Are Creo drawings and CAD design data still scattered on engineers' computers and NAS?
For manufacturing companies using PTC Creo for product design, 3D CAD models, 2D engineering drawings, assemblies, parts, BOMs, and related technical documents are all crucial core data in the product development process. However, as a company's number of engineers increases, product types diversify, or different departments and locations need to share design data, relying solely on personal computers, shared folders, or NAS to store CAD files can easily lead to the following problems:
Therefore, what businesses need is not just "storing CAD files," but a system capable of Creo is a PDM system that links CAD, drawings, versions, BOM, permissions, and product information.
CIMer PDM × Creo: Establishing a complete Creo product information management platform
CIMer PDM is a Product Data Management (PDM) platform designed for product development processes in the manufacturing industry. It enables enterprises to centrally manage CAD files, documents, BOMs, part numbers, and related R&D data generated throughout the product development process.
The core concept of CIMer PDM is not just about "putting Creo files into the system," but about building Complete data linkage.
This allows engineers, supervisors, document management, purchasing, production, and other relevant departments to access accurate product information according to their authorized permissions.
1. Creo Drawing Management
Say goodbye to the question, "Where exactly do I put the images?"
Traditional Creo file management typically involves storing data in:
This elevates product information management from "file management" to "product information management".
2. Creo CAD File Management
Creo's product designs typically include multiple interrelated CAD files, such as:
If you only manage folders using regular folders, it's easy to cause problems due to file movement, copying, overwriting, or human error.
CIMer PDM can establish a centralized management mechanism for product data, ensuring clear data association between CAD files, product structures, and related documents.
At the same time, the risk caused by multiple people modifying the same design data at the same time is reduced through permission and check-in/check-out mechanisms.
3. Creo Version Management
No more guessing "Which version is the latest?"
During product development, CAD drawings are frequently modified.
For example:
Rev.A → Rev.B → Rev.C → Rev.D
CIMer PDM can manage product data versions, retaining historical versions and change information of product designs.
Enterprises can establish version management rules according to their own R&D processes, allowing engineers to quickly identify the current valid version while retaining historical data for traceability.
4. Creo BOM Management
Extending from CAD design data to the product BOM
CIMer PDM can also extend the integration architecture of PDM, BOM and ERP, enabling a more complete data flow between R&D data and the company's existing systems.
5. Creo Access Control
Make it clearer who can view, who can modify, and who can distribute.
Product design documents typically involve a company's important technological assets, therefore they cannot be modified arbitrarily by just anyone.
CIMer PDM can establish different data access permissions according to the enterprise's organization and workflow, for example:
By managing roles and permissions, the risk of unauthorized modification, accidental deletion, or data leakage can be reduced.
CIMer PDM's design data management also includes different permission management concepts such as departments, clients, and outsourcing, and data access rules can be established according to the company's needs.
6. Centralized Management of Creo Design Data
Shifting from "individual engineer management" to "centralized enterprise management"
When many companies first started using CAD, the data was likely managed by the engineers themselves.
For example:
Engineer A, computer → Engineer B Computer → NAS → Email → USB
Over time, the company's truly important R&D knowledge may end up being distributed among different people.
In this way, even if engineers change, departments are restructured, or products are continuously revised, the company can still retain complete product development data.
7. Integration of Creo with CIMer PDM System
CIMer PDM can establish an integrated architecture with Creo through APIs and other means, creating a closer connection between the CAD design environment and the PDM data management platform.
The Creo integration architecture can automatically obtain relevant parameters and attributes of Creo models through API connections, and supports accessing the correct version of design data from remote locations.
Enterprises can plan according to their actual needs and gradually integrate product data that was originally scattered across different systems and departments.
8. What Problems Can Be Solved by Using CIMer PDM with Creo?
9. From Creo CAD Management to Building an Enterprise PDM System
For the manufacturing industry, the value of PDM is not just "putting CAD files on a server".
What's truly important is connecting the data and processes involved in product development.
Once these data are linked, companies can gradually upgrade from traditional "file management" to "product data management".
CIMer Tech currently positions PDM as a product data management platform from product development to mass production, and extends it to management applications such as CAD, materials, process review, projects, and search.
Conclusion | Making Creo Design Data a True Corporate Asset
Creo is an important product design tool for engineers, while CAD drawings, 3D models, BOMs and related technical documents are core R&D assets accumulated by manufacturing companies over many years.
When businesses begin to face:
The number of drawings is increasing, the number of engineers is increasing, the products are becoming more complex, and version management is becoming more difficult.
This means that enterprises need more than just an archive server; they need a true PDM management platform centered on product data.
ThroughCreo × CIMer PDM，Enterprises can:
Creo CAD + Drawings + Version + BOM + Permissions + Files + Workflow
By integrating it into a single product data management framework, R&D data becomes easier to search and track, and the company's accumulated design experience and product knowledge over the years can be truly preserved and reused.
Want to further manage Creo CAD and product development data?
If your business is still using:
- NAS Management Creo Files
- Windows folder management CAD
- Excel BOM Management
- Manually managed drawing version
- Email transmission of engineering changes
- Paper or manual approval of drawings
Further evaluation can be conducted on implementing a PDM system to establish a product data management process suitable for the enterprise.
Understanding the CIMer PDM System
CIMer PDM | Product Data Management Solution for Manufacturing
Build a comprehensive enterprise product data management platform, covering CAD design data such as Creo / SolidWorks, drawings, BOMs, versions, permissions, and workflow management.