Creo Additive Manufacturing: Build Direction, Supports and Lattices (Tips & Techniques Webcast)

Overview

This 57-minute PTC Creo Tips and Techniques webcast, recorded on November 16, 2023, gives an update on design for additive manufacturing in Creo Parametric, demonstrated live in Creo 10. Lino Tozzi (Solution Consultant, Fellow, PTC) walks through build direction optimization, printer and tray setup with Materialise build processors, support generation, and export, then demonstrates beam, stochastic, auxetic, formula-driven (TPMS) and simulation-driven lattices. Tom Quaglia answers audience questions. It is aimed at Creo users and engineers preparing parts for production 3D printing.

Chapters

This video has chapters. Open the chapter menu in the player to jump to any section.

• 0:00 to 4:42: Welcome and PTC's design for additive strategy
• 4:42 to 8:38: Additive workflow: generative design to print
• 8:38 to 14:45: Demo: part from body and build direction analysis
• 14:45 to 17:28: Tray setup, printers and Materialise build processors
• 17:28 to 19:26: Generating metal support structures
• 19:26 to 21:56: Preview, slicing, export and nesting a tray
• 21:56 to 25:17: Q&A: organic supports and reducing supports
• 25:17 to 31:28: Why lattices: lattice types and use cases
• 31:28 to 35:52: Demo: 2.5D, beam and custom-cell lattices
• 35:52 to 38:49: Advanced beam, auxetic and stochastic lattices
• 38:49 to 44:31: Simulation-driven lattice density
• 44:31 to 47:31: Formula-driven TPMS lattices
• 47:31 to 50:46: What's new in Creo 8, 9 and 10 for additive
• 50:46 to 54:05: Demos: auxetic simulation and TPMS heat exchanger
• 54:05 to 57:02: Summary, Q&A recap and webcast archive

Key Takeaways

• Creo works with any 3D printer that accepts its export formats: STL, 3MF and CLI (sliced layer) files. For printers with a Materialise build processor installed, Creo can also send the job directly to the printer.
• Materialise build processors do not come from PTC. They usually ship with the printer, or you buy them from Materialise, which publishes a library of the build processors available for each printer brand.
• The Creo build direction analysis reorients a part to minimize downskin area, support volume, shadow area or model height, and you can weight these goals (for example 50/50 downskin area and height). In the demo, the starting orientation had over 2,500 square millimeters of downskin area.
• Creo generates tree, cone and hybrid support structures through Materialise Magics. Organic supports are not available; tree supports are the closest option.
• Simulation-driven lattices use a density map: export numerical results from Creo Simulation Live or Creo Simulate as a CSV file (200 points in the demo), and Creo makes the lattice denser where stress is higher.
• Formula-driven TPMS lattices (gyroid, diamond, primitive and IWP) are self-supporting and split the volume into two separate fluid channels, which makes them suited to compact heat exchangers.
• Creo 10 added auxetic beam lattices, which bulge inward under compression and are suited to shock absorption in helmets, protective padding, packaging and similar products.

Does Creo support my 3D printer?

Yes. Creo supports every 3D printer, because it exports the standard file formats that printers already accept, in the same way that Microsoft Word works with any printer through its driver. The presenter explains that PTC's focus is not making printers but designing parts for additive manufacturing: lightweighting, self-supporting geometry, and biomimicry, whose natural structures have a superior strength-to-weight ratio. For some printers, Creo can also connect directly through partner drivers.

Watch: 0:54 to 4:42 (PTC's design for additive strategy and the printer driver analogy)

What does the additive manufacturing workflow in Creo cover?

The Creo additive workflow covers designing parts that only make sense to print, simulating them, preparing the print, and exporting it. Printing a part that could be milled gives little advantage, because 3D printing is more expensive and slower, so the workflow starts from shapes such as generative designs and lattices. It then covers support building for metal printing, AM process simulation, and export to STL, 3MF or CLI files, or directly to a printer through Materialise.

For laser powder-bed processes, heat can warp the part. The third-party Amphyon AM process simulation predicts that distortion and pre-distorts the model, so the printed part distorts back to its intended shape.

Watch: 4:42 to 8:38 (workflow slides from generative design through process simulation and export)

How do I find the best build direction for a 3D printed part in Creo?

