Creo Simulation Updates Creo 11,12 &13 Tips and Techniques

Overview

This 56-minute PTC Tips and Techniques webcast, recorded on October 30, 2025, covers simulation enhancements in Creo 11 and Creo 12 and previews work planned for Creo 13. Todd Kraft, Creo Product Manager for simulation, presents Creo Simulation Live, Creo Ansys Simulation, Creo Generative Topology Optimization, Creo Flow Analysis and Creo Simulate, and Tom Quaglia, Creo Solutions Consultant, moderates. It is aimed at Creo designers and analysts who want to see what changed release by release, with about a dozen live demos.

Chapters

This video has chapters, which you can also open from the player menu.

• 0:00 to 2:33: Welcome, agenda and PTC/USER events
• 2:33 to 7:03: Creo 11 overview: Simulation Live, Creo Ansys and Generative
• 7:03 to 10:32: Demo: conjugate heat transfer in Creo Simulation Live
• 10:32 to 13:30: Demo: transient structural in Creo Ansys, plus solver Q&A
• 13:30 to 17:07: Creo 12 Creo Ansys: global results, cross-sections, bolts
• 17:07 to 20:04: Creo 12 Simulation Live: auto contacts, vectors, bearings
• 20:04 to 23:45: Creo 12 Generative: thermal study, offsets, rigid bodies
• 23:45 to 25:38: Creo 12 Creo Flow: streamlines, electric field, acoustics
• 25:38 to 29:21: Demo: insertion force probe and bolt preload
• 29:21 to 31:14: Demo: glued interfaces for solid welds in Creo Simulate
• 31:14 to 35:29: Demo: Generative preserved offsets, plus glue Q&A
• 35:29 to 39:15: Demo: Generative thermal results and contact offsets
• 39:15 to 45:44: Creo 13 preview: Simulation Live and Creo Ansys, with Q&A
• 45:44 to 50:41: Creo 13 preview: Generative, Creo Flow and 3D thickness
• 50:41 to 56:07: Q&A: Creo 13 timing, PTC/USER events and closing

Key Takeaways

• Creo Simulation Live in Creo 11 adds conjugate heat transfer for both internal and external flow. Selecting conjugate heat transfer creates the fluid-solid contacts automatically.
• Creo Ansys Simulation in Creo 11 adds transient structural simulation with damping, initial velocity and steps. It is part of the Advanced license and uses the traditional Ansys flagship solver from Ansys Mechanical, not LS-DYNA.
• In Creo 12, Creo Simulation Live and Creo Ansys Simulation use the Ansys 2025 R1 solver, skipping the 2024 releases, and the solver brings security improvements.
• Creo 12 supports bolts and screws in both Creo Simulation Live and Creo Ansys Simulation, with three ways to apply preload and new bolt-specific probes. Creo Ansys Simulation has a few extra bolt probe results that the live solver does not.
• Creo Generative Topology Optimization in Creo 12 adds a thermal optimization study, offset preserved and excluded bodies and surfaces, offsets with contact, rigid bodies, an option to force preserved bodies to connect, and a von Mises stress diagnostic.
• Creo Flow Analysis in Creo 12 adds electric field simulation (Joule heating) and acoustic simulation, both included with the premium license, plus dynamic streamlines and an HTML report wizard.
• Creo Simulate in Creo 12 adds glued interfaces for solid welds, so assemblies with interfering solid welds that could not be meshed before can now be meshed and solved. Glued interfaces work only with solid welds.

What simulation enhancements did Creo 11 add?

Creo 11 added conjugate heat transfer and expanded results to Creo Simulation Live, transient structural simulation to Creo Ansys Simulation, and three new options to Creo Generative Topology Optimization. In Creo Simulation Live, results are no longer tied to the legend, so you can create them before or after solving, average results on selected surfaces, and view mass flow, heat, natural frequency, and static and total pressure. These probes can also be used in Behavioral Modeling. Creo Generative Topology Optimization gained a symmetry constraint, a minimum feature size, and bearing loads with parabolic or sinusoidal distribution and a spread, which are more advanced than bearing loads elsewhere in the Creo simulation products.

Watch: 2:33 to 7:03 (slides covering each Creo 11 enhancement)

How do I run a conjugate heat transfer study in Creo Simulation Live?

Define the fluid inlet, outlet, heat load and fluid material, then select conjugate heat transfer, and Creo Simulation Live creates the contacts and shows results while it is still solving. In the demo, a channel with an existing fluid domain is cooled by water under a 60 watt heat load.

