Hey Dave, spot on a 100% correct. Comments are no place for detailed conversation, but I will say on your behalf - you and your channel is an amazing resource that did not always exist. When the frustration of understanding what creo is looking for ....rears it's head....your videos are sussinct and to the point. Every young eng learning creo on the fly is better off for the gap you have filled in the market. Thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks. As I've mentioned before, when I had the idea for the channel in 2018, I was shocked that no one had created a decent Creo channel. There are great channels for SolidWorks (GoEngineer) and Fusion360 (Lars Christiansen). I hope someone picks up the mantle for NX and CATIA / 3DExperience. I think it helps everyone to have good TH-cam resources for CAD.
I've been using pro/e since 1997 and I think it has a lot of potential, but I can't hide the fact that the interface could be much better. I think this is what scares users who are used to other software that was created on Windows. I have friends who have worked with several software programs and they say that Creo is the most complete. I really like Creo because it's very easy to customize.
I have use PTC proe since the beginning. I just love how it has evolved over time to Creo. I have use many others mentioned here. I always come back to Creo, It just works how my mind works, the UI works easily with my thoughts. But I also like using some of the other cad platforms
I know a little bit of SolidWorks, Creo, and Solid Edge, and I've watched a lot of tutorials on Inventor, CATIA, and NX, just to stay informed about what others can do. From my point of view, they are almost the same-where one shines in a particular task, the others are at best 'meh, alright, I could live with that.' What I find unacceptable in Creo is maintaining those ancient menus that are quite hard to understand nowadays. But the others have their quirks too.
I do wish PTC would once and for all remove all traces of the Menu Manager (e.g., Repeat Regions in a drawing) or Model Dialog Boxes (e.g., creating a User Defined Feature). I do think that would go a long way to address user complaints about the UI. However, as Paul S. has pointed out numerous times, there is a finite amount of time, money, and people that they can invest in new software releases. It becomes a trade-off between new functionality or cleaning up old UI.
@CADPLMGuy Yes. it has not very good or more steps to reach a step (sometimes) type user interface. I do like it's simplicity. That is what I love it for.
@@CADPLMGuy Hello. Perhaps this will be addressed in some future but it seems that complete model dialog boxes are still somewhat buried in Pro/Engineer; Wildfire; Creo code. I think reason is backward compatibility. And I mean “long run” backward compatibility. I just opened a Pro/Engineer part I created in Pro/Engineer 18 or 19, more than 25 years ago. I tried to redefine (not modify!) some features as drafts and rounds. The Pro/Engineer style dialog boxes popped up immediately. Also just look at the model tree reveals models old age, there are no extrusions in model tree, there are protrusions and cuts as they were back then (and feature called “slot” 😉). This will come as a shock even for well trained Creo users, even consulting companies won’t be able to help, because users with such long experience are rare. I know this scenario is seldom to happen, but is ever more possible with time passing by and with ever more documentation being in digital form. I experienced this first hand. I think at some point some kind translator of pre-creo models into creo models would be needed… Jože
@barbarpapa1 I have seen the model dialog boxes a lot, as I have models dating back to the 1980s that I use in my videos. And I made a video last year where I showed how you can expose the entire Wildfire interface in Creo. I'm talking before there was a ribbon and it was all drop-down menus. I was pretty surprised.
I started on CATIA and went to CREO. While I will give the nod to CATIA on surfacing but. CREO? Once you learn how CREO's functionality works? Wow, you won't have to tell people you're good, they will tell you.
Hello Dave Martin..1st thank you for your response to question. 2nd : I agree CAD is about trade-off. Focus on strengths of CAD you use. Each CAD has special capabilities More important : CAD is a tool , user is the most important
I agree about the strengths of different CAD packages. Every single CAD package (and PLM system) I've ever used has had something I hadn't seen before that I really liked.
Hello Dave, your video made me remember when my company was acquired by a bigger company that used Creo and Windchill. At that time we were using NX and within a few weeks we began the migration to Creo. We followed a series of courses and had support from some consultants and also directly from some people at PTC. Despite this the users who had started working with CAD with NX began to complain, saying that Creo was an inferior product, that there was no point in having parametric CAD and that it was not possible to meet deadlines. Luckily we had a former PTC employee, who assisted users in difficulty by providing them with training on request and, after about a couple of years,the transition was complete and no one remembered NX anymore. Al
It is because of the interface and the menus of the Pro/Engineer. It was a nightmare to get into and start learning, even up to Wildfire 5. And Pro/E always had a specific way to go about modelling. Add the fact, that there were virtual no online tutorials other than official PTC's, that nobody had access to. On the other hand, SW was easy to learn and tons of online tutorails even 15 years ago. But PTC made the renaissance with Creo. I am now in my 10th year in Creo, at least 8 hours every day. I still use SolidW sometimes at home for my DIY projects (like weldings) to stay in touch with the software, but in my proffesinal life, I would never ever have anything other than Creo. I design injection mold tools. For me, Solidworks is a toy compared to Creo.
Another thing about CREO because of its extremely high functionality it can be difficult for less experienced companies to integrate CREO and Team Center. One example of this was being asked NOT to use Family Tables for flat patterns. That raised an eyebrow or three with the more seasoned designers.
True dat on new user training Dave. Companies have passed on this simple investment and expect users to get up to speed by any means. Typically, that means leaning on OJT, and that alone has the ability to keep bad habits in place. I was a machine tool designer and the PTC admin for a company for many years. Like training, the administration side is where companies also fail to focus, believing it is nothing more than overhead. Well, you just spent many thousands of dollars on the software, maybe it makes sense to learn how to configure and standardize your installation. I'm still running elements of my original config. pro and .sup from the early Pro/E days. Started on Pro/E w/ version 7. Now running Creo 8. In my 30-plus years, I've run AutoCAD, Pro, NX, CATIA, and SW. Furthermore, they're all good feature models, but you have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each. IMO however, PTC has the best integrated CAD/CAM/PLM offering.
You're so right. Companies cut corners and don't offer training thinking they're saving money. But it's costing them in lost productivity every single day. Same with not having decent internal support, like you point out.
(1:24) "People love their first home...". Many people never forget their first love. Also, comfort. I'm learning NX from scratch, with basically OJT. It's extremely frustrating, but it's new. I like learning new engineering software. I'm also looking forward to NX CAM and MasterCam. As I've gotten older, I love the learning journey. Embrace "Who moved my cheese?".
