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Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S  

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Dan_S
(@dan_s)
Active Member
Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

Hi,

The University I study at has supplied me with a license for Creo 5.0 for the next five years.  Until 6 months ago I was using Fusion 360 for 3D modelling then slicing in Prusa Slicer.  This works great but it's annoying switching between two different CAE programs.

I have tried using Creo for 3D printing but my stl files always seem to be of a very poor quality and result in terrible prints.  The prints are blocky.  A circular model will have large tesselations.  In contrast my Fusion models are always exactly how they look in the model.

Does anyone have any practice at setting up the 3D printing side of things inside of Creo 5.0?  I feel I should invest the time now while Uni is on break and then focus on using just Creo from now on.

Kind regards,

Dan

Best Answer by ed:

Posted by: @daniel-s96

Hi,

.......

I have tried using Creo for 3D printing but my stl files always seem to be of a very poor quality and result in terrible prints.  The prints are blocky.  A circular model will have large tesselations.  In contrast my Fusion models are always exactly how they look in the model.

Does anyone have any practice at setting up the 3D printing side of things inside of Creo 5.0?  I feel I should invest the time now while Uni is on break and then focus on using just Creo from now on.

Kind regards,

Dan

I use Creo exclusively and your problem is that you need to adjust the stl/3mf settings when you do a save as...

This will work for either stl or 3mf...

when you do save as check "customize export" then select "OK"

I leave "chord height" as it is

Angle control settings between 1 and 0 with 1 being most detailed (larger file size and longer to generate) I typically leave it at .5

Check step size and make it somewhere between equal to to 3 * chord height.  For small to medium models I do 1.5*chord height for larger more detailed models I tweak to maintain a manageable file size.  If Creo seems to crash, it's likely that it's generating a monster stl/3mf file and you can either get frustrated and kill the process or wait it out.  Either way save your model prior to performing the save as.

Not sure what your skill level is but I use a mapkey to generate a 3mf file with 1.5*chord height and .5 angle control.  If you're doing a lot of stl's a mapkey will make it easier.   Also, sometimes Creo doesn't like the combination of chord height and step size and won't generate the model in which case you'll have to tweak the step size to achieve the quality of step file that you want.

 

Napsal : 05/12/2019 6:12 am
bobstro
(@bobstro)
Illustrious Member
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

Do you have to use Creo? If so, there's not a lot you can do other than bite the bullet. 

My notes and disclaimers on 3D printing

and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

Napsal : 05/12/2019 11:50 am
Dan_S
(@dan_s)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

@bobstro

Thanks for replying.

Yes, I have to use Creo for my studies as all of our assessments are done using Creo and the course is programmed around it.

Creo is a really good program and I would like to use it for everything.  It's painful switching between two programs.

Are you saying that it is not possible to get nice 3D prints from Creo and to stick with Fusion?  I'm not really sure what your "bite the bullet" comment was referring to.

Cheers.

Napsal : 05/12/2019 7:38 pm
Dan_S
(@dan_s)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

I spent some time digging around the PTC documents yesterday.  I went through the additive manufacturing tab and I believe you are right that you can't 3D print successfully from Creo.

The photo below shows the results of the first test I have attempted.  The results speak for themselves.

It appears that I won't be able to completely avoid using Fusion 360 altogether.  But I will be able to create all of my designs inside of Creo and then briefly import them into Fusion 360 before they go into Prusa Slicer.

Hopefully somebody may find this information useful.

Napsal : 06/12/2019 8:40 pm
Dan_S
(@dan_s)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

Large Tessellations in a standard Creo .stl model are very evident and lead to poor prints that are distinctly different to the original design.

Simply saving the Creo model as a .prt file then importing into Fusion 360 makes a massive difference.  Once the model is inside of Fusion 360 you may then continue the printing process how you normally would.

Napsal : 06/12/2019 9:01 pm
Joey
 Joey
(@joey-2)
Estimable Member
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

Creo may have an option when saving to stl that allows you to adjust the size of tessallations. 

Solidworks has this option.

Mk3 - 1X
Mk3S - 2X
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Wife - 1X

Napsal : 07/12/2019 12:50 pm
ed
 ed
(@ed-3)
Reputable Member
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S
Posted by: @daniel-s96

Hi,

.......

I have tried using Creo for 3D printing but my stl files always seem to be of a very poor quality and result in terrible prints.  The prints are blocky.  A circular model will have large tesselations.  In contrast my Fusion models are always exactly how they look in the model.

Does anyone have any practice at setting up the 3D printing side of things inside of Creo 5.0?  I feel I should invest the time now while Uni is on break and then focus on using just Creo from now on.

Kind regards,

Dan

I use Creo exclusively and your problem is that you need to adjust the stl/3mf settings when you do a save as...

This will work for either stl or 3mf...

when you do save as check "customize export" then select "OK"

I leave "chord height" as it is

Angle control settings between 1 and 0 with 1 being most detailed (larger file size and longer to generate) I typically leave it at .5

Check step size and make it somewhere between equal to to 3 * chord height.  For small to medium models I do 1.5*chord height for larger more detailed models I tweak to maintain a manageable file size.  If Creo seems to crash, it's likely that it's generating a monster stl/3mf file and you can either get frustrated and kill the process or wait it out.  Either way save your model prior to performing the save as.

Not sure what your skill level is but I use a mapkey to generate a 3mf file with 1.5*chord height and .5 angle control.  If you're doing a lot of stl's a mapkey will make it easier.   Also, sometimes Creo doesn't like the combination of chord height and step size and won't generate the model in which case you'll have to tweak the step size to achieve the quality of step file that you want.

 

This post was modified před 4 years by ed
Napsal : 09/12/2019 12:55 am
Dan_S se líbí
Dan_S
(@dan_s)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S

Hi Edward,

Thank you for your most comprehensive reply.  I really appreciate the effort you went to to help me out.

As far as my skill level; at the moment I am about to enter my 2nd year of studying a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering.  So I would say my level is quite basic.  I only started using Creo around 6 months ago and the course was purely an introduction.  My next course begins in March 2020 and will be more involved.  I am planning to keep using Creo over the next few months so that when Uni goes back I won't need a refresher and to learn a few things.

I'll keep this page bookmarked as I am currently halfway through some other projects.  I expect to try your instructions out this weekend.

Once again, thank you.

Dan

Napsal : 10/12/2019 5:46 am
ed
 ed
(@ed-3)
Reputable Member
RE: Creo Parametric 5.0 to Prusa i3 MK3S
Posted by: @daniel-s96

Hi Edward,

Thank you for your most comprehensive reply.  I really appreciate the effort you went to to help me out.

As far as my skill level; at the moment I am about to enter my 2nd year of studying a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering.  So I would say my level is quite basic.  I only started using Creo around 6 months ago and the course was purely an introduction.  My next course begins in March 2020 and will be more involved.  I am planning to keep using Creo over the next few months so that when Uni goes back I won't need a refresher and to learn a few things.

I'll keep this page bookmarked as I am currently halfway through some other projects.  I expect to try your instructions out this weekend.

Once again, thank you.

Dan

Feel free to ask questions.  Best piece of advice I can give for Creo is save often as it tends to crash when you really don't want it to and nothing is more painful than looking at a white screen knowing you're about to lose an hours worth of work.  As a student losing a lot of work is doubly painful as it's difficult to make up for the lost time. 

Napsal : 10/12/2019 6:27 pm
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