1. Set the inlet: Select the inlet surface and set the flow direction (Y in the demo), starting with a very low flow.
2. Set the outlet: Select the outlet surface.
3. Apply the heat load: Apply a heat flow of 60 watts to the top three surfaces.
4. Assign the fluid: Set the fluid material to water.
5. Turn on conjugate heat transfer: Fluid-solid contacts are created automatically. You can still edit them under contacts.
6. Simulate and iterate: With the trickle flow the part stays at 69 degrees Celsius. Increasing the flow restarts the solver automatically and the temperature drops to 23.7 degrees Celsius, with the water near its 20 degree inlet temperature throughout.

Use the direction field to view flow through the channel. Mesh display was not available in Creo Simulation Live at the time of recording.

Watch: 7:03 to 10:32 (live conjugate heat transfer demo, before and after increasing the water flow)

How does transient structural simulation work in Creo Ansys Simulation?

Transient structural simulation in Creo Ansys Simulation applies a time-varying load, then lets you animate the results over time and chart the minimum and maximum values. In the demo, a load on a small frame is defined as a function, right-clicking the load, ramping from zero over 0.03 seconds, and the result can be graphed and previewed before solving. Creo 11 supports charts in transient structural, and Creo 12 extends charts to other result types. The solver is the traditional Ansys flagship solver used in Ansys Mechanical, not LS-DYNA.

Watch: 10:32 to 13:30 (load function setup, animated transient result and min/max chart)

What is new in Creo Ansys Simulation in Creo 12?

Creo Ansys Simulation in Creo 12 replaces separate basic and advanced results with a single global result set, improves cross-section support, upgrades to the Ansys 2025 R1 solver, and adds bolts with preload. Cross-sections now work across the Ansys integration products, with a button to remove the wireframe geometry. Substep results can be graphed for any contour plot or probe, and colors and animation steps were reworked. Advanced contact supports snap-fit analysis, and bolts and screws support three preload methods and new bolt-specific probes. Press-fit inserts, where parts interfere, are also supported in Creo Ansys Simulation.

Watch: 13:30 to 17:07 (Creo 12 slides for Creo Ansys Simulation)

How do I get insertion force and bolt preload results in Creo 12?

Use a force reaction probe on a model with contact and a displacement constraint to get the force needed to push one part into another, and use the fastener tool to get bolt preload results. In the demo, a rod is pushed 0.5 inches in the negative Z direction through a channel, and the force reaction probe reports about 10 pound force across 15 substeps. The same approach works for snap fits. A fastener is then placed by picking a surface, with a 150 pound clamp load, and the same setup gives the same result in Creo Ansys Simulation and Creo Simulation Live because both use the same database.

Watch: 25:38 to 29:21 (global results animation, stress graph, force reaction probe, and bolt preload in both tools)

What is new in Creo Simulation Live in Creo 12?

Creo Simulation Live in Creo 12 creates contacts automatically, shows vectors and the direction field for every result type, supports bearing loads, and adds bolts. Automatic contacts mean an assembly is no longer merged into one body, so each component gets its own mesh, which improves accuracy. Creo Simulation Live and Creo Ansys Simulation now share a similar bolt implementation, with a few extra probe results available only in Creo Ansys Simulation. The legend has no scale factor, but you can change its maximum and minimum values.

Watch: 17:07 to 20:04 (Creo 12 slides for Creo Simulation Live)

What is new in Creo Generative Topology Optimization in Creo 12?

Creo Generative Topology Optimization in Creo 12 adds a thermal optimization study, analysis support for generated hybrid bodies, offsets, rigid bodies, and a first diagnostic. You can now measure surface area and volume of a generative body and display shaded curvature, reflection, shadow and slope. A connect option forces preserved bodies and surfaces to join the optimized geometry, but it is not on by default because it costs performance. Rigid bodies solve faster than the deformable bodies used before, and the new diagnostic warns when von Mises stress is exceeded.

Watch: 20:04 to 23:45 (Creo 12 slides for Generative, including connected versus unconnected preserved bodies)

How do offsets save time in Creo generative design?

Offset preserved surfaces let you keep material around holes and cylinders without modeling extra preserved bodies, which the presenter calls a huge time saving. In the demo, the hole and cylinder surfaces are selected and given an 8 millimeter offset, several at once, and constraints can then be applied to them. The offsets use a rolling ball method, so values from 1 to 100 work reliably. Offsets also apply to excluded bodies and to contacts, so you can control how the optimized shape connects to a neighboring plate and keep enough elements through the thickness. The thermal optimization demo shows temperature results for four thermal cases, thermal one to thermal four.

Watch: 31:14 to 39:15 (preserved surface offsets, thermal optimization results, and contact and exclude offsets)

What is new in Creo Flow Analysis in Creo 12?

