NX4 released for digital manufacturing
NX4 has been released in Australia and New Zealand by Product Lifecycle Management (Australasia) Pty Ltd (PLM) as a complete solution for product development in the digital environment.
The product includes hundreds of customer-driven enhancements that improve a manufacturers’ ability to differentiate products and to transform process to be more innovative.
NX 4 revamps manufacturing in four key areas – digital simulation, knowledge capture, usability and systems engineering.
Each of these areas includes new functionality exceeding its predecessor, NX3, to serve as a digital tool to help design engineers to heighten levels of product development.
Digital simulation
NX 4 introduces many advanced CAE capabilities into NX. This functionality provides scalable analysis to support innovation.
NX 4 includes design simulation tools for use by designers as well as the highest-performance simulation for the dedicated engineering analysis specialist.
Advanced analysis capabilities benefit from the open and productive NX usability paradigm.
Integrated CFD and thermal analysis applications have been proven in applications that range from satellite design to consumer electronics and automotive packaging studies.
Knowledge capture
NX 4 includes enhancements to DesignLogic, including a pre-packaged library of common engineering functions.
DesignLogic improves innovation and productivity by giving engineers the ability to embed product knowledge into the design that can be leveraged throughout the design iteration process.
In addition to design focused knowledge, manufacturing process knowledge can be captured by using the new manufacturing wizard builder. This approach allows companies to streamline manufacturing processes and ensures process reuse, which is critical in reducing time to market.
NX 4 delivers support for the Java programming language, ensuring users can develop applications in the most suitable tool for their needs and providing a common framework to access NX core functionality.
This open applications approach also allows companies to integrate NX applications with external systems, for example connecting to proprietary systems for cost management.
Usability
A series of industry and experience role-based user interface templates improve out-of-the-box usability in NX 4.
Users can select their experience level and industry, and NX will display the most productive set of features for their selection.
Companies can build their own screen layouts and icon maps based upon their needs to improve productivity when using NX.
Systems engineering
2D Layout is a new approach to concept design that is not offered by NX competitors. It enables users to rapidly create design schemes that can be enriched as the product evolves. This speeds innovation by bringing early conceptual layout into the integrated design process.
Additional NX 4 features that are important to innovative product development include data management, NC Programming and Tool Design and Open Collaboration.
NX 4 delivers a new Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) application that enables users to quickly annotate their 3D models, adding necessary manufacturing information and non-graphical data.
This improves productivity by allowing designers to communicate product information to manufacturing personnel without relying on a 2D drawing.
DNX 4 is linked more tightly to the Teamcenter suite, so users can leverage advanced product structure tools, such as compositions that allow designers to combine multiple product structures into a virtual assembly for true context.
NX 4 offers further enhancements in general and high-speed milling, multi-function machine support, five-axis machining, and programming automation, all supported by enhanced machine tool simulation.
NX enables customers to maximise the value of their advanced and most efficient machine tools. NX 4 adds a new tooling capability for electrode design for mould and die design customers.
NX 4 can use models produced by other CAD systems in the widely used JT data format and still maintain associativity. For example, it can create assembly constraints using JT-formatted components, and then if the JT component is changed, the assembly and mating conditions update automatically – true multi-CAD assembly design.
30-Sep-2005