Summary/Reader Response Draft 1

The webpage “Lifesaving drones designed with CAD software” (SIEMENS, 2019), introduces the use of Siemens NX CAD software to design Life-saving drones. Among its many features, The NX CAD software is designed to optimize the design, testing, and manufacturing processes. In terms of design optimization, the software allows its users to generate variations of the original design rather than creating more costly, physical prototypes to test the effectiveness of its design. This leads to shortened design time, which lowers the development cost and improves product quality (SIEMENS, 2019). According to the article, the Syncrofit feature of the NX CAD software “allows users to make well-informed design decisions for an overall smoother path to design realization” (SIEMENS, n.d). The article mentions that the simulation function of the NX CAD software in the case of designing Life-saving drones can perform virtual test flights while simulating the characteristics or properties of the different components. The article also states that the software can quickly perform thickness and stress assessments of the design and determine which parts should be made of higher or lower grade materials, which will reduce the overall weight of the drone. The NX CAD software stands out among its competition compared to other CAD software in terms of its better simulation capabilities, analysis capabilities, and product optimization for use in product design.

One of the features that make the NX CAD software stand out is its product optimization. This feature has two submodules such as automating tedious design tasks and bill of materials (BOM) updates which speed up the procurement process (SIEMENS, 2019). One of the applications of the automation submodule is that the user can automate the design process by generating many versions of a design using rules that were set and run multiple times (Digital Design Solutions, n.d). Compared to other software such as SolidWorks, which is only able to optimize a design from its original design and is not able to create multiple variations of the original design. The function of the second submodule is the bill of materials (BOM) updates, which allows the user to generate the list of materials required to manufacture the product during the design phase. This feature is helpful as the user will be able to foresee if there is a lack of raw materials for production and inform suppliers to acquire more materials beforehand to be able to start production successfully (SIEMENS,2019). On the other hand, the user can also use the bill of material (BOM) updates to verify if the product design meets the design requirements and changes that need to be made. 


Another feature that makes the NX CAD software better compared to other software is its ability to perform more detailed and advanced simulations. For example, in the case of Zipline designing its life-saving drones, it was able to use the NX CAD software to “simulate the heat characteristics of the battery during the flight, or the thermal performance of the drone in the climate of Rwanda” (SIEMENS, 2019). Zipline utilized the heat transfer analysis modules of the NX CAD software. One of the capabilities of the heat transfer analysis module is the ability to simulate heat conductivity, convection, and radiation separately or all at once (Goncharov et al., 2014). Additionally, the module can simulate heat transfer with the environment without the need to model the specific environment by defining specific conditions (Goncharov et al., 2014). Furthermore, the user can specify the thermal properties of a specific material used in the design, and the software and even create multi-layer materials while still maintaining the accuracy of the simulation (Goncharov et al., 2014). On the other hand, SolidWorks can simulate the same types of heat transfer and analyze an assembly of different material properties (Kurowski, 2022). However, SolidWorks is unable to simulate heat transfer with the environment. Hence, the NX CAD software has more advanced simulations compared to