Rapid product development with PTC Creo Direct Modeling Express

If you’ve ever wanted an easy-to-use application to sketch out an idea or two and even develop a usable 3D model ready for prototyping, PTC’s free 3D push-pull modeler, Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express, is more than simply a demo.

While the application does have a limitation on number of parts, it doesn’t lock your ideas into proprietary file formats, overlay bothersome watermarks or hobble its feature set. Instead, it supports file import, a full breadth of modeling functions and export to .stl, among other capabilities.

In the 30-minute video below, CAD expert Ben Eadie demonstrates how to quickly move from product concept to completed 3D model to saleable, 3D printed product using Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express. Along the way, he walks through how to sketch, extrude, mirror and otherwise model and refine geometry in PTC’s free version of Creo Elements/Direct (formerly CoCreate).

To start using direct modeling, Creo Elements/Direct Modeling Express 4.0 is available as a free download from PTC’s website. Its direct approach to 3D CAD design makes creation and modification of 3D designs fast, easy and flexible.

Ben Eadie is an Aeronautical Engineering Technologist, as well as a prolific CAD industry blogger, developer, trainer and video caster.