PTC Inc., a global software company from Massachusetts, US, announced that it acquired Frustum Inc., an advanced generative design software company based in Colorado. The $70 million deal will help PTC to use Frustum’s AI & generative design technology to expand its CAD portfolio.
Frustum’s technology for generative design is a transformative addition to the PTC Creo portfolio. Its capabilities will further enhance & expand the capabilities of PTC Creo allowing engineers and designers to reimagine the next generation of products.
According to Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC, “PTC is pushing the boundaries of innovation with this acquisition. Creo is core to PTC’s overall strategy, and the embedded capabilities from ANSYS and, later, Frustum will elevate Creo to a leading position in the world of design and simulation. With breakthrough new technologies such as AR/VR, high-performance computing, IoT, AI, and additive manufacturing entering the picture, the CAD industry is going through a renaissance period, and PTC is committed to leading the way.”
The Colorado-based software company offers patented desktop and cloud-based engineering software solutions that enables designers and engineers to leverage powerful AI capabilities that result in high-performance, next-generation product designs.
Frustum will gel perfectly well with PTC’s ANSYS capabilities so Creo will be able to recommend design approaches using generative design, guide the user through the iterative design process using ANSYS Discovery Live, and ultimately validate the full product design at scale using the broader ANSYS Discovery suite. With these capabilities embedded in Creo, engineers will have unmatched capabilities to rapidly drive product innovation.
Generative design is poised to be the holy grail of the designing community which will drive the 3D printing capabilities. The true potential of 3D printing can only be utilised if it is incorporated with generative designing. Autodesk is a frontrunner in the technology but PTC is also now enhancing its capabilities in the field.
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Jeff Hojlo, program director, product innovation, IDC, says, “This acquisition is a natural step for PTC and its customers. AI and machine learning (ML) are widely discussed as two of the most impactful technologies of the future. For design, engineering, and R&D, the potential positive impacts of complementing the development process with AI and ML are astounding: lowering cost of quality (which is currently 20-25 percent of annual revenue at the average manufacturer), improving product success rate (which remains very low with more than 80 percent of products failing), and improving time to market and time to revenue by meeting customer needs accurately the first time.”
Frustum’s technology depends a lot on its powerful AI component that learns, evolves, and ultimately performs key tasks like providing feedback on the designs, optimising designs, automating the testing outcomes, and much more.
AI also helps in generative design and this is appealing to PTC’s vast customer base as they seek ways to:
- Increase engineering productivity
- Improve innovation and conceptual design exploration
- Develop higher-performance designs that are lighter weight, with improved durability
- Optimize new products for improved manufacturability, reduce material costs, and decrease manufacturing cycle times
- Create complex geometries optimized for additive manufacturing
- Deliver better products faster
About PTC: PTC helps companies around the world reinvent the way they design, manufacture, operate, and service things in and for a smart, connected world. With PTC, manufacturers and an ecosystem of partners and developers can capitalize on the promise of the Internet of Things and augmented reality technology today and drive the future of innovation.
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