I had not heard of "Who moved my cheese?" I started to read the Wikipedia summary, then decided I wanted to read the book for myself rather than spoil it. Amazingly, I had to put the book on hold from my library. It was published in 1998 but yet all of Seattle's copies are checked out with a waiting list.
My current company uses Creo and makes mostly 2.5D machined parts. For that purpose Creo is definitely adequate with the license options we've got. Even though the learning curve, documentation and intuitiveness leave a lot to be desired. But whenever I want to use a master sketch to design ribs for injection molded plastic and stuff (for funsies), with tons of intersecting lines and arcs but no separate closed loops, Creo will not allow such sketches to extrude thin features. Not world shattering but I really miss doing this in SolidWorks. All connecting rib features extruded from a single sketch with draft angles. That and also 3D sketches instead of multiple 2D sketches where I need to define their starting planes separately.
I suggest you watch my videos on Master Sketches and also my 2024 Extrude update. I think you will realize some of the things you have written are not true. Beware of equating “I don’t know how to do this” with “Creo can’t do this.”
I’ve been using PTC for 25 years, but I have to pay someone to update my yearly license and a new version. Every time I update a version, many of my options are
I Went from SW 97-2007 to Creo and struggled quite a lot. Now i have been in ProE/Creo since 2008 and learned to appreciate it. I Think if i switch over to SW again it would be easier but i also Think i would miss some capabilities in Creo but this is just a guess. I have learned quite a lot from your channel due to it is quite hard to try to find solutions in Creo by your self but when you see examples of some things it makes life/work easier. Keep up the good work. 👍
Thanks. My current and previous jobs have been at companies that use SolidWorks. (Unless it’s not clear, I like SolidWorks.) That helps me understand the ease of use and why people like it. It also helps me appreciate how there are so many options and ways to do things in Creo that just aren’t in SolidWorks. And I can see why people coming from SolidWorks can get frustrated at what looks like complexity but is actually capability.
I have a hate and love relation with Creo after using it for 20 years. I love it because I can design and manufacture everything I need. I hate it because of the strange user interface in comparison with Autocad that I use for 2D drawings. Creo is not the top in making drawings out of a 3D model. The Creo manufacturing is not enough developed for the last 10 years. However I make all the parts that I want. I had to find out everything about 5-axis milling by myself because there are not good tutorials about this.
Again, I find the notion of hating a CAD package irrational because hate is such a strong word. When I think of stuff I hate, it's things like racism, misogyny, war (I'm a former soldier), and so on. I find it hard to lump a software package in with stuff like that. I agree that drawing mode probably needs a complete overhaul at some point, if it's possible. I'm surprised about your comment regarding manufacturing, regarding all the improvements it has gotten consistently since at least Creo 7. Jose is actively involved with the user community. Have you ever engaged with him about what enhancements you would like to see with milling and CNC?
I’ve been using Pro/E and Creo 1999. I still cannot update grade my license or update the version without calling in a consultant. The instructions on their website are180 pages long. This is typical and it damages the company’s reputation.
Really? You need a consultant? Yes, the instructions are 180 pages because they cover every possible scenario and issue you may encounter. But there's only like 5 pages you need out of that. Next time you need to retrieve your license, reach out to me. I can show you in less than 5 minutes (for free). Do you also use a consultant to update your build code? You pretty much need to step through the installer. I thought I had some video on doing an installation or update, but I must be thinking of Mathcad. I'll update one of my versions this weekend and record it. It's super easy. Stop wasting your money on paying someone to do this for you.
I just checked, and I do indeed have a video on "How to Install Creo Parametric." This weekend I will update one of my Creo versions and post a video showing you how to do it.
Creo should focus on changing its drawing mode, that is very outdated. All features should have a similar type of dashboards with check boxes or advanced options drop downs for customisation.
I’ve been using and teaching PTC CAD (in German & English) since revision 20 (2000) all over the world and I love it, I’ve used also Solidworks and Catia V5 & V6, none of these Cad systems reach the level of Creo, although other systems have some good features (apart from Catia V5 & 6). I’ve used all systems in the automotive world and medical devices and Creo still comes out Top. Unfortunately the license is expensive so that lots of companies are choosing inventor now which is diabolical in my view, and yes I’ve had the discomfort of using it. My opinion
agree 100%. I've fallen victim to hating aspects of creo while struggling with the complexity of some aspects. But, I appreciate what it is designed for and the intended audience. Once I master a challenging tool I feel a great sense or accomplishment!
I used CATIA for 8 years and now Creo for 6 years. I know creo well but I still think almost everything is slower to do in creo. I do not hate creo. But it does make things complicated 😂
I believe this correlates with my statement in the video that "people love their first home." People have a natural preference for the software that they used first or the software that they used before. And that's okay.
I installed several of the top "CAD" programs and compared them directly. Creo won out because of it's sophisticated math capabilities, its screen experience, and the fact that it is more of a design program than just a CAD program. The only rival that came close was NX, but I didn't like looking at it and I never got the hang of the modeling process. The down side of Creo is the cost. PTC sells the program one line of code at a time, and with the current business model, you can't even buy it.
Really? I just did an extensive benchmark in 2022 including cost. I found that Autodesk Inventor is by far the best bang for the buck. If you were lucky enough to get SolidWorks on perpetual license and just pay subscription, that's the next best offer. Otherwise, SolidWorks and Creo are comparable in price. I disagree about not being able to buy Creo. If you think PTC nickel and dimes you, they are NOTHING compared to NX and CATIA in that regard. If you think Creo is bad, those packages will help you see the light. And of course Onshape is always a great deal, since you're getting both CAD and PDM.
We use it at work. I just love Creo Parametric. We also use Solidworks and Inventor, but I personally prefer Creo above all. At school I learned to work with Inventor and then at work started with both Solidworks or Creo (Wildfire back then) depending on the client, but quickly I noticed Creo was just made for me. I find it sad to see many companies I've worked for change to solidworks just because it's cheaper and because most new people don't feel like learning something new.
