MCAD/CAM

Siemens PLM’s NX 7:
The Best of Both Worlds

Enhancements to synchronous technology enable users to alternate between parametric and explicit modeling for easier and faster design.

by Mike Hudspeth

Just like Hannah Montana, users of NX 7 get to work in two separate realms and pass between them seamlessly. Hannah (if you don’t know who she is, ask your child, grandchild, or niece) alternates between her teenaged pop-star identity and her secret country-girl identity so she can lead an ordinary life…in Malibu. NX 7 users alternate between parametric and explicit modeling so they can design great products easier and faster. As in Hannah’s theme song, they get the best of both worlds.

One world, that of parametric modeling, is completely controlled. When changes are made to a design, you must follow the rules set up by the original modeler. In the other world, that of explicit modeling, you deal with the actual topology of the design’s geometry and there are no defined rules; you can change anything, at any time, in any way you want. And changes might be made that go against the original designer’s intentions. The one world is fairly rigid. The other is very flexible.