News
18.06.26
Rule-based design thanks to CAD automation with NX
In today’s dynamic industrial landscape, accelerating product development is crucial to a company’s success. Companies face the challenge of shortening innovation cycles and optimising costs whilst simultaneously improving product quality. Siemens NX offers a powerful solution to this through intelligent CAD automation and efficient assembly management.
Many companies are still grappling with traditional design processes that tie up valuable resources and can hinder innovation:
- Repetitive tasks: Manually designing similar components and assemblies is time-consuming and prone to errors.
- Inefficient modifications: Repeatedly modifying existing designs by hand delays the development of new products and variants.
- Knowledge management: Valuable engineering knowledge is often not systematically documented and can be lost when staff change.
- Lack of agility: Rigid processes make it difficult to respond quickly to new customer requirements or market changes.
These factors not only lead to increased costs but also to reduced competitiveness.
The Evolution of Efficiency: From Macros to Smart Rules
CAD automation has evolved from simple tools to highly intelligent systems that actively integrate engineering knowledge into the design process:
- Macros & scripts: Automation of simple, repetitive command sequences.
- Feature-based templates: Standardised components and functions for efficient reuse.
- Rule-based design: Integration of engineering knowledge into digital rules that automatically adapt models based on specifications.
- Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE): An advanced method for automating complex design tasks by linking product and process knowledge.
Siemens NX: Your catalyst for CAD automation
Siemens NX is an integrated platform that helps companies make the most of these levels of automation and digitise their knowledge efficiently:
- Expressions: Definition of relationships and dependencies between model parameters for the intelligent control of geometries.
- Interpart Links: Linking geometries and parameters across different parts and assemblies to ensure consistency.
- Reuse Libraries: A comprehensive library of standardised components and features that enables rapid and error-free reuse.
- Product Templates (Product Template Studio – PTS): Creation of intuitive configurators that enable even non-CAD experts to quickly create complex product variants.
NX enables designs to be created in an intelligent and responsive manner.
NX CAD Assembly Management: Managing complexity, enabling diversity
NX CAD assembly management really comes into its own, particularly with complex products:
- Parametric assemblies: Control of entire assemblies via a small number of parameters for rapid adjustments and variant creation.
- Intelligent option/variant control: Automatic selection and positioning of components based on predefined rules, thereby minimising errors.
- Platform strategy: Separation of core components (platform) and specific variants to enable efficient scaling of product families and rapid response to individual customer requirements.
This leads to a significant reduction in manual effort and accelerated configuration.
Knowledge management as a strategic advantage
Rule-based design safeguards and formalises your engineers’ valuable expertise. Instead of being passed on verbally, rules are stored digitally in a machine-readable format:
- Design rules: Implementation of best practices as fixed specifications within the system.
- Standards and regulations: Automatic assurance of compliance with relevant regulations.
- Manufacturing constraints: Taking manufacturing requirements into account right from the design stage.
- Cost logic: Integration of cost considerations into the design phase to optimise cost-effectiveness.
In this way, corporate knowledge becomes a strategic asset that is available at all times and ensures quality across all projects.
Measurable results: the added value CAD automation brings you
Investing in CAD automation with Siemens NX delivers a clear return on investment:
- Time savings: A significant reduction in design times, often by 50 per cent or more.
- Minimisation of errors: Increased design consistency and precision through the elimination of manual sources of error.
- Maximum reusability: Optimal use of existing designs and a reduction in development effort.
- Faster time-to-market: Accelerated product and variant launches.
Your roadmap to success: avoiding pitfalls
An automation project requires a strategic approach. Siemens can help you find the best way forward:
- Pilot project: Start with a manageable pilot component to achieve initial success and gain experience.
- Gradual expansion: Gradually extend the automation to more complex assemblies.
- Holistic integration: Seamless integration of automated design into your Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system to ensure end-to-end digital processes.
- Rule maintenance: Continuously update and maintain the rules to ensure their effectiveness.
- Governance: Establish clear responsibilities and processes for the creation and management of rules.
Siemens Digital Industries Software is here to support you with comprehensive expertise, consultancy and support to help you successfully implement your CAD automation.
Gain a competitive edge with Siemens NX
The combination of rule-based design, the powerful CAD automation features of Siemens NX and the intelligent NX CAD assembly management is the key to more efficient and agile product development. Free your engineers from routine tasks, improve design quality and bring your products to market faster and more cost-effectively.
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