New features inside Creo 10 eliminate one of the traditional challenges associated with composite material design. Let’s find out more.
One of the great new additions to Creo 10 is a module for composite design. If you’re a product development business, its design and manufacturing functions could revolutionise the way you work. In this article, we’ll tell you all about it.
Why composite materials work
For decades, product design companies have benefited by using composite materials in their output. These benefits include:
- Higher strength-to-weight ratios compared to steel or aluminium
- Tailored strength where you need it
- Increased resistance to corrosion
- Ability to reduce part counts in assemblies
- Flexibility to make designs more aerodynamic, ergonomic and better-looking
Naturally, there are challenges too, such as higher costs and lack of compatibility with CAD tools, but overall, the negatives still outweigh the positives. What’s more, Creo 10 is here to solve that compatibility problem.
Creo 10 composite design features
Creo’s new composite design module is found in the part modelling environment. It facilitates setup, creation of cores and laminate plies and solid geometry generation. For example, during the composite design process, you can display how the core and plies stack up (with representative thickness) in a laminate section. This makes it more likely that the final parts will look the way you want them to.
When modelling, engineers can use Creo’s simulation tools to analyse and identify improvements as they go. These tools include:
- Draping simulation – Calculates shear, ply angles and thickness, including the impact of underlying plies
- Structural and thermal analytics – Full integration with Creo Simulate so you can complete all your structural and thermal analysis tasks without leaving the Creo solution
- Mass properties calculation – Ply-based approach to accurately calculate and monitor design weights
Composite manufacturing deliverables
Creo 10 helps you generate the correct deliverables so your manufacturers can get their part of the job right the first time. Here are two of the most common deliverables:
- Flat pattern – Essential for cutting materials, flat patterns come from Creo’s Draping Simulation tool. Creo gives designers all the exporting options they expect, including DWG and DXF file compatibility and the ability to export separated or combined files
- Ply-book drawing – Creo’s range of drawing templates now includes Ply Views and Flat Ply Views, allowing designers to automate ply-book drawing generation with a few clicks of a mouse, including details such as seed points, draping directions and fiber angles
With these deliverables, engineers can create everything the rest of your supply chain needs, speeding up the manufacturing process and minimising errors.
What’s next?
These new composite design features in Creo 10 make it a must for product developers, no matter what verticals they operate in. Whether it’s aerospace, automotive, medical, wind energy or anything else, Creo gives you all the tools you need for composite material design, analysis and manufacturing.
