Synchronous technology the next big thing in digital product development

The highly anticipated "synchronous technology" is a groundbreaking maturity leap in 3D solids modeling that is slated to deliver a major advancement above parametric and history-based modeling, but co-exists in synergy with it. In much the same manner as CAD users were exposed to parametric modeling in the 1980s and came to understand and value its impact over time, synchronous technology is expected to find an equally appreciated role in product modeling across all industry verticals. One of the key functions of synchronous technology is its ability to automatically discover geometric conditions apparent in the model and preserve them during edits. Dieter Klinke, product marketing director for the Asia Pacific Siemens PLM Software Solutions, and Rajiv Ghatikar, vice president and general manager for Siemens PLM Software誷 business in ASEAN / Australasia, discussed with International Metalworking News for Asia how the CAD world is going to evolve. Including insights on Siemens' recently launched new product, NX6, a design freedom with the breakthrough synchronous technology and advanced simulation, which deliver greater powers and flexibility.

Capabilities of NX6

According to Klinke, the NX6 contains substantial number of important and distinctive new capabilities that will further Siemens?leadership position in the CAM software market and technology. It is likely set new industry standards in several key segments of CAM. At this early stage, Klinke foresee NX to be mainly used by the design departments for the time being. However, he sees the adoption of NX by companies extending beyond this to other areas, such as simulation and manufacturing as well in the near future. 襈X is able to seamlessly integrate CAD, CAE and CAM into a unified, open environment for increased product and process information more efficiently. In fact, customer benchmark results have indicated a significant 50% faster analysis workflows compared to a leading competitor. In addition, manufacturing machining time has also been reduced by a substantial 20%,?Klinke added. In terms of design, NX6 features design freedom. It is powered by the breakthrough synchronous technology and can deliver up to a 100 times faster design experience than ever before. Synchronous technology combines with the existing NX capabilities, so data does not need to be translated or rebuilt. It combines parametric and history-free approaches to speed design. NX6 design freedom works naturally within existing user workflows for faster adoption. For simulation, NX6 delivers more than 350 user-driven enhancements encompassing 10 different applications for pervasive lifecycle simulation. NX6 advanced simulation directly leverages design freedom powered by synchronous technology to enable the rapid evaluation of design modifications based on geometry from any CAD system. It combines unique 3-D geometry editing, automated abstraction and finite element (FE) meshing tools with in-depth bottom-up FE modeling and meshing tools. The new assembly capability for FE models enables engineers to integrate the separate simulation modeling efforts of distributed teams, such as suppliers and global design/analysis teams. NX6 advanced simulation handles the most demanding CAE challenges, providing a 30% reduction in physical prototypes, Klinke disclosed. For manufacturing, he said that the machine tool programming (CAM) elements of the NX 6 system form one key area for closer connection between the virtual world of manufacturing planning and the real world of production equipment, machine tools and controllers on the shop floor. With NX 6 the post-processing system of NX CAM has been extended with the first elements of optimization targeted at utilizing the advanced functions of the Siemens Sinumerik machine tool controllers to deliver benefitKobe Mentality 3