NX, formerly known as "Unigraphics", is CAD/

CAM Cam or CAM may refer to: Science and technology * Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion * Camshaft, a shaft with a cam * Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video In computing * Computer-aided manufacturin ...

/ CAE software, which has been owned since 2007 by

Siemens Digital Industries Software Siemens Digital Industries Software (formerly UGS and then Siemens PLM Software) is an American computer software company specializing in 3D & 2D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. The company is a business unit of Siemens, operates un ...

. In 2000, Unigraphics purchased SDRC I-DEAS and began an effort to integrate aspects of both software packages into a single product which became Unigraphics NX or NX. It is used, among other tasks, for: *

Design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

(parametric and direct solid/surface modelling) *

Engineering analysis Engineering analysis involves the application of scientific/mathematical analytic principles and processes to reveal the properties and state of a system, device or mechanism under study. Engineering analysis is decompositional: it proceeds by se ...

(static; dynamic; electro-magnetic; thermal, using the

finite element method Finite element method (FEM) is a popular method for numerically solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modeling. Typical problem areas of interest include the traditional fields of structural analysis, heat tran ...

; and fluid, using the

finite volume method The finite volume method (FVM) is a method for representing and evaluating partial differential equations in the form of algebraic equations. In the finite volume method, volume integrals in a partial differential equation that contain a divergen ...

). *

Manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

finished design by using included machining modules. NX is a direct competitor to

CATIA CATIA (, an acronym of computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application) is a multi-platform software suite for computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE), 3D modeling and product li ...

, Creo, and

Autodesk Inventor Autodesk Inventor is a computer-aided design extension application for 3D mechanical design, simulation, visualization, and documentation developed by Autodesk. Features Inventor allows analyzing 2D and 3D CAD models by creating a virtual rep ...

History

1972: United Computing, Inc. releases UNIAPT, one of the world's first end-user CAM products. 1973: The company purchases the Automated Drafting and Machining (ADAM) software code from MCS in 1973. The code became a foundation for a product called UNI-GRAPHICS, later sold commercially as Unigraphics in 1975. 1976: McDonnell Douglas Corporation buys United Computing. 1983: UniSolids V1.0 is released, marking the industry's first true interactive Solid Modeling software offering. 1991: During a period of financial difficulties McDonnell Douglas Automation Company (McAuto) sells its commercial services organization, including the Unigraphics organization and product, to EDS which at that time is owned by GM. Unigraphics becomes GM's corporate CAD system. 1992: Over 21,000 seats of Unigraphics are being used worldwide. 1996: Unigraphics V11.0 is released with enhancements in Industrial Design and Modeling including Bridge Surface, Curvature Analysis for Curve and Surfaces, Face Blends, Variable Offset Surface, etc. In the area of Assembly Modeling the new capabilities include Component Filters, Faceted Representations, and Clearance Analysis between multiple Components. A fully integrated Spreadsheet linked to Feature-Based Modeling is also included.. 2002: First release of the new "Next Generation" version of Unigraphics and I-DEAS, called NX, beginning the transition to bring the functionality and capabilities of both Unigraphics and I-DEAS together into a single consolidated product. 2007: Introduction of Synchronous Technology in NX 5. 2011: Release of NX8 on October 17-2011 2013: Release of NX9 (x64 only) on October 14-2013

Release history

Key functions

Computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

(CAD) **Parametric

solid modeling Solid modeling (or solid modelling) is a consistent set of principles for mathematical and computer modeling of three-dimensional shapes '' (solids)''. Solid modeling is distinguished within the broader related areas of geometric modeling and ...

(feature-based and direct modeling) **

Freeform surface modelling Freeform surface modelling is a technique for engineering freeform Computer representation of surfaces, surfaces with a Computer-aided design, CAD or Computer-aided industrial design, CAID system. The technology has encompassed two main fields. ...

, class A surfaces. **

Reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...

** Styling and

computer-aided industrial design Computer Aided Industrial Design (CAID) is a subset of computer-aided design (CAD) software that can assist in creating the look-and-feel or industrial design aspects of a product in development. CAID programs tend to provide designers with impr ...

Product and manufacturing information Product and manufacturing information, also abbreviated PMI, conveys non-geometric attributes in 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and Collaborative Product Development systems necessary for manufacturing product components and assemblies. PMI may inc ...

(PMI) **Reporting and analytics,

verification and validation Verification and validation (also abbreviated as V&V) are independent procedures that are used together for checking that a product, service, or system meets requirements and specification (technical standard), specifications and that it fulf ...

**Knowledge reuse, including

knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain of manufacturing design and production. The design process is inherently a knowledge-intensive activity, so a great deal of the emphasis for K ...

Sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 ...

design ** Assembly modelling and digital mockup **Routing for

electrical wiring Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of Electrical cable, cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure. Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and in ...

and mechanical

piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accomp ...

Computer-aided engineering Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is the general usage of technology to aid in tasks related to engineering analysis. Any use of technology to solve or assist engineering issues falls under this umbrella. Overview Following alongside the con ...

(CAE) **

Stress analysis Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology) Stress, whether physiological, biological or psychological, is an organism's response to a stressor, such as an environmental condition or change in life circumstances. When s ...

(FEM) **

Kinematics In physics, kinematics studies the geometrical aspects of motion of physical objects independent of forces that set them in motion. Constrained motion such as linked machine parts are also described as kinematics. Kinematics is concerned with s ...

Computational fluid dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid dynamics, fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required ...

(CFD) and

thermal analysis Thermal analysis is a branch of materials science where the properties of materials are studied as they change with temperature. Several methods are commonly used – these are distinguished from one another by the property which is measured: * D ...

Computer-aided manufacturing Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as computer-aided modeling or computer-aided machining is the use of software to control machine tools in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most ...

(CAM) **

Numerical control Computer numerical control (CNC) or CNC machining is the automated control of machine tools by a computer. It is an evolution of numerical control (NC), where machine tools are directly managed by data storage media such as punched cards or ...

(NC) programming

Supported operating systems and platforms

NX runs on

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

Mac OS Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. in a succession of two major series. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the classic Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system ...

(Up to NX12). Starting with version 12, support for Windows versions prior to

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

were removed. Starting with version 1847, support for macOS was completely removed, and the GUI was removed from the Linux version.

Architecture

NX uses

Parasolid Parasolid is a geometric modeling kernel originally developed by Shape Data Limited, now owned and developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software. It can be licensed by other companies for use in their 3D computer graphics software product ...

for its

geometric modeling kernel A geometric modeling kernel is a solid modeling software component used in computer-aided design (CAD) packages. Available modelling kernels include: *ACIS is developed and licensed by Spatial Corporation of Dassault Systèmes. *SMLib is develope ...

and D-Cubed as associative engine for sketcher and assembly constraints as well as using JT (visualization format) for lightweight data and Multi-CAD.

References

Gallery

File:Cad crank.jpg, Cad crank File:Ugs-nx-5-engine-airflow-simulation.jpg, engine airflow simulation * :Screenshots of NX (Unigraphics)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nx (Unigraphics) Computer-aided design software Computer-aided manufacturing software Computer-aided engineering software Product lifecycle management Computer-aided design software for Linux Siemens software products Computer-aided manufacturing software for Linux Computer-aided engineering software for Linux Proprietary commercial software for Linux