NX (Software)
Developer	Siemens Digital Industries Software
Initial release	October 1973; 52 years ago (1973-10)
Operating system	Mac OS up to NX12, Unix-like (x64, partially), Windows (x64)
Available in	multi-language
Type	CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM
License	Proprietary
Website	plm.sw.siemens.com/en-US/nx/

NX, formerly known as "Unigraphics", is CAD/CAM/CAE software, which has been owned since 2007 by Siemens Digital Industries Software.^[1][2] 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 (parametric and direct solid/surface modelling)
• Engineering analysis (static; dynamic; electro-magnetic; thermal, using the finite element method; and fluid, using the finite volume method).
• Manufacturing finished design by using included machining modules.

NX is a direct competitor to CATIA, SolidWorks, Creo, and Autodesk Inventor.

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.^[3] Unigraphics becomes GM's corporate CAD system.

1992: Over 21,000 seats of Unigraphics are being used worldwide.^[4]

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.^[5][6]

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 (CAD)^[29]
  • Parametric solid modeling (feature-based and direct modeling^[30])
  • Freeform surface modelling, class A surfaces.
  • Reverse engineering^[31]
  • Styling and computer-aided industrial design
  • Product and manufacturing information (PMI)
  • Reporting and analytics,^[32] verification and validation^[33]
  • Knowledge reuse, including knowledge-based engineering
  • Sheet metal design
  • Assembly modelling^[34] and digital mockup
  • Routing for electrical wiring and mechanical piping
• Computer-aided engineering (CAE)
  • Stress analysis / finite element method (FEM)
  • Kinematics
  • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and thermal analysis
• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)^[35]
  • Numerical control (NC) programming

Supported operating systems and platforms

NX runs on Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS (Up to NX12).

Starting with version 12, support for Windows versions prior to Windows 10 were removed.^[36]

Starting with version 1847, support for macOS was completely removed, and the GUI was removed from the Linux version.^[19]

Architecture

NX uses Parasolid for its geometric modeling kernel and D-Cubed as associative engine for sketcher and assembly constraints as well as using JT (visualization format)^[37] for lightweight data and Multi-CAD.

See also

• CATIA
• FreeCAD
• I-DEAS
• Inventor
• PTC Creo
• Solid Edge
• SolidWorks
• List of 3D printing software
• List of computer-aided manufacturing software
• List of aerospace engineering software

Further reading

• Sicking, Paul O.; Allen, George A.; Valenzuela, Wilfredo R. (2024). "The History of Unigraphics, 1974–2001". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 46 (4): 70–83. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2024.3457235. ISSN 1058-6180.

References

Gallery

• 
  Cad crank
• 
  engine airflow simulation

• Category:Screenshots of NX (Unigraphics)

External links

Media related to NX (Unigraphics) screenshots at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website