Industrial equipment machine design with CAD software

Design the most comprehensive digital twin with NX CAD, as it includes embedded capabilities not just for mechanical design but for multiple domains across the product design cycle. With capabilities both inside NX and out-of-the-box integration across the entire Siemens Xcelerator platform, you can shift your design process left—reducing rework, increasing accuracy and improving collaboration across teams.

Create detailed models of industrial machinery components and assemblies with robust 3D CAD capabilities like NX Sketcher, synchronous technology, convergent modeling, implicit/algorithmic modeling and more.

Design complex geometries, mechanisms and kinematic relationships and manage large, multi-part assemblies while maintaining design intent with capabilities such as NX Advanced Assemblies, NX Structure Designer, NX Sheet Metal Design, NX Progressive Die Wizard and many more.

Analyze performance, stress and behavior of industrial machinery designs in various scenarios early on in the design phase with CAD-integrated simulation tools for motion simulation, finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with modules such as NX Animation Designer, NX Design Simulation, Simcenter FLOEFD for NX, NX Performance Predictor and more.

Virtually test and optimize machinery designs before physical prototyping, and modify design parameters to strengthen a component or reduce its stress.

Collaborate between design and manufacturing teams with seamless integration to CAM tools for CNC programming and machining in NX. Create detailed manufacturing process plans, including toolpath generation, NC programming and tool management.

NX CAD includes not only integration to NX for manufacturing but also CAM tools within the CAD environment such as with NX Line Designer, NX Assembly Path Planning, NX Design for Manufacturing, features and checkers for manufacturability, and 2D nesting tools and more.

Develop smart, connected industrial machinery with embedded sensors, controls and automation with NX CAD. Leveraging NX CAD facilitates the synchronization of mechanical, electrical and software components as you are able to integrate electrical, electronic and control system design within the 3D mechanical design environment.

NX CAD capabilities for mechatronics integration include NX Mechatronics Concept Designer, NX routing capabilities, NX Routing HVAC, NX Flexible PCB and more.

You can also exchange data bi-directionally between Capital wiring systems design software and NX CAD, allowing you to do complete mechanical, electrical and electronics design for your machines.

Create high-quality technical illustrations, animations and product documentation that enable you to communicate and collaborate effectively with customers, suppliers and service technicians with powerful visualization and rendering capabilities in NX CAD such as NX DMU (digital mockup) and Markup, NX Diagramming, NX Render, NX Immersive Explorer and NX Immersive Designer.

Additionally, you can leverage these technical illustrations, animations and product documentation to support the generation of assembly instructions, maintenance manuals and other technical publications.

Facilitate data management, version control and collaboration across your industrial machinery design and production process with seamless integration with Siemens Teamcenter product lifecycle management software and embedded tools in NX CAD such as NX Smart Context Designer, NX Embedded Client and Teamcenter classification, plus built-in data management if you are using NX X.

Automate routine tasks and design processes by leveraging AI algorithms in NX CAD that significantly speed up the design phase. For example, with generative design, AI can automatically generate design options based on parameters set by the designer, such as dimensions, materials and performance criteria. This not only accelerates the design process but also helps explore more design alternatives quickly, leading to innovative solutions that may not have been considered otherwise. 

Forecast potential issues in the design or manufacturing processes before they occur with AI-enabled predictive analytics in NX CAD. By analyzing historical data and simulating different scenarios, AI can predict outcomes such as material behavior under various conditions, potential stress points and the likelihood of failure. This allows you to make preemptive modifications to improve product reliability and performance. 

Achieve optimal performance, manufacturing efficiency or material usage with AI-driven optimization tools in NX CAD that refine designs. AI can evaluate numerous variables simultaneously to find the best possible design configurations, balancing complex trade-offs more effectively than traditional methods. This is especially valuable in engineering disciplines where performance and material efficiency are critical. 

Experience enhanced productivity with machine learning (ML), a subset of AI, in NX CAD. This integrated ML learns from your interactions and data integration to improve the software's usability and performance personalized to you. Over time, NX CAD can adapt to the specific preferences and working styles of each user, suggesting workflow improvements and automating repeated tasks.

Ensure CAD models meet specific standards and regulations with AI-enabled automatic analysis in NX CAD. This quality-control analysis can include checking for dimensional accuracy, ensuring compliance with industry standards or verifying that designs are manufacturable based on current tooling and techniques.

Synchronize design changes across teams, maintain version control and ensure all parties are aware of updates and dependencies with AI-enabled collaboration. The AI in NX CAD helps to facilitate better collaboration with stakeholders by managing changes, updates and feedback cycles efficiently so that you can increase productivity and focus more on designing better quality and more innovative solutions.

Reduce the environmental impact of your products and meet the increasingly stringent regulations on material usage and waste reduction with NX sustainability tools. With NX CAD sustainability tools, you can optimize material selections and reduce waste with analyses that help you select materials that are recyclable, less environmentally damaging or sourced sustainably.

Simulate and analyze the energy efficiency of machinery early during the design phase with CAD-integrated simulation applications. This is crucial in the industrial equipment sector, where energy consumption can significantly influence the overall environmental footprint. By modeling and testing different configurations and operational conditions, you can optimize designs to consume less energy, lowering operational costs and reducing environmental impact over the equipment's lifecycle. 

Make informed decisions that minimize negative environmental impacts and make your products more sustainable and appealing to eco-conscious consumers and businesses by accessing integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data in NX CAD. NX CAD can integrate with LCA tools to provide insights into the environmental impact of a product from cradle to grave—from the extraction of raw materials to manufacturing, usage and disposal.

Simplify the manufacturing process and make recycling and maintenance easier by leveraging Design for Environment (DfE) strategies supported in NX CAD. These DfE strategies encourage the use of fewer parts and more efficient assemblies as well as designing for disassembly, which allows for easier repair and recycling, extending the lifecycle of the equipment and reducing waste. 

Ensure compliance with tightening international environmental impacts standards such as ISO 14000 (environmental management), REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals) and RoHs (Restriction of Hazardous Substances). NX CAD includes sustainability tools to help you design compliant products, which is critical not only for market access but also for maintaining corporate social responsibility standards and brand reputation.

Reduce the ecological footprint of industrial equipment and machinery and utilize materials and energy more efficiently by experimenting with novel sustainable design methodologies supported in NX CAD, such as biomimicry and the incorporation of advanced, sustainable manufacturing technologies like 3D printing.

Simplify your team's collaboration and documentation on sustainable design projects and efforts with collaborative and reporting tools in NX CAD. These reports are essential for internal audits, sustainability reporting and compliance with environmental regulations.