I haven't kept up with the latest, but I remember Inventor at one time had an excellent university outreach program like SolidWorks. Plus it's just so inexpensive for CAD, FEA, and CAM. I knew of one company that switched from Creo to SolidWorks because it was what most of their new hires knew and preferred it. That was a mistake because their assemblies were absolutely humongous.
spot on as always. learned 10 years ago that most cad tools were all very similar. i started catia v4 r20 moved to weirdly rhino for awhile, then on to solidworks, then CREO. ive also familiarized myself with NX. I will say tho, i think PTC's onshape is the future of cad and MBD, they just need to start working on their MBD toolset.
also i think ive said this before dave, but you really are the best resource for non basic user topics ive ever seen, ive literally built some of your series into my teams training curriculum. with one caviat, which is your rule to not model as you manufacture, but that is due to my theory that capturing design is not the same as designing, and that if they are designing to be more flexible then once they are done we can look at how to make the model more usable downstream. great stuff man.
Ha ha, I started on CATIA v3 (and SDRC I-DEAS). I agree that there's a high level of overlap in parametric CAD tools, especially when you're talking about sketching, parts, assemblies, and drawings. And I do love Onshape.
hahaha, I start complaining with this software at the beginning, but the real situation it was me, not the software, I must to start from the scratch with a new platform, after SolidWorks, inventor, autocad, also Rhinoceros, now this new software do in different ways all I use to do, but do better, that's piss me off, because has a lot of capability, but I can't control at the moment, after go over my own lack of knowledge, I start to love it, well we never will have the perfect CAD, but they work hard to give us the best of tools, and this is one very awesome.
Yup. Any time I go into different CAD software, I find functionality where I say, "ooh, that's nice," or "wow, PTC should steal that." Like the Hole Wizard or 3D Sketches or Make Assembly from Part in SolidWorks. But then you always come up against other stuff like, "Why is my sketch still blue? It's fully constrained!" Or, "Why can I locate holes only on points? Why can't I use an axis?" Or, "I wish we had sets in fillets and chamfers." It's all a trade off.
2:34 That is the reason many engineers especially in countries like Pakistan do not taste the full functionality of CAD softwares and engineering in general.
I am engineer and I prefer Creo over any other. I have used Solidworks, SolidEdge, Inventor, Powershape and Nx. Last year I was in an University short Course related to 3d scanning and additive manufacturing, and we had to do a practical work with CAD. It took me half an hour with Creo, meanwhile the other students took hours and hours (all using SolidWorks).
Essalem and Hello teacher In my opinion, I think we need the basic concepts in the following modules: resistance of the materials avenced mechanics of continuous and discontinuous environments the finite securities analytical mechanics the fatigue and others so if you do not have a theoretical background so normal you dismiss Creo.
Honestly, I don't understand your comment. I don't know what "avenced" or "finite securities" mean. As far as continuous and discontinuous environments, I assume you mean being able to perform analysis between independent objects, which Creo can do. Creo has a fatigue module and I know how to use it. Unfortunately, I've never had access to a license, so I've never made videos on it.
The mouse travel and mouse clicks required to complete/modify a feature can determine the efficiency of a software. To me, Creo seems to beat SW in that perspective.
Funny, I felt the opposite. I came from AutoCAD where hotkey commands were everything. I could draw with little interference between thought and putting that into lines on a drawing. Creo really relies on clicks. It has some right click menu features, but a lot of times you need to move your mouse all the way to the top tool bar to applied parameters to an extrude, and then all the way to the right to hit okay. The middle mouse button “complete” seems inconsistent.
@tanleproe In SolidWorks, I always feel that I'm doing something wrong if I have to move my mouse all the way to checkmarks all the time, or take my hand off the mouse to hit the ENTER key.
Hello… Perhaps I should start with the ”Best CAD Software”… The best CAD software is the one which you know and master the best. Because the CAD software is merely a tool to do some work and most likely you’ll finish a task fastest, with the least effort and most enjoyment if you are using a tool which are you familiar with… And this love - hate point of view is perhaps a sign of time. Nowadays the reasonable consideration and opinion sharing is so rare, everything has became polarized, almost everybody tries to be as extreme in opinion as possible… And here, where I come from (Slovenia), Creo is free for high school pupils and students. Perhaps this is because PTC is not directly doing business here but through a VAR company, which is really trying to bring Creo as close to future engineers as possible… Jože
It’s too bad, I really like Creo. I made the switch professionally about 10 years ago now and it’s just really a good tool - does it have oddities, yup. Just like all the rest. Could I complain about it, yup, but my job depends on this tool so I better just be the best I can with it and suck it up. Pretty much the same in every other aspect of life.
Honestly, I despise CREO. I use it daily but it really irks me how easily a model can break. I’m not a cad technician so I’m not expending 100% of my time on it, I have other activities to do as part of my responsibilities so I need a software that is more forgiving and unfortunately I have yet to see that with creo. The circular references seem to be never ending sometimes. And my final complaint would be the drafting on CREO is most definitely the worst of all cad packages. For me, SW easily wins for design engineers. I don’t have time to master a cad software like creo, it’s simply too complex when you have to do other activities.
You would probably be better off with a different CAD platform. But I suspect this is also a training and process issue, because it's really hard to create circular references these days. A few years ago, I tried forcing some circular references using every trick I knew, and most of them just don't result in circular references anymore. But there's got to be a reason why your company is on Creo instead of SolidWorks.
I think it’s legacy. Even the engineers who have used it since PRO Eng still have issues with circular ref’s especially as the model becomes more complex and fastener holes move around. I think the cad technicians really like CREO. Personally one issue I frequently do encounter with CREO that frustrates me hugely is exporting a stp file with a specific UCS location. Not sure if you have ever encountered this issue?
@@CADPLMGuyI note your circular reference comment with interest. Our issues seems to be top level assembly. When we assembly the component assembly to the tooling assembly, this seems to create the circular issues. Even if we activate the component and use the tooling hole as a reference it still seems to persist. And updating holes in the component but keeping the hole redundant in the tooling (it’s manufactured now so for consistency they have to stay in the assembly) this also seems to break the component assembly. Maybe we need to upgrade from 8 ?
What is the issue with exporting a STEP file with a specific UCS location? Can you provide details? Have you opened a ticket with PTC? I have a video on exporting STEP and I show how to change the export coordinate system.
@JamesofSuttonYorks Have you engaged with an expert or a consultant to figure out what's going on with your process? I can't diagnose based on the details you provided. I'm not sure what you mean by "break the component assembly." But I suspect a consultant can resolve your issues pretty quickly. What kind of hit in regeneration time are you getting from circular references? Back in the 2000s, it used to be pretty bad. But when PTC improved the software to make circular references much harder to create, they also drastically lessened the impact on regeneration time. At a previous company, we had one team that was generating dozens of circular references at all assembly levels. It was a matter of correcting a simple modeling practice when assembling fasteners. They were adding an extra unnecessary step. Once we got them to stop doing that, the circular references went away. You should upgrade from Creo 8 as PTC just announced sunset plans for that version. (I just released a maintenance minute short about that.) But the fixes to circular references were made a long time ago. It's probably a process issue.