Run a build direction analysis, which rotates the part in every direction to minimize the area that needs support. Red and yellow areas show surfaces below the critical overhang angle (the presenter cites 15 or 45 degrees as typical). In the demo, the presenter first makes a standalone printable part from a generative design body and offsets machined surfaces by 1 millimeter to leave stock for machining.

1. Start the build direction analysis: Begin from a guessed orientation with the part sitting on a flat plane, and review the red and yellow overhang areas.
2. Choose the optimization goals: Weight downskin area, support volume, shadow area and model height to suit the printer. Minimize height for a short build volume, or minimize shadow area to nest more parts on powder-bed printers that need no supports.
3. Compute: The analysis runs for about a minute on a complex part and plots downskin area against iterations.
4. Accept the result: Click OK. Creo creates a coordinate system with the Z axis as the build direction, plus curves around the areas that still need support.

Every extra piece of support material means more print time, material and removal work afterwards.

Watch: 8:38 to 14:45 (part from body, then the live build direction optimization and its result)

How do I set up a 3D printer and print tray in Creo?

Select File, then Print, then Prepare for 3D Printing, and add a printer to create a tray assembly that saves the part placement and nesting with the model. If the parts or the printer change, the setup is kept.

1. Add a generic printer: Choose Other, then enter the printer type and tray dimensions.
2. Or add a Materialise printer: For metal printing, choose Materialise. Creo finds the printers whose build processors are installed, much like a 2D printer list.
3. Arrange the part: Place the part on the tray by build direction, using the orientation you already optimized.

Build processors are not supplied by PTC. They come with the printer or from Materialise, whose online library lists the build processors available for each printer brand, for example Concept Laser from GE.

Watch: 14:45 to 17:28 (adding printers and browsing the Materialise build processor library)

How does Creo generate support structures for metal 3D printing?

With the additive manufacturing advanced license, Creo generates supports from a support profile, usually the printer's recommended defaults, and places them only where the build direction analysis still shows red and yellow areas. The demo uses a tree-type support profile and clicks Generate. The presenter reports that the area needing support dropped to less than 400 square millimeters after optimization. Powder-based polymer processes such as fusion jet printing do not need supports.

Watch: 17:28 to 19:26 (generating tree supports on the optimized part)

How do I preview, slice, export and nest parts for printing in Creo?

From the tray, you can preview the print, clip through it, slice it, export it, or print directly. Slicing creates a CLI file that you can play back layer by layer. Export creates a zip file of the print files, and with the additive manufacturing plus license, Print sends the job straight to a configured printer.

For many small parts, add several instances (10 clips in the demo) and use nesting to maximize the tray. Because the tray is saved and associative to the models, you can reopen it after a design change and resend the 3MF file.

Watch: 19:26 to 21:56 (preview, CLI slicing playback, and nesting 10 clips on a tray)

Which lattice types does Creo offer, and when should I use each?

Creo offers 2.5D, 3D beam-based, stochastic, formula-driven and user-defined (custom cell) lattices, and the right type depends on the application. Lattices improve the strength-to-weight ratio, so a part can perform the same with much less material.

• Stochastic lattices: Random, bone-like structures suited to medical implants.
• Extruded (2.5D) lattices: Honeycomb-style lightweighting; surface lattices add rigidity to thin parts.
• Formula-driven lattices: Suited to heat exchange and fluid flow applications.
• Beam-based lattices: General strength-to-weight applications.

Simulation-driven lattices go further than a slicer's infill, which only saves material, by putting denser lattice where FEA shows it is needed. The examples include a helicopter oil cooler built with TPMS lattices and a footrest made by combining generative design and lattices.

Watch: 25:17 to 31:28 (lattice type slides, the oil cooler project and the printed footrest)

How do I add and edit a beam lattice in Creo?

In Creo 10, add a lattice from the Applications tab and replace the part body with it. You can keep a shell (2 millimeters in the demo) and open selected faces. The live preview updates as you change settings.

