DRIVING CAD WITH

MATHCAD:
ENGINEERING CALCULATIONS
MADE EASY AND ACCESSIBLE

Dave Martin
Industry CAD &
PLM Expert
 • Demo – Ease of Making a Change
AGENDA
• Engineering calculations today

• The problems with engineering units

• Connecting Creo models to Mathcad

• Benefits of Notebook-driven CAD

• Demo – Ease of Making a Change from Creo

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ENGINEERING NOTEBOOKS

• PTC Mathcad worksheets can

drive your CAD models

• Document and capture your

calculations

• Implement changes easily

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DEMONSTRATION – EASE OF MAKING CHANGES
ENGINEERING CALCULATIONS TODAY

• Historically engineers have

performed calculations in
notebooks

• Notebooks contain notes,

sketches, and calculations

• Invaluable resource for

product development

Wilbur Wright Leonardo

5
CONSEQUENCES OF TRADITIONAL APPROACH

• What happens to those notebooks when someone leaves the

organization?

• How are the calculations captured and stored?

• How does someone else know what calculations were used when they

need to make a change later?

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UNITS – A COMMON ENGINEERING PROBLEM

• Mars Climate Orbiter – 1999

– Vehicle lost during orbital insertion
– Units mismatch between teams
– $327.6 million

• English vs. SI
• Mass vs. Weight
• Pounds-Mass and Pounds-Force
• Different teams use different units
– ECAD
– Mechanical
– Mission

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BENEFITS OF PTC MATHCAD FOR ENGINEERING

• Real math notation

• Designed for engineering
calculations
– Sizing
– Validation
– Optimization

• Document your process

• PTC Mathcad worksheets can
drive your Creo Parametric models
• Preserve data in Windchill

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UNITS IN CREO AND PTC MATHCAD

• Mathcad understands units

– Identifies incompatible units
– Units Reconciliation
– Units Simplification

• Creo Parametric understands units

– All models have a unit system
– User-defined parameters can have
units
– Relations are Unit Sensitive by default

• You can pass dimensions back

and forth between Creo and PTC
Mathcad in different units

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ENGINEERING NOTEBOOKS – CREO PARAMETRIC

• Embed the worksheet in the

model
• Access worksheet from icon in
Creo Graphics Area
• Relations
– Unit Sensitive option
– Send inputs to Mathcad
– Drive model dimensions from
Mathcad outputs

• Notification Center informs you

when out have an outdated
worksheet
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BENEFITS OF DRIVING CAD WITH MATHCAD

• Build Design Intent into your

models
• Capture history and decision-
making process
• Ensure your model meets
requirements
• When you change your CAD
model, you can update your
calculations

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DEMONSTRATION – CHANGE FROM CREO