The best CAD software is the one you are currently using (Creo for me) as long as It's your primary CAD software, and you use it regularly. I don't enjoy AutoCAD 2D, it's great software but I rarely use it, years back, it was all I did: 2D drawings. Creo is great with no (Windchill) database management software, we're on the latest release right away. I've used 6 CAD programs over my career and 25+ years of Pro-E and Creo, I'll take Creo. All the CAD programs have evolved to where there all excellent, the one you have is probably a keeper, it's hard to justify switching, all things considered. But CAD users are opinionated.... 😊
I like your perspective about the best CAD software. As a former CADmin, I've seen some users get way too emotional over whatever CAD the company uses.
Too many people get upset when you point out deficiencies. That how improvements are made. They get upset and say well we can't control that so maybe you should go somewhere else. When it was only small talk. And they don't even know what small talk is. It like your calling us small
The biggest point you probably missed was to remind Managers and decision makers to TRAIN their Engineers. I am a Mechanical Engineer. I have seen a lot as a Product Designer. Ppl hate Creo because they are expected to know everything from jump. By promoting the idea that you must always come equipped to face whatever, you are not proposing a realistic solution to the problem. Science and Engineering takes time to master. It does. It took me time to learn FORTRAN. It took me time to learn C, then C++. I prefer FORTRAN. It took me time to learn Pro/E, ABAQUS, etc… And to become proficient in any of them. I could not imagine anyone telling me to shut up, here we use ANSYS, and expect me to run complex simulations from day 1-1/2. So, no. I completely disagree with you, and with the mentality of just learn this and shut up! How would you feel if an employer tells you that just because it has many Chinese clients, to just go teach yourself Mandarin?! You completely missed the point on the reality of self-development. Einstein said it best: “Knowledge is a function of time”. I am not an English native speaker. It took me time to become fluent in it, or for that matter in Spanish too. I can go one using so many analogies… I would not want to work for you, nor with you for that matter either. Now, before anyone accuse me of being lazy… I once took 10 days of my personal yearly vacation to fly to the UK, learn a particular software which my company used, but would not train its engineers on (apparently anymore). Of course, plane tickets, hotel and food came out of my pocket.
I did say this in the video: "To make matters worse, fewer companies bother to train their employees in CAD these days. Companies just throw their new hires into the deep end of the pool and expect them to swim. They’re setting their employees up for failure, and the new hires end up hating Creo." Although I didn't explicitly call on companies to train their employees, I believe I implied it in this statement.
Good one Dave. I came across an article you wrote about linking to the history of CAD and just finally understood that CAD is a massive field and as such it is impossible to have one CAD software that satisfies everybody. Each software is simply developed to cater for a particular field. And is optimised as much as possible in for that specific field so we don't go about shelling out thousands of dollars on features we won't even use. Ptc Creo aimed at a specific market and did their best to optimise for that market. Just learn the commands and you're good.
Yup. There is no CAD platform that satisfies the needs of every product development organization. I remember years ago when I met with some potential customers. They were a mom & pop shop that made furniture. Chairs, tables, simple assemblies with a handful of components, all fabricated onsite. After hearing their needs, I told them Wildfire was not the right tool for them. I'd rather they be successful and happy as opposed to making a sale and providing them with way more software than they need. I've also had three friends create different startups that were basically garage efforts. When they came to me and told me their needs, I steered two of them towards Inventor and the other to Onshape. CAD is a massive field and different companies have different needs.
Yup. Here is a list of CAD software I have used: I-DEAS, CATIA / 3DExperience, Creo, UG / NX, Onshape, Fusion360, Inventor. Here is a list of CAD software I don't hate: I-DEAS, CATIA / 3DExperience, Creo, UG / NX, Onshape, Fusion360, Inventor.
Exactly what I said to my wife ! I need to test other to compare cost,packages and fonctions to be completely sure she is still the right choice over years 😂
Hi Dave, Your channel is great and very helpful, but to be honest this video is straight up PTC propoganda😂 Creo and Windchill are one of the most cumbersome and inefficent CAD softwares out there, it's 2025 and creo 11 is getting very little love from PTC as it seems...
I don't understand what you mean about Creo 11 getting very little love from PTC. I'd like to hear more about what you mean by that. I disagree about this being straight-up PTC propaganda. That's a very strong comment against my integrity. I would like to have a reasoned, nuanced discussion regarding that, as my opinions in this video are the result of over 3 decades in the CAD industry. I can go into much more detail than I did so in this video. If you are open to this, you can find my email address on the front page of my website as well as the About page of my channel. That offer is open to anyone who has strong feelings about my video.
I don't hate Creo (I've used it for 28+ years), I'm often ANNOYED by it however. No, I hate PTC for their ARROGANCE and REFUSAL to fix serious known bugs that have been there, in the dreaded "split cylinder/split circle" case, since the very beginning. This causes SERIOUS issues, and NEEDS to be fixed. Also, they STILL don't have solid body sweeps etc.
I’m interested to hear what problems representing cylinders as two halves still pose. (That is how Dr. Geisberg built the software in the beginning. Since PTC has a rule that anything designed in Pro E v1 has to regenerate exactly properly today, that’s the way it will be.) However, any selection of a half cylinder selects the entire cylinder. So I’m interested to know what problems still remain.
Hey Dave, spot on a 100% correct. Comments are no place for detailed conversation, but I will say on your behalf - you and your channel is an amazing resource that did not always exist. When the frustration of understanding what creo is looking for ....rears it's head....your videos are sussinct and to the point. Every young eng learning creo on the fly is better off for the gap you have filled in the market. Thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks. As I've mentioned before, when I had the idea for the channel in 2018, I was shocked that no one had created a decent Creo channel.
There are great channels for SolidWorks (GoEngineer) and Fusion360 (Lars Christiansen). I hope someone picks up the mantle for NX and CATIA / 3DExperience. I think it helps everyone to have good TH-cam resources for CAD.
B/c these 3 are for elite class engineering.
