpoint the interferences that you are looking for.
Watch this short EAC Creo Clip that demonstrates how to find interferences in models using the Creo Parametric sectioning tool.
These days product data is everywhere. Everyone seems to collect it, have a lot of it, but the question remains; how exactly can you ensure your organization’s product data is being put to good use?
It’s time to take your product development one step further by providing role-based data access, connecting your enterprise systems, and learning how to make the most of your product data. I am going to explain exactly how easy that is to do.
The current state of product data
Companies today have many different roles that require access to product data. This may include people outside of the typical roles of which you may be thinking.
Departments such as engineering, manufacturing, that’s a given, but expand your thinking to include operations, purchasing, and marketing. They all need data access in order to edit and consume information. Think about sourcing…I’ll stop there, but you get the idea.
Let’s focus on the engineering department for a moment.
People could be involved from the mechanical side, the electrical side, or even a quality standpoint. Beyond that, people need to either contribute or consume information that could include manufacturing, service, sales, and more.
Product data game-changers
Product data silos limit productivity – PTC & EAC have the answer.
PTC ThingWorx Navigate was designed to address data accessibility problems by providing simple role-based apps that deliver just the right information to different groups (or departments) in the way that they need
When non-engineering colleagues need access to vital information, they typically interrupt an engineer or designer with a request. ThingWorx Navigate eliminates that distraction and “double-billing.” Through role or task-based self-service applications, data can be securely shared with a team. That way non-expert teams can use a simplified user interface to access the product data they need, right when they need it.
To help accelerate product development processes and take product data even further, our company (EAC Product Development Solutions) has also created what we call EAC Productivity Apps that work alongside ThingWorx Navigate apps.
So what’s the difference between ThingWorx, ThingWorx Navigate and our EAC Productivity apps?
This is a great question- I am going to try and paint the picture for you.
First, it’s important that you understand what ThingWorx is and how it is different from ThingWorx Navigate.
ThingWorx is the proper name of PTC’s Internet of Things (IoT) platform comprised of 5 components; foundation, industrial connectivity, analytics, studio,
The foundation component is the heart of the ThingWorx loT platform used to make connections to ‘things’ which could be machines, products or software systems or pretty much anything with an IP address and a communications interface.
User interfaces to the data coming from these connections are displayed on websites called ‘mashups,’ created with ThingWorx foundation. You might know these perhaps as ‘data mashups’ or possibly as ‘data dashboards’. Simply put, Thingworx is the IoT platform that makes everything possible. (Here’s exactly what makes Thingworx the leading technology for industrial IoT)
Then you have ThingWorx Navigate.
ThingWorx Navigate is the proper name of PTC’s applications that
ThingWorx Navigate Apps use a Windchill (PLM) connector to extract product data for presentation to Windchill Product Lifecycle Management users.
Fundamentally, ThingWorx Navigate Apps are all simply data and product information mashups created with ThingWorx. With ThingWorx Navigate you receive out-of-the-box apps that are instantly ready to be used with your PLM system. The idea behind these product lifecycle management apps is to ensure users can capture the complete functionality of their PLM (product lifecycle management) investment.
ThingWorx Navigate PLM Apps include:
View Design Files – A design file would be a format of a file that isn’t the native CAD format. This could be a staph or Induce or perhaps a 3D PDF
View Drawing – Allows you to look at just drawings. This application pulls drawings from your Windchill PLM system.
View Part Properties – This feature allows you to look at part properties- as if you were hitting the ‘Information button’ next to a file.
View Parts List – Allows you to look at bills of Materials (BOMs)
View Part Structure– With the View Part Structure App, ThingWorx is actually going into PDMLink and showing different aspects of a specific part instead of different ways of going at it (such as having to open several different tabs to get information). Using this application, you can get all your information together on one page. This feature also includes capabilities that cross-highlight part structures within your product. For instance, you could select a component and it would highlight that part and create a hyperlink that allows you to directly look at that specific part. This feature essentially creates a mash-up that takes information from different places inside of Windchill PDMLink and brings them together putting them on one screen, allowing you to have all your information at your fingertips.
View Document & View Document Structure
If you would like to learn more about ThingWorx Navigate technology or if you have any questions, you can always request to talk with Thingworx Navigate specialists here.
PLM Applications created by EAC
Our EAC Productivity Apps (also known as product lifecycle applications)
They allow departments to access content and perform common tasks through a very simple interface, versus having to use a complex product lifecycle management system (PLM) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
PTC Navigate Apps vs. EAC Productivity Apps
Our EAC Productivity Apps provide capabilities beyond that of the out of the box ThingWorx Navigate apps.
