Nowadays, all industries depend on CAD software to shape their ideas into finished products. It can be any sector, such as architecture, gaming, or even mechanical engineering. There is a growing need for CAD, and this created a considerable demand for CAD-dependent software packages across the globe. In this article, we are going to compare the software SolidWorks and Creo. They are both popular software packages in engineering and product design. They have very clear and distinct differences in things like what they are offering and which type of users need this software. All this is explained in this article.
What is Creo?
Creo, which was released in 1987, is a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program. It is created by the Parametric Technology Corporation Company (PTC). It is one of the best major solid modelers to enter the industry. It is used for product designing by all manufacturers using 3D direct modeling, technical illustrations, and finite element analysis. Creo comes with many applications. Some of them are as follows: Creo Direct, Creo Illustrate, Creo Schematic, Creo Sketch, Creo Simulate, Creo View MCAD, Creo View ECAD, and others. Many industries use it, and it is considered the industry standard by many others.
What is SolidWorks?
SolidWorks was initially released in 1965, and now it has over two million engineers and designers across the globe. It provides many capabilities for assisting the design process, such as 3D Mark-up, Defeature, Visualise, 3D Mesh Modelling, advanced mold design, and many more. In the whole CAD market, SolidWorks has the largest community of online users. SolidWorks is user-friendly and easily accessible.
How do they compare?
In today’s scenario, both Creo and SolidWorks are much closer in price, but the biggest difference is their complexity for users. SolidWorks is more user-friendly and less complex than Creo, which is a higher-end CAD market product that is much more complex. For finding a job, SolidWorks is the easiest option. However, many capabilities that Creo offers are not offered by SolidWorks. Many users believe that Creo is more advanced than SolidWorks.
1. The difference in prices and licensing SolidWorks
Creo:
Creo has two types of licenses depending on how many devices are used by the program.
- Locked: For this, there is a limitation for the use of a single device. For example, work desktops. It will not allow transferring the program to another device.
- Floating: You can use Creo on many devices with this license. This is useful for the office or work environment where many users can share the same Creo login.
Creo pricing depends on the level of subscription. For example, different prices are available- Designed Essentials, Design Advanced, Design Premium, and Design Premium Plus versions of Creo.
SolidWorks:
There are four types of licenses provided by SolidWorks based on who you are and for what purpose you will use the software.
- Commercial: This license type is used for business purposes. By using this licence you can make the products for sale and profit purposes.
- Research: Researchers use this license for industry publication, intellectual property paperwork, and for projects that are too without a watermark. But remember, you cannot use this for profit making.
- Education: This license provides many teaching supports along with the core design software.
- Start-ups and entrepreneurs: This license is useful for small businesses. SolidWorks offers a free three-month trial for small businesses.
Pricing of SolidWorks depends on the tiers of usage, and it includes the one-time fee for the software in addition to this, there is an annual fee for the maintenance and upgradation of the software.
2. System requirements
For smooth working, both Creo and SolidWorks require a certain degree of computational capacity.
Creo:
Operating system: Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 are supported. 32/ 64 bit can be supported.
Minimum RAM requirement: 512 MB
CPU: Single or Dual quad processor is used.
Internet connection: For activation of the software, an internet connection is required.
SolidWorks:
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 or 10, 64-bit supports this software.
Minimum RAM requirement: 16 GB or more, depending on the size of the renders.
CPU: Requirement of Intel core i7 9700K or core i9 9900K
Internet connection: It can be used in offline mode. No internet connection is required.
3. Features and functions
Creo:
Creo has several features. However, it is less user-friendly than SolidWorks.
Styling features: You can create many curves and surfaces.
Technical and freestyle surfacing: Technical surfacing helps to manipulate the patches on different surfaces.
Analysis features: A number of designs can be created within your specifications using Creo.
Sheet metal modeling: Creo helps you to design the part out of sheet metal.
Design for 3D printing: Creo helps to directly take your design for the additive manufacturing stage.
Computational fluid dynamics: This feature is provided by Creo’s latest version. With the help of this, you can control the liquid and gas flow in your design. And any level of user can use this tool.
SolidWorks:
Command finder: This lets you find the commands based on the keywords.
Hide or Show Components: You can see the highlighted component by hiding the other details.
Interference check: This component lets you know the overlapping tests.
Hole wizard: All the standard tools and features are given.
Mouse gesture: SolidWorks depends more on the mouse, and many users find it easier to control.
Library: If you have shapes and details, then add them to the SolidWorks library. So you don’t have to find them every single time.
4. Based on user experience
Creo:
Difficult to learn: Creo has more advanced features, and if the software has more advanced features, it is more difficult to learn. If you are new to CAD software, then don’t start with the Creo.
High-end CAD functions: This is the best thing about Creo, as it helps users bring advanced tools, such as topology optimization. Creo gives Speed and a level of control over their work. Creo offers advanced geometric abilities, kaleidoscope features, and various stack commands.
Customization: Creo is a suite of many advanced features. Users can choose highly specific modules for their designs, and different packages target different users.
SolidWorks:
Easy to use: Users find SolidWorks easy to learn. It provides many tutorials to help students learn from the primary level.
Design failures are transparent: SolidWorks shows how a mistake in any part of the design can affect the other features.
Control over the design features: SolidWorks helps you merge the two different designs.
Best Alternative to Creo and SolidWorks – “SelfCAD”
SelfCAD is one of the best alternative to Creo and SolidWorks. The interface of this 3D design software is easy to use and you can use it to create both simple and complex 3D models. You can use the various tools of the software like freehand drawing and sketching as well as image to 3D model that you can use to turn images to 3D models. The software also comes with an in-built online slicer that you can use to slice your designs and generate the G-code to send to your 3D printer. Get to know how SelfCAD slicer works in the video below.
Navigating Creo and SolidWorks for Efficient Design Work
In solid modeling, both Creo and SolidWorks play an important role. You can choose any one of them according to your skill sets and knowledge of using the software. Their use also depends on the needs of your CAD project. Both of these software have their own set of capabilities, and various functions are performed by them. If you are new to 3D modeling or non-specialized in CAD software, then SolidWorks would be the best choice, as it is more user-friendly and easy to learn. In this article, we compare both software based on several parameters. We hope this article will help you evaluate them according to your requirements.