I've been using pro/e since 1997 and I think it has a lot of potential, but I can't hide the fact that the interface could be much better. I think this is what scares users who are used to other software that was created on Windows. I have friends who have worked with several software programs and they say that Creo is the most complete. I really like Creo because it's very easy to customize.
I agree. When someone hates Creo, they should take a look at your channel. It is the best Creo-Tutorial-Channel I knew.
Thanks. I appreciate that.
I have use PTC proe since the beginning. I just love how it has evolved over time to Creo. I have use many others mentioned here. I always come back to Creo, It just works how my mind works, the UI works easily with my thoughts. But I also like using some of the other cad platforms
This was when it was Unix based
I know a little bit of SolidWorks, Creo, and Solid Edge, and I've watched a lot of tutorials on Inventor, CATIA, and NX, just to stay informed about what others can do. From my point of view, they are almost the same-where one shines in a particular task, the others are at best 'meh, alright, I could live with that.'
What I find unacceptable in Creo is maintaining those ancient menus that are quite hard to understand nowadays. But the others have their quirks too.
I do wish PTC would once and for all remove all traces of the Menu Manager (e.g., Repeat Regions in a drawing) or Model Dialog Boxes (e.g., creating a User Defined Feature). I do think that would go a long way to address user complaints about the UI.
However, as Paul S. has pointed out numerous times, there is a finite amount of time, money, and people that they can invest in new software releases. It becomes a trade-off between new functionality or cleaning up old UI.
@CADPLMGuy Yes. it has not very good or more steps to reach a step (sometimes) type user interface.
I do like it's simplicity. That is what I love it for.
@@CADPLMGuy
Hello.
Perhaps this will be addressed in some future but it seems that complete model dialog boxes are still somewhat buried in Pro/Engineer; Wildfire; Creo code. I think reason is backward compatibility. And I mean “long run” backward compatibility. I just opened a Pro/Engineer part I created in Pro/Engineer 18 or 19, more than 25 years ago. I tried to redefine (not modify!) some features as drafts and rounds. The Pro/Engineer style dialog boxes popped up immediately. Also just look at the model tree reveals models old age, there are no extrusions in model tree, there are protrusions and cuts as they were back then (and feature called “slot” 😉).
This will come as a shock even for well trained Creo users, even consulting companies won’t be able to help, because users with such long experience are rare. I know this scenario is seldom to happen, but is ever more possible with time passing by and with ever more documentation being in digital form. I experienced this first hand. I think at some point some kind translator of pre-creo models into creo models would be needed…
Jože
@barbarpapa1 I have seen the model dialog boxes a lot, as I have models dating back to the 1980s that I use in my videos.
And I made a video last year where I showed how you can expose the entire Wildfire interface in Creo. I'm talking before there was a ribbon and it was all drop-down menus. I was pretty surprised.
I started on CATIA and went to CREO. While I will give the nod to CATIA on surfacing but. CREO? Once you learn how CREO's functionality works? Wow, you won't have to tell people you're good, they will tell you.
Hello Dave Martin..1st thank you for your response to question.
2nd : I agree CAD is about trade-off. Focus on strengths of CAD you use. Each CAD has special capabilities
More important : CAD is a tool , user is the most important
I agree about the strengths of different CAD packages. Every single CAD package (and PLM system) I've ever used has had something I hadn't seen before that I really liked.
Hello Dave,
your video made me remember when my company was acquired by a bigger company that used Creo and Windchill.
At that time we were using NX and within a few weeks we began the migration to Creo. We followed a series of courses and had support from some consultants and also directly from some people at PTC.
Despite this the users who had started working with CAD with NX began to complain, saying that Creo was an inferior product, that there was no point in having parametric CAD and that it was not possible to meet deadlines.
Luckily we had a former PTC employee, who assisted users in difficulty by providing them with training on request and, after about a couple of years,the transition was complete and no one remembered NX anymore.
Al
It is because of the interface and the menus of the Pro/Engineer. It was a nightmare to get into and start learning, even up to Wildfire 5. And Pro/E always had a specific way to go about modelling. Add the fact, that there were virtual no online tutorials other than official PTC's, that nobody had access to. On the other hand, SW was easy to learn and tons of online tutorails even 15 years ago.
But PTC made the renaissance with Creo. I am now in my 10th year in Creo, at least 8 hours every day. I still use SolidW sometimes at home for my DIY projects (like weldings) to stay in touch with the software, but in my proffesinal life, I would never ever have anything other than Creo. I design injection mold tools. For me, Solidworks is a toy compared to Creo.
Great Video! Thanks for the reply
Much love and keep up the good work :)
Thanks for asking the question. I’ve been meaning to make this video for a while.
Another thing about CREO because of its extremely high functionality it can be difficult for less experienced companies to integrate CREO and Team Center. One example of this was being asked NOT to use Family Tables for flat patterns. That raised an eyebrow or three with the more seasoned designers.
True dat on new user training Dave. Companies have passed on this simple investment and expect users to get up to speed by any means. Typically, that means leaning on OJT, and that alone has the ability to keep bad habits in place.
I was a machine tool designer and the PTC admin for a company for many years. Like training, the administration side is where companies also fail to focus, believing it is nothing more than overhead. Well, you just spent many thousands of dollars on the software, maybe it makes sense to learn how to configure and standardize your installation. I'm still running elements of my original config. pro and .sup from the early Pro/E days.
Started on Pro/E w/ version 7. Now running Creo 8. In my 30-plus years, I've run AutoCAD, Pro, NX, CATIA, and SW. Furthermore, they're all good feature models, but you have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each. IMO however, PTC has the best integrated CAD/CAM/PLM offering.
You're so right. Companies cut corners and don't offer training thinking they're saving money. But it's costing them in lost productivity every single day. Same with not having decent internal support, like you point out.
(1:24) "People love their first home...". Many people never forget their first love. Also, comfort. I'm learning NX from scratch, with basically OJT. It's extremely frustrating, but it's new. I like learning new engineering software. I'm also looking forward to NX CAM and MasterCam. As I've gotten older, I love the learning journey. Embrace "Who moved my cheese?".
I had not heard of "Who moved my cheese?" I started to read the Wikipedia summary, then decided I wanted to read the book for myself rather than spoil it. Amazingly, I had to put the book on hold from my library. It was published in 1998 but yet all of Seattle's copies are checked out with a waiting list.