In short, ThingWorx Navigate applications allow you to securely access and present role-specific data from your Windchill system. They provide all of the power of a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system to someone who is not familiar with its ins-and-outs of product data management.
EAC Productivity Apps take it a step further by taking the underlying technology of ThingWorx Navigate, and the ability to get at the information in the PLM system and create even more complete applications that really give individuals instantaneous access to the information and product data they need to do their job. EAC’s PLM applications are created using PTC’s ThingWorx IoT platform, however, they can run independently of ThingWorx Navigate.
These apps are unique to EAC.
While built using the same ThingWorx foundation, ADK and [Windchill connector], they have their own look, feel and functionality. These mashups are packaged and sold together as a collection. EAC Productivity Apps created for Windchill promote user adoption and amplify the return on the investment you’ve made in your Windchill system, as well as extending role-based visibility into relevant product data and the impact PLM has on your organization.
Take your product data further with EAC Productivity Apps
Every subscription of EAC Productivity Apps includes free access to EAC Productivity Home. EAC Productivity Home is a proprietary framework, or launcher, for ThingWorx Navigate applications.
It sits on top of Windchill and
The EAC Productivity App, Quick Search, provides a simple way for users to find content in Windchill. It removes the need for users to apply an understanding of how Windchill objects are related in order to find the information needed to do their job.
The Quick Search PLM application also allows users to search for components and retrieve information and file formats. For instance, if you were to grab a drive system and do a quick search, it’s going to find product information such as parts, EMP like documents, CAD files and more. See EAC Productivity Application Quick Search in action here.
You can also learn more about the Quick Search features in this brochure.
The Quick Access EAC Productivity Application streamlines access to critical and select data sets. Simplifies downstream users feeding critical quality information back to engineering with minimal effort.
This EAC Productivity App allows downstream users to feed critical quality information back to engineering with minimal effort. The simplified interface and consolidated task workflows help users easily submit new problem reports, new change requests, and new variances.
For instance, you could select a component (such as a product), pick its name (the end item number), search for it, and you would get straight to assemblies. With the use of Quick Access users can easily submit new problem reports, change requests, variances and more.
You can learn more about Quick Access features in this brochure.
The Part Associations EAC application provides a “shortcut” for non-CAD users to access critical files and documentation associated with designs like drawings, parts, assemblies, and other documents associated with CAD files and part data.
You can learn more about Part Association features in this brochure.
BoM Reports App provides a visual representation of cost
This EAC Productivity App allows users to quickly assess a Bill of Material and ensure projects stay on-time and on-track. The simplified view helps ensure products are built with the appropriate design iterations. With the use of BoM Reports users can easily see BoMs, lists of unreleased parts, parts that have been created or modified by specific users and more.
This app allows users to see the progress of a bill of materials, and apply filters to focus on parts that are not yet released. It is also useful for viewing all of the “make” parts or “buy” parts in a given BoM, or all parts created/modified by a particular user.
Get better access to your product data
See all the features of EAC P
Creo, the shorthand name for Creo Parametric, (formerly known as Pro Engineer) is a powerful and intuitive 3D CAD software optimized to address the challenges organizations face as they design, analyze, and share information with downstream partners.
Developed by PTC, the original pioneers of parametric CAD, Creo is a powerful foundational software supporting an integrated family of product design tools used by thousands of manufacturers worldwide.
The Creo family of design applications, modules, and extension speak a common language, meet the needs of different stakeholders, and truly combine parametric and direct modeling techniques. Creo helps build bridges instead of barriers between you, your ideas, your teammates, your partners, and your customers.
Creo Parametric 3D CAD software can easily be customized and extended through the addition of modules and extensions, but the product family also contains stand-alone purpose build design applications such as Creo Simulate, Creo Direct, Creo Layout & Creo Options Modeler. Each stand-alone app serves a different purpose in the product development process.
From concept to design to analysis, to effectively sharing your information with downstream partners (such as manufacturing and technical publications), Creo is a rock-solid foundation for any design group. It supports the needs of modern manufacturing and product development organizations.
What makes Creo Parametric such a powerful product design and development tool in your company’s quest for a competitive advantage?
There are many unique aspects of the innovative Creo product family – Here are my top 4.
Flexibility
For designers who are involved in multiple phases of the product development process, PTC Creo provides scalable access to the right capabilities. Subscription licensing enables to adjust and right-size their software over time.
For those involved in specific aspects of the product development process, there are apps tailored to meet individual needs. Regardless of your role in the product development process, you can use the right tool at the right time.
Interoperability
All of the products in the PTC Creo family speak the same language. Because of this common language, your data flows seamlessly between different apps. This means no more recreating work as you move through the design process and no more walls to throw your data over.
