PTC Creo vs. SketchUp

I wouldn't suggest it to my worst enemy. My colleagues worked with other CADs and, in my experience, complain every day about this CAD, about how much things it doesn't have or do, etc. One of them keeps telling me, in their opinion, how even CREO Direct is far superior, easy to use, faster and better. In my opinion, it's a CAD that requires constant attention at what you do, how you do, when you do because it doesn't do it for you.

Real estate is not really the most likely use for Sketchup, since it has so many choices and possibilities. But, it is an innovative way to differentiate yourself from the competition. The program is very well-suited to the myopic seller or buyer who can't visualize future changes and their effect on value.

Incentivized

• PTC Creo contains many advanced tools with better optimization for creating part models and other production related drawings.
• The initial concept designs can be done more adequately.
• The parameters of 2D drawings can be changed easily by editing the 3D model.
• The productivity can be increased by customized tools for modeling.

Incentivized

• Quickly exploring solutions in 3D: We get a lot of "what if" and "what would that look like" questions. While hand-sketching and hand-drafting can be fairly quick, SketchUp allows me to quickly create 3D and 2D views of a detail or solution, change dimensions and materials in a flash, and show a client or installer the plan in minutes.
• Creating professional design documents in LayOut: Projects of any scale need good documentation. Using a combination of SketchUp and LayOut, I can create a Design Intent Set, plans for permitting, a set for mechanical trades to mark-up, etc. Having clear, appropriately-scaled drawings with dimensions or notations is a must, and we don't always have the time or budget to get an architect involved!
• Using live files to guide discussions: Not all clients are "visual" people, so opening their model and orbiting around their space in real time has been extremely helpful. Clients and trades enjoy the perspective views so much that we often include them in the full-sized drawing sets to give a good "overall" view of the project intent. For complex or tight spaces, sometimes un-rendered plans and elevations just aren't enough!

Incentivized

• Providing guidance through using tools is lacking in Creo. There is a small area where the text is displayed at the bottom that is supposed to help guide you, but many times the guidance doesn't make sense.
• Layers are a hassle in Creo. Unless you know how to set up your config file to do it automatically, you have to add each item to the appropriate layer.
• There is a lack of automation in Creo. In some other CAD packages, you can add holes or the like on a pattern of features. Not so in Creo.

Incentivized

• Exporting/importing files from other programs may not always be compatible.
• I'm an engineer and I feel SketchUp is more geared towards architects. However, I still find it useful for certain aspects of my job such as creating renderings.
• Has a tendency to slow down as the file size gets larger. Apparently, it runs on an outdated engine that has trouble with very heavy models.

Incentivized

We typically wait a few years in between renewing, as even older versions are powerful tools for modeling, and we make sure the amount of feature changes are worth the re-investment.

It is very user friendly and easy to learn. It's simplicity allows for a low learning curve so more people can learn it faster. The downside is that most schools are no longer teaching it, so many younger professionals come out of school not knowing it and knowing more complex software and they have a hard time "dumbing down" their skillsets

Incentivized

I liked the training manuals I used to learn some, as I didn’t have CAD background in college or before this job. My coworkers were able to share with me what they learned in PTC training and I was able to get support online and through reading.

Incentivized

Sketchup is so intuitive; I can't recall ever looking for official support. However, there are many user forums online that can answer more questions. The usefulness of the online forums is, however, tempered by the fact that there have been many versions of the software under different ownership and support regimes, and thus finding the right information for the right version of the software can be a challenge.

Incentivized

PTC Creo is much better than other software at allowing collaboration across multiple users, even multiple plants/locations. We went from an older non-parametric industry standard software to PTC Creo because we could save massive amounts of time by using the parametric assembly features of PTC Creo along with the the Windchill drawing organization functions.

Incentivized

To me, SketchUp is better to study designs because it is easier to manipulate than Revit. Revit has each part of the model connected so it is great to "keep your design honest" however, in trying to be creative, you are often inhibited. It is not as easy to push/pull and manipulate quickly to see if an idea works. You also have so many people working in a model and each view impacts one another, so if you are in the middle of studying one area, another person cannot work on that same area

Incentivized

• Having PTC Creo as our primary tool positions us as forward thinking and creative in the eyes of our clients.
• PTC Creo constantly evolves in the ability to increase our productivity; new capabilities and features are added, which reduce our level of effort for some tasks.

Incentivized

• Increased revenue by allowing our customers to see the final products faster, input comments and finalize design decisions.
• We develop furniture and the rendering capabilities and graphics found in the basic package allow the fabricators a broader understanding of what is being created.
• We develop all of our work in SketchUp. I initially felt it was a simplistic cadd software. By re-tooling my thinking I have found fantastic results with the program. I must admit that I learn something new every day. There is a wealth of information on how to do and create things on YouTube. It has a very large community of supporters.

Incentivized