My current company uses Creo and makes mostly 2.5D machined parts. For that purpose Creo is definitely adequate with the license options we've got. Even though the learning curve, documentation and intuitiveness leave a lot to be desired. But whenever I want to use a master sketch to design ribs for injection molded plastic and stuff (for funsies), with tons of intersecting lines and arcs but no separate closed loops, Creo will not allow such sketches to extrude thin features. Not world shattering but I really miss doing this in SolidWorks. All connecting rib features extruded from a single sketch with draft angles. That and also 3D sketches instead of multiple 2D sketches where I need to define their starting planes separately.
I suggest you watch my videos on Master Sketches and also my 2024 Extrude update. I think you will realize some of the things you have written are not true. Beware of equating “I don’t know how to do this” with “Creo can’t do this.”
I’ve been using PTC for 25 years, but I have to pay someone to update my yearly license and a new version. Every time I update a version, many of my options are
Why do you have to pay someone?
I Went from SW 97-2007 to Creo and struggled quite a lot. Now i have been in ProE/Creo since 2008 and learned to appreciate it. I Think if i switch over to SW again it would be easier but i also Think i would miss some capabilities in Creo but this is just a guess. I have learned quite a lot from your channel due to it is quite hard to try to find solutions in Creo by your self but when you see examples of some things it makes life/work easier. Keep up the good work. 👍
Thanks. My current and previous jobs have been at companies that use SolidWorks. (Unless it’s not clear, I like SolidWorks.) That helps me understand the ease of use and why people like it. It also helps me appreciate how there are so many options and ways to do things in Creo that just aren’t in SolidWorks. And I can see why people coming from SolidWorks can get frustrated at what looks like complexity but is actually capability.
I have a hate and love relation with Creo after using it for 20 years. I love it because I can design and manufacture everything I need. I hate it because of the strange user interface in comparison with Autocad that I use for 2D drawings. Creo is not the top in making drawings out of a 3D model. The Creo manufacturing is not enough developed for the last 10 years. However I make all the parts that I want. I had to find out everything about 5-axis milling by myself because there are not good tutorials about this.
Again, I find the notion of hating a CAD package irrational because hate is such a strong word. When I think of stuff I hate, it's things like racism, misogyny, war (I'm a former soldier), and so on. I find it hard to lump a software package in with stuff like that.
I agree that drawing mode probably needs a complete overhaul at some point, if it's possible. I'm surprised about your comment regarding manufacturing, regarding all the improvements it has gotten consistently since at least Creo 7. Jose is actively involved with the user community. Have you ever engaged with him about what enhancements you would like to see with milling and CNC?
@@CADPLMGuy Dave Martin's tutorials about CAD are excellent but where are the CAM guys?
I’ve been using Pro/E and Creo 1999. I still cannot update grade my license or update the version without calling in a consultant. The instructions on their website are180 pages long. This is typical and it damages the company’s reputation.
Really? You need a consultant? Yes, the instructions are 180 pages because they cover every possible scenario and issue you may encounter. But there's only like 5 pages you need out of that. Next time you need to retrieve your license, reach out to me. I can show you in less than 5 minutes (for free).
Do you also use a consultant to update your build code? You pretty much need to step through the installer. I thought I had some video on doing an installation or update, but I must be thinking of Mathcad. I'll update one of my versions this weekend and record it. It's super easy. Stop wasting your money on paying someone to do this for you.
I just checked, and I do indeed have a video on "How to Install Creo Parametric." This weekend I will update one of my Creo versions and post a video showing you how to do it.
Very well spoken I couldn't agree more
Thanks. I spent a lot of time thinking about this.
@@CADPLMGuy I appreciate that
(5:15) I think the best CAD is the one you are best at working with
Creo should focus on changing its drawing mode, that is very outdated. All features should have a similar type of dashboards with check boxes or advanced options drop downs for customisation.
I doubt that would ever happen, even though it would be great if they did. The focus seems to be on capturing information in MBD or Windchill instead.
I’ve been using and teaching PTC CAD (in German & English) since revision 20 (2000) all over the world and I love it, I’ve used also Solidworks and Catia V5 & V6, none of these Cad systems reach the level of Creo, although other systems have some good features (apart from Catia V5 & 6). I’ve used all systems in the automotive world and medical devices and Creo still comes out Top.
Unfortunately the license is expensive so that lots of companies are choosing inventor now which is diabolical in my view, and yes I’ve had the discomfort of using it. My opinion
agree 100%. I've fallen victim to hating aspects of creo while struggling with the complexity of some aspects. But, I appreciate what it is designed for and the intended audience. Once I master a challenging tool I feel a great sense or accomplishment!
I used CATIA for 8 years and now Creo for 6 years. I know creo well but I still think almost everything is slower to do in creo. I do not hate creo. But it does make things complicated 😂
I believe this correlates with my statement in the video that "people love their first home." People have a natural preference for the software that they used first or the software that they used before. And that's okay.
I installed several of the top "CAD" programs and compared them directly. Creo won out because of it's sophisticated math capabilities, its screen experience, and the fact that it is more of a design program than just a CAD program. The only rival that came close was NX, but I didn't like looking at it and I never got the hang of the modeling process. The down side of Creo is the cost. PTC sells the program one line of code at a time, and with the current business model, you can't even buy it.
Really? I just did an extensive benchmark in 2022 including cost. I found that Autodesk Inventor is by far the best bang for the buck. If you were lucky enough to get SolidWorks on perpetual license and just pay subscription, that's the next best offer. Otherwise, SolidWorks and Creo are comparable in price.
I disagree about not being able to buy Creo. If you think PTC nickel and dimes you, they are NOTHING compared to NX and CATIA in that regard. If you think Creo is bad, those packages will help you see the light.
And of course Onshape is always a great deal, since you're getting both CAD and PDM.
We use it at work. I just love Creo Parametric. We also use Solidworks and Inventor, but I personally prefer Creo above all. At school I learned to work with Inventor and then at work started with both Solidworks or Creo (Wildfire back then) depending on the client, but quickly I noticed Creo was just made for me. I find it sad to see many companies I've worked for change to solidworks just because it's cheaper and because most new people don't feel like learning something new.
I haven't kept up with the latest, but I remember Inventor at one time had an excellent university outreach program like SolidWorks. Plus it's just so inexpensive for CAD, FEA, and CAM.
