NX 5 is the latest version of the flagship CAD product from UGS PLM
Software, now a division of Siemens Automation & Drives. The
architecture of the product has been given a complete overhaul, allowing
it to be adapted and combined with many of specialized functions found
within I-deas (UGS’ other CAD program, acquired from SDRC in 2001) to
create a next-generation product development platform.
The UGS development team has analyzed the interaction methods
involved with every operations and feature down to a very granular
level, to break down every command into its constituent parts, referred
to as blocks.
The new UG-NX block-based interface provides standardized and
context- or task-sensitive access to command operations and inputs.
Dialogs are activated from The Rail, a neat graphic method of docking
and hiding command dialogs as needed. (Click for larger image)
Now there is just one block for each input method, parameter
assignment or option. The block-based dialogs have also been combined
with two other new UI features.
Active Mockup
Within Active Mockup there are tools for handling large scale
visualization, real-time rendering, dynamic clearance and clash
detection as well as extraction path planning that have long been
established within Teamcenter Visualization but are now integrated
directly into UG-NX.
Product Interface Publishing
Product Interface Publishing assists by defining faces, features or
other geometric features within your parts which are used as the
interface to other parts
Direct Modeling
There are four basic direct modeling operations introduced within NX
5:
- Move Face
- Offset Region
- Resize Blend
- Delete Faces
Each of these operations has its own limitations. For example, a
feature can only move within the boundaries of the originating surface
into which it is built. What’s interesting is how the system handles
these features. NX adds the feature and the defined options to the end
of the history tree. This gives the user the best of both worlds; the
ability to make edits to a part without too many concerns about the
history, but then also take advantage of the history tree to edit the
feature when needed.
Read more...
-
Requirement Driven Design Validation (RDDV)
- Final Thoughts
The
full article is available for a fee at CADCAMNet.