Creo Flow Analysis in Creo 12 adds dynamic streamlines, reuse of Creo datum points and cross-sections, an HTML report wizard, and two new simulation types: electric field and acoustics. Streamlines can be seeded from a point, line, circle, rectangle, sphere or box. Electric field simulation covers Joule heating, shown on a bus bar, and acoustic simulation supports broadband, Lighthill stress and FWH analysis types. Both new types are included with the premium license. Wizard icons were also redesigned to look more like Creo.

Watch: 23:45 to 25:38 (Creo 12 slides for Creo Flow Analysis)

How do I mesh solid welds that fail in Creo Simulate?

Use glued interfaces: when detecting weld features for the assembly, choose the glue option (Use glued interfaces), and assemblies whose solid welds could not be meshed can now be meshed and solved. The default bonded connection merges faces, and interfering welds then prevent meshing, a long-standing problem for customers with hundreds of solid welds. The glue is not a defined material; it acts like a stiff spring, similar to a bonded connection. Glued interfaces are limited to solid welds, because plate-to-plate use produced gaps and interferences with the penetration method.

Watch: 29:21 to 31:14 (failed mesh with bonded welds, then a successful mesh with glued interfaces)

What was planned for Creo Simulation Live and Creo Ansys Simulation in Creo 13?

As presented on October 30, 2025, and subject to change, Creo 13 plans for Creo Simulation Live included Ansys 2026 R1 (26.1), patterned bolts, better selection filters, ECAD assemblies, a moving reference frame for spinning parts such as impellers, local fidelity by body, cutter bodies and frictionless contact. Plans for Creo Ansys Simulation included bolt patterning, 3D bolts with preload, faster results, fatigue, random vibration, a meshing diagnostic, and a back-port of the 2025 R2 solver with security fixes. The demo at the end of the preview shows fastener and preload patterns updating when the pattern changes from eight to four.

Update (November 5, 2026): Creo 13 has since been released. Check What's New in Creo for the features that shipped.

Watch: 39:15 to 43:14 (Creo 13 preview slides for Creo Simulation Live and Creo Ansys Simulation)

What was planned for Creo generative design and Creo Flow Analysis in Creo 13?

As presented on October 30, 2025, and subject to change, the Creo 13 plan for Creo Generative Topology Optimization included assembly-based optimization, multiphysics starting with modal and structural, inertia relief, and a peak displacement constraint. Creo Flow Analysis plans included ribbon changes for consistency with Creo, improved tessellation, a revamped plotting tool and expression editor, a PowerPoint report wizard, and interest in cloud solving through Simerics. A new 3D thickness check with a full-color scale, hover values, a draggable legend and rolling ball as the default method was also in progress.

Watch: 45:44 to 50:41 (Creo 13 preview slides, 3D thickness check mock-up and patterned fastener demo)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does transient structural simulation in Creo Ansys Simulation use LS-DYNA?

A: No. It uses the traditional Ansys flagship solver that is in Ansys Mechanical. PTC exposed this solver capability in Creo based on customer demand. (answered at 11:57)

Q: Can I display the mesh in Creo Simulation Live?

A: Not at the time of recording (October 2025). (answered at 9:50)

Q: Can I adjust the scale of the results legend in Creo Simulation Live?

A: There is no scale factor, such as 50 percent, but you can change the legend's maximum and minimum values to achieve a similar effect. (answered at 18:37)

Q: Can glued interfaces in Creo Simulate be used for plate-to-plate connections?

A: No. Glued interfaces are limited to solid welds. Plate-to-plate use was removed from scope because the penetration method left gaps and interferences that customers did not like. (answered at 33:22)

Q: Is bolt preload available in Creo Simulation Live and Creo Ansys Simulation?

A: Yes, from Creo 12 in both tools, as an idealization. Preload has always been available in Creo Simulate. (answered at 43:14)

Q: Does Creo Simulation Live have fewer connector options than Creo Ansys Simulation?

A: Yes, Creo Ansys Simulation still has a few more options. Creo Simulation Live has bolted connections and handles joints automatically in the background. (answered at 44:11)

Links & Resources

• Creo Simulation Live for Real-Time Design Feedback (ptc.com)
• Creo Ansys Simulation (ptc.com)
• Creo Flow Analysis (ptc.com)
• Generative Design Workflow, Creo 13 Help (support.ptc.com)
• What's New in Creo (ptc.com)
• Creo Tips & Techniques Webcast Series (East) (community.ptc.com)
• Creo Tips and Techniques Webcast Series (West) (community.ptc.com)
• PTC/USER (ptcuser.org)