I knew of one company that switched from Creo to SolidWorks because it was what most of their new hires knew and preferred it. That was a mistake because their assemblies were absolutely humongous.
spot on as always. learned 10 years ago that most cad tools were all very similar. i started catia v4 r20 moved to weirdly rhino for awhile, then on to solidworks, then CREO. ive also familiarized myself with NX. I will say tho, i think PTC's onshape is the future of cad and MBD, they just need to start working on their MBD toolset.
also i think ive said this before dave, but you really are the best resource for non basic user topics ive ever seen, ive literally built some of your series into my teams training curriculum. with one caviat, which is your rule to not model as you manufacture, but that is due to my theory that capturing design is not the same as designing, and that if they are designing to be more flexible then once they are done we can look at how to make the model more usable downstream. great stuff man.
Ha ha, I started on CATIA v3 (and SDRC I-DEAS). I agree that there's a high level of overlap in parametric CAD tools, especially when you're talking about sketching, parts, assemblies, and drawings. And I do love Onshape.
hahaha, I start complaining with this software at the beginning, but the real situation it was me, not the software, I must to start from the scratch with a new platform, after SolidWorks, inventor, autocad, also Rhinoceros, now this new software do in different ways all I use to do, but do better, that's piss me off, because has a lot of capability, but I can't control at the moment, after go over my own lack of knowledge, I start to love it, well we never will have the perfect CAD, but they work hard to give us the best of tools, and this is one very awesome.
I learned initially on creo and then SOLIDWORKS. There are some things SOLIDWORKS does more simply buuuuut, I miss aspects of creo.
Yup. Any time I go into different CAD software, I find functionality where I say, "ooh, that's nice," or "wow, PTC should steal that." Like the Hole Wizard or 3D Sketches or Make Assembly from Part in SolidWorks. But then you always come up against other stuff like, "Why is my sketch still blue? It's fully constrained!" Or, "Why can I locate holes only on points? Why can't I use an axis?" Or, "I wish we had sets in fillets and chamfers." It's all a trade off.
2:34 That is the reason many engineers especially in countries like Pakistan do not taste the full functionality of CAD softwares and engineering in general.
It's not just Pakistan.
@CADPLMGuy
That's how it is
I am engineer and I prefer Creo over any other. I have used Solidworks, SolidEdge, Inventor, Powershape and Nx.
Last year I was in an University short Course related to 3d scanning and additive manufacturing, and we had to do a practical work with CAD. It took me half an hour with Creo, meanwhile the other students took hours and hours (all using SolidWorks).
Essalem and Hello teacher
In my opinion, I think we need the basic concepts in the following modules:
resistance of the materials avenced
mechanics of continuous and discontinuous environments
the finite securities
analytical mechanics
the fatigue
and others
so if you do not have a theoretical background so normal you dismiss Creo.
Honestly, I don't understand your comment. I don't know what "avenced" or "finite securities" mean. As far as continuous and discontinuous environments, I assume you mean being able to perform analysis between independent objects, which Creo can do.
Creo has a fatigue module and I know how to use it. Unfortunately, I've never had access to a license, so I've never made videos on it.
Go Birds
Fly, Eagles, Fly!
The mouse travel and mouse clicks required to complete/modify a feature can determine the efficiency of a software. To me, Creo seems to beat SW in that perspective.
Funny, I felt the opposite. I came from AutoCAD where hotkey commands were everything. I could draw with little interference between thought and putting that into lines on a drawing.
Creo really relies on clicks. It has some right click menu features, but a lot of times you need to move your mouse all the way to the top tool bar to applied parameters to an extrude, and then all the way to the right to hit okay. The middle mouse button “complete” seems inconsistent.
@tanleproe In SolidWorks, I always feel that I'm doing something wrong if I have to move my mouse all the way to checkmarks all the time, or take my hand off the mouse to hit the ENTER key.
Hello…
Perhaps I should start with the ”Best CAD Software”… The best CAD software is the one which you know and master the best. Because the CAD software is merely a tool to do some work and most likely you’ll finish a task fastest, with the least effort and most enjoyment if you are using a tool which are you familiar with…
And this love - hate point of view is perhaps a sign of time. Nowadays the reasonable consideration and opinion sharing is so rare, everything has became polarized, almost everybody tries to be as extreme in opinion as possible…
And here, where I come from (Slovenia), Creo is free for high school pupils and students. Perhaps this is because PTC is not directly doing business here but through a VAR company, which is really trying to bring Creo as close to future engineers as possible…
Jože
It’s too bad, I really like Creo. I made the switch professionally about 10 years ago now and it’s just really a good tool - does it have oddities, yup. Just like all the rest. Could I complain about it, yup, but my job depends on this tool so I better just be the best I can with it and suck it up. Pretty much the same in every other aspect of life.
Honestly, I despise CREO. I use it daily but it really irks me how easily a model can break. I’m not a cad technician so I’m not expending 100% of my time on it, I have other activities to do as part of my responsibilities so I need a software that is more forgiving and unfortunately I have yet to see that with creo.
The circular references seem to be never ending sometimes.
And my final complaint would be the drafting on CREO is most definitely the worst of all cad packages.
For me, SW easily wins for design engineers. I don’t have time to master a cad software like creo, it’s simply too complex when you have to do other activities.
You would probably be better off with a different CAD platform. But I suspect this is also a training and process issue, because it's really hard to create circular references these days. A few years ago, I tried forcing some circular references using every trick I knew, and most of them just don't result in circular references anymore.
But there's got to be a reason why your company is on Creo instead of SolidWorks.
I think it’s legacy. Even the engineers who have used it since PRO Eng still have issues with circular ref’s especially as the model becomes more complex and fastener holes move around.
I think the cad technicians really like CREO.
Personally one issue I frequently do encounter with CREO that frustrates me hugely is exporting a stp file with a specific UCS location. Not sure if you have ever encountered this issue?
@@CADPLMGuyI note your circular reference comment with interest.
Our issues seems to be top level assembly.
When we assembly the component assembly to the tooling assembly, this seems to create the circular issues. Even if we activate the component and use the tooling hole as a reference it still seems to persist. And updating holes in the component but keeping the hole redundant in the tooling (it’s manufactured now so for consistency they have to stay in the assembly) this also seems to break the component assembly.
Maybe we need to upgrade from 8 ?
What is the issue with exporting a STEP file with a specific UCS location? Can you provide details? Have you opened a ticket with PTC? I have a video on exporting STEP and I show how to change the export coordinate system.