• 2.5D lattice: Triangular, hexagonal or octagonal cells, with adjustable cell size, wall thickness and drain holes. The presenter calls it the fastest pattern in Creo.
• Beam lattice: Add or remove beams, remove dangling beams, and set the ball diameter, beam cross-section size, round radius, profile (parabolic or straight) and cross-section shape.
• Density: Uniform, or denser near a selected surface with a tapering distance.
• Custom cell: Use your own cell to create intricate patterns quickly.
• More cell types: Rhombic dodecahedron (diamond), elongated dodecahedron, auxetic (single or double angle) and stochastic lattices.

When choosing a cell, leave enough room to remove powder after printing.

Watch: 31:28 to 38:49 (live lattice preview across 2.5D, beam, custom, auxetic and stochastic types)

How do I create a simulation-driven lattice in Creo?

Export a stress result as a CSV density map, then set the lattice density to follow the simulation results, so beams are thicker where stress is high. The demo part was overdesigned, with stress far below the material's yield stress.

1. Run the simulation: Run Creo Simulation Live (or Creo Simulate) with the constraints and load applied.
2. Export numerical results: Choose the number of points (200 in the demo) and a name. The CSV file has more points in high-stress areas.
3. Define the minimum lattice: Create a beam lattice that replaces the body (shell 2, ball diameter 8, cross-section 3 in the demo). These values become the smallest beam and ball.
4. Apply simulation density: Set density based on simulation results, add load cases with weight factors if needed, and adjust the volume fraction and cutoff.
5. Finish and re-check: Remove dangling beams, click OK to create solid geometry, and rerun the simulation.

The rerun took seconds and showed a much more even stress distribution on a lighter part.

Watch: 38:49 to 44:31 (stress export, the density-driven lattice preview and the re-simulated result)

Why use formula-driven (TPMS) lattices for heat exchangers in Creo?

Formula-driven lattices are mathematically defined, self-supporting surfaces that split the volume into two separate channels, so hot and cold fluids can flow side by side in a compact heat exchanger. Types include gyroid, diamond, primitive and IWP. If you run a build direction analysis first, the lattice follows that direction, so it needs no supports.

Creo can also create complementary bodies (the fluid volumes for each channel) for flow analysis, and use baffling, a variable wall offset that keeps each fluid in its own zone.

Watch: 44:31 to 47:31 (formula-driven lattice preview with gyroid, diamond, primitive and IWP)

What additive manufacturing features were added in Creo 8, 9 and 10?

According to the presenter, Creo 8 added multiple components on a printer tray, multi-goal build direction optimization, solid stochastic lattices, complementary bodies for formula-driven lattices, and lattice variability based on simulation results. Creo 9 added stochastic lattices on surfaces and baffling with a variable wall offset. Creo 10 added auxetic lattices, which bulge inward under compression, for energy absorption in biomedical uses, helmets, packaging and some defense applications. The presenter also describes the IWP lattice as new.

Watch: 47:31 to 54:05 (version summary, the auxetic compression animation and the baffled IWP heat exchanger)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can Creo generate organic supports for metal 3D printing?

A: No. Creo offers tree, cone and hybrid supports through Materialise Magics with the advanced license, and tree supports are the closest to organic. (answered at 22:06)

Q: Can Creo change my part geometry to reduce support structures?

A: Not automatically. The build direction feature stores parameters such as critical downskin area, which you can use in behavioral modeling studies or feasibility optimization to vary dimensions. The presenter recommends designing the best geometry and letting the tool find the best orientation instead. (answered at 22:53)

Q: Does PTC supply the Materialise build processors that Creo uses to print?

A: No. Build processors usually come with the printer, or you buy them from Materialise, which has an online library of build processors for each printer brand. (answered at 16:45)

Q: Where can I watch other Creo Tips and Techniques sessions?

A: All past sessions are in the open Creo Tips and Techniques archive, which has East and West series pages. (answered at 54:54)

Links & Resources

• Creo Tips & Techniques Webcast Series (East) (community.ptc.com)
• Creo Tips and Techniques Webcast Series (West) (community.ptc.com)
• Build Processor Library (materialise.com)
• About the Build Direction (Creo Parametric Help) (support.ptc.com)
• Creo: Introduction to Additive Manufacturing and Lattice Creation (learningconnector.ptc.com)
• Beginner's Guide to Metal 3D Printing Simulation (ptc.com)