Siemens PLM Software (Plano, TX) a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, has released NX™, the company’s fully integrated computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) solution. NX 8 includes extensive enhancements to its CAE offering–including its widely used NX Nastran® software for solving some of the world’s most challenging simulation problems.

Companies across every industry are increasingly leveraging simulation software to verify product function, manufacturability and maintainability, and to enhance quality and aesthetic appeal. For over 40 years, Siemens PLM Software solutions have been helping companies handle some of the world’s most difficult modeling and analysis challenges from, linear and nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) of structures to thermal, motion and durability analysis and the effects of fluid and air flow on a product. Since NX CAE can operate as a standalone simulation solution or as a fully integrated component of the NX product development suite, it provides companies with significant versatility in how the solution is deployed.

In keeping with the Siemens PLM Software open business model, NX CAE works with virtually all leading FEA solvers as well as Siemens PLM Software’s own NX Nastran. NX CAE users can also import geometry from a variety of sources and easily modify it for rapid what-if analyses using synchronous technology, a Siemens PLM Software innovation that combines the speed and flexibility of direct modeling with the precise control of dimension driven design.

NX 8 for simulation offers new solutions for optimization and multi-physics analysis, along with new methods for analyzing complex assemblies. Enhancements to NX Nastran include improvements in nonlinear and dynamic analysis, as well as increases in computational performance and modeling ease-of-use. The new and existing functionality in NX CAE helps reduce the time spent preparing and solving analysis models by up to 70 percent when compared to traditional CAE tools.

Enhancements to the NX 8 manufacturing capabilities include new or extended functionality focused on both machinery and tooling design, such as optimized NC programming for machinery and heavy equipment part production, along with improvements that combine tooling design automation with CAE-based validation tools. As a result, NX 8 can help machinery and tooling companies win more high-value projects by delivering designs that are right the first time.

Enhancements to NX include:
Product design includes more powerful and efficient modeling, drafting and validation solutions along with expanded HD3D support for better design decisions. New “part modules” technology simplifies modeling and editing of complex designs, allowing users to subdivide designs into functional elements that support concurrent development by multiple designers.

NX CAM enhancements for machinery and heavy equipment extend existing CAD/CAM, programming automation, and integrated machine tool simulation capabilities with new automated, context-specific functions to simplify the generation of smart tool paths for prismatic parts.

NX 8 for simulation offers new solutions for optimization and multi-physics analysis. along with new methods for analyzing complex assemblies. Enhancements to NX Nastran include improvements in nonlinear and dynamic analysis, as well as increases in computational performance and modeling ease-of-use. The new and existing functionalityin NX CAE helps reduce the time spent preparing and solving analysis models by up to 70 percent when compared to traditional CAE tools.