Combined benefits of both parametric and direct modeling
PTC Creo integrates the power of both 3D CAD modeling approaches into a single system, so you get the power and control of parametric modeling combined with the speed and flexibility that’s only available through direct modeling.
Multi-cad Data Handling
PTC Creo includes an incredible convince ability to work with and edit data from any CAD source. This means no recreating designs because of incompatible data, and no need to ask your partners or customers to change CAD software systems.
Want to learn more about what PTC Creo Parametric 3d CAD software can do for you? Download the Creo Parametric Datasheet or contact us to talk with a technology specialist today!
On November 20, 2018, PTC announced the ~$70M acquisition of an advanced generative design software company named Frustum Inc. Frustum’s technology leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to generate design options in a process called “generative design.” It will be worth your time to follow this acquisition and how PTC incorporates the technology into their flagship offerings. It should be a transformative addition to PTC’s Creo portfolio.
Frustum offers patented desktop and cloud-based engineering software from their headquarters in Boulder, CO. Their software enables engineers and designers to go beyond the limits of their personal experience by leveraging powerful AI capabilities that guide the discovery of high-performance, next-generation product designs.
When asked about the acquisition, Jim Heppelmann, President and CEO of PTC said “PTC is pushing the boundaries of innovation with this acquisition…Creo is core to PTC’s overall strategy, and the embedded capabilities from ANSYS and, later, Frustum will elevate Creo to a leading position in the world of design and simulation. With breakthrough new technologies such as AR/VR, high-performance computing, IoT, AI, and additive manufacturing entering the picture, the CAD industry is going through a renaissance period, and PTC is committed to leading the way.”
Earlier this year PTC announced a strategic relationship with ANSYS. Frustum complements this relationship and will help bring analysis upstream to the very start of the design process. With embedded Frustum and ANSYS capabilities, Creo will be able to recommend design approaches using generative design, guide the user through the iterative design process using ANSYS Discovery Live, and ultimately validate the full product design at scale using the broader ANSYS Discovery suite. With these capabilities embedded in Creo, engineers will have unmatched capabilities to rapidly drive product innovation.
Here is some more information about the acquisition from the official PTC press release…
“This acquisition is a natural step for PTC and its customers,” said Jeff Hojlo, program director, product innovation, IDC. “AI and machine learning (ML) are widely discussed as two of the most impactful technologies of the future. For design, engineering, and R&D, the potential positive impacts of complementing the development process with AI and ML are astounding: lowering cost of quality (which is currently 20-25 percent of annual revenue at the average manufacturer), improving product success rate (which remains very low with more than 80 percent of products failing), and improving time to market and time to revenue by meeting customer needs accurately the first time.”
The Power of Generative Design
With generative design, engineers can interactively specify the functional requirements and goals of their design, including preferred materials and manufacturing processes—and even indicate key design parameters that take into consideration purchasing decisions, manufacturing capacity, supply chain status, and regional-required product variances. The system then uses AI and powerful high-performance computing techniques to present design alternatives for consideration as a starting point or as a final solution. By removing the constraints of human imagination and experience, engineers will be able to interact with the technology to create superior designs and innovative products more quickly.
Generative design is appealing to PTC’s vast customer base as they seek ways to:
- Increase engineering productivity
- Improve innovation and conceptual design exploration
- Develop higher-performance designs that are lighter weight, with improved durability
- Optimize new products for improved manufacturability, reduce material costs, and decrease manufacturing cycle times
- Create complex geometries optimized for additive manufacturing
- Deliver better products faster
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence
Integral to Frustum’s technology is a powerful AI component that learns, evolves, and, ultimately, performs key tasks, including:
- Providing valuable feedback to a designer early in the design phase
- Optimizing designs for multiple objectives simultaneously and offering a designer with multiple novel design alternatives, which enables companies to substantially reduce engineering cycles
- Modifying designs to manage multiple requirements and constraints, physics, materials availability, manufacturing processes, and design objectives
- Automating testing the outcomes of the design with other enterprise insights, including costing, supply chain, and quality data
The Transaction
The transaction closed on Monday, Nov.19, 2018. The acquisition is not expected to add material revenue for 2019 or to be dilutive to the financial guidance PTC provided on Oct. 24, 2018.
Additional Resources
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements about future events, including business performance and the effect of the acquisition on our future financial results, the integration and development of solutions, and the expected value of the acquired technology to users. These statements are “forward-looking statements” and actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including that the acquisition may not have the expected effect on future financial results and that the integration of the solutions may not occur when or as expected, and those risks and uncertainties described in PTC’s filings with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