@JamesofSuttonYorks Have you engaged with an expert or a consultant to figure out what's going on with your process? I can't diagnose based on the details you provided. I'm not sure what you mean by "break the component assembly." But I suspect a consultant can resolve your issues pretty quickly.
What kind of hit in regeneration time are you getting from circular references? Back in the 2000s, it used to be pretty bad. But when PTC improved the software to make circular references much harder to create, they also drastically lessened the impact on regeneration time.
At a previous company, we had one team that was generating dozens of circular references at all assembly levels. It was a matter of correcting a simple modeling practice when assembling fasteners. They were adding an extra unnecessary step. Once we got them to stop doing that, the circular references went away.
You should upgrade from Creo 8 as PTC just announced sunset plans for that version. (I just released a maintenance minute short about that.) But the fixes to circular references were made a long time ago. It's probably a process issue.
The best CAD software is the one you are currently using (Creo for me) as long as It's your primary CAD software, and you use it regularly. I don't enjoy AutoCAD 2D, it's great software but I rarely use it, years back, it was all I did: 2D drawings. Creo is great with no (Windchill) database management software, we're on the latest release right away. I've used 6 CAD programs over my career and 25+ years of Pro-E and Creo, I'll take Creo. All the CAD programs have evolved to where there all excellent, the one you have is probably a keeper, it's hard to justify switching, all things considered. But CAD users are opinionated.... 😊
I like your perspective about the best CAD software.
As a former CADmin, I've seen some users get way too emotional over whatever CAD the company uses.
Too many people get upset when you point out deficiencies. That how improvements are made. They get upset and say well we can't control that so maybe you should go somewhere else. When it was only small talk. And they don't even know what small talk is. It like your calling us small
The biggest point you probably missed was to remind Managers and decision makers to TRAIN their Engineers. I am a Mechanical Engineer. I have seen a lot as a Product Designer. Ppl hate Creo because they are expected to know everything from jump. By promoting the idea that you must always come equipped to face whatever, you are not proposing a realistic solution to the problem. Science and Engineering takes time to master. It does. It took me time to learn FORTRAN. It took me time to learn C, then C++. I prefer FORTRAN. It took me time to learn Pro/E, ABAQUS, etc… And to become proficient in any of them. I could not imagine anyone telling me to shut up, here we use ANSYS, and expect me to run complex simulations from day 1-1/2. So, no. I completely disagree with you, and with the mentality of just learn this and shut up! How would you feel if an employer tells you that just because it has many Chinese clients, to just go teach yourself Mandarin?! You completely missed the point on the reality of self-development. Einstein said it best: “Knowledge is a function of time”. I am not an English native speaker. It took me time to become fluent in it, or for that matter in Spanish too. I can go one using so many analogies… I would not want to work for you, nor with you for that matter either. Now, before anyone accuse me of being lazy… I once took 10 days of my personal yearly vacation to fly to the UK, learn a particular software which my company used, but would not train its engineers on (apparently anymore). Of course, plane tickets, hotel and food came out of my pocket.
I did say this in the video: "To make matters worse, fewer companies bother to train their employees in CAD these days. Companies just throw their new hires into the deep end of the pool and expect them to swim. They’re setting their employees up for failure, and the new hires end up hating Creo."
Although I didn't explicitly call on companies to train their employees, I believe I implied it in this statement.
@ Thank you for replying. I feel strongly about this.
Good one Dave. I came across an article you wrote about linking to the history of CAD and just finally understood that CAD is a massive field and as such it is impossible to have one CAD software that satisfies everybody. Each software is simply developed to cater for a particular field. And is optimised as much as possible in for that specific field so we don't go about shelling out thousands of dollars on features we won't even use. Ptc Creo aimed at a specific market and did their best to optimise for that market. Just learn the commands and you're good.
Yup. There is no CAD platform that satisfies the needs of every product development organization. I remember years ago when I met with some potential customers. They were a mom & pop shop that made furniture. Chairs, tables, simple assemblies with a handful of components, all fabricated onsite. After hearing their needs, I told them Wildfire was not the right tool for them. I'd rather they be successful and happy as opposed to making a sale and providing them with way more software than they need.
I've also had three friends create different startups that were basically garage efforts. When they came to me and told me their needs, I steered two of them towards Inventor and the other to Onshape.
CAD is a massive field and different companies have different needs.
between VISI and CREO i preferer creo, HOWEVER i don't hate VISI.
Yup. Here is a list of CAD software I have used: I-DEAS, CATIA / 3DExperience, Creo, UG / NX, Onshape, Fusion360, Inventor.
Here is a list of CAD software I don't hate: I-DEAS, CATIA / 3DExperience, Creo, UG / NX, Onshape, Fusion360, Inventor.
Exactly what I said to my wife ! I need to test other to compare cost,packages and fonctions to be completely sure she is still the right choice over years 😂
Hi Dave, Your channel is great and very helpful, but to be honest this video is straight up PTC propoganda😂
Creo and Windchill are one of the most cumbersome and inefficent CAD softwares out there, it's 2025 and creo 11 is getting very little love from PTC as it seems...
I don't understand what you mean about Creo 11 getting very little love from PTC. I'd like to hear more about what you mean by that.
I disagree about this being straight-up PTC propaganda. That's a very strong comment against my integrity. I would like to have a reasoned, nuanced discussion regarding that, as my opinions in this video are the result of over 3 decades in the CAD industry. I can go into much more detail than I did so in this video. If you are open to this, you can find my email address on the front page of my website as well as the About page of my channel. That offer is open to anyone who has strong feelings about my video.
I don't hate Creo (I've used it for 28+ years), I'm often ANNOYED by it however. No, I hate PTC for their ARROGANCE and REFUSAL to fix serious known bugs that have been there, in the dreaded "split cylinder/split circle" case, since the very beginning. This causes SERIOUS issues, and NEEDS to be fixed. Also, they STILL don't have solid body sweeps etc.
I’m interested to hear what problems representing cylinders as two halves still pose. (That is how Dr. Geisberg built the software in the beginning. Since PTC has a rule that anything designed in Pro E v1 has to regenerate exactly properly today, that’s the way it will be.) However, any selection of a half cylinder selects the entire cylinder. So I’m interested to know what problems still remain.
just wondering if @kx8960 could understand Mr. Samuel P. Geisberg's answer...
Creo also don't have pattern option inside sketch mode, this must be added.