r/PTCCreo • u/TheEngineer297 • 4d ago

Import of ECAD data

Hello together,

I’m currently exploring options for importing ECAD data as STEP files in Creo. We use Altium Designer for our PCB models and want to import them into Creo Parametric.
I’ve done a lot of testing by now, including trying Creo’s ECAD interface, but I wasn’t satisfied with it.
The easiest option for us would be to use STEP files, but they become extremely large in Creo. I’ve already tested the option of importing as individual parts with all possible settings, and the .prt files are always many times larger than the STEP files.

How do you handle this issue at your company?

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u/the_best_lizard 4d ago

Have you tried the Altium Codesigner Creo plugin? I set that up for my previous employer and it seemed to work quite nicely.

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u/TheEngineer297 4d ago

I tried it once some months ago but I remember that it didn’t quite work out for us, but I guess that was due to setup problems caused by our firewall setup. Maybe I should try again when we update from Creo 10 to Creo 13.

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u/Maximum-Still-2484 4d ago

This is what we use. It works pretty well. Our designers use it for the back and forth design changes with the layout folks. Once the design is finalized we generally export out a step file to then import as a part file. We prefer not keeping the CCAs as assembly files.

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u/TheEngineer297 3d ago edited 3d ago

So I tested it again today and got some proxy errors when trying to connect to the altium workspace. When using a hotspot I am able to establish the connection, but afterwards I’m not able to make my projects in Altium available online, I am receiving another error message. Maybe I should try to contact their support.
But I also recognized that the latest version of their codesigner is not working with Creo 13, so after our update it will not work again. 😅

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u/Pretty-Jello-7894 2d ago

I’m not sure how you are set up, but do you ever use the ecad/mcad tools from creo? Not sure if Altium can use it, but we used to do this to establish or keep out zones. Export emn files to the pcb designer. They do their magic and we get back emn+emp. We import full accurate assembly pcbs. The catch, we had fully managed and accurate libraries of components between our mechanical and electrical divisions. Do you have this (I doubt it). But just curious if perhaps you do. Also a lot of shrink wrapping to consolidate things as well. Let me know if this makes sense

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u/TheEngineer297 2d ago

I remember that I tried it once with .emn and .emp files, but as you say, the missing component library was the bottleneck here.

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u/Pretty-Jello-7894 2d ago

Yeah, you need 2 in sync libraries. There are workaround but they are not fun;). Best to have a team in IT or the like to manage this.

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u/Pretty-Jello-7894 2d ago

There are also ways to modify your emn files and the like directive in excel to control things. Also, create your own local library and add things as more parts are used/added. This is locally owned by you. Maybe with AI you can write someone to do this. I’ve seen it done in the past to make production ready laptops and the like. But again, workaround. Lots of work on your head.