PTC Windchill (Windchill)
Also called Windchill PLM
PTC Windchill is PTC's product lifecycle management system. It manages CAD data, parts and bills of materials, documents, engineering change, manufacturing process plans and configurations, and connects to ERP, MES and CAD tools like Creo.
Windchill is built from modules on one platform. PDMLink is the core for product data and change; MPMLink adds manufacturing process management; other modules cover quality, service and requirements links to tools like Codebeamer.
Companies run it on their own servers, in their own cloud tenant (including government clouds for ITAR work), or as Windchill+, PTC’s SaaS version.
It’s a large system and it’s flexible, which cuts both ways: it can model almost any process, and heavy customization makes every upgrade harder. We push clients toward configuration over code.
Related terms
Go deeper
Last reviewed November 2026 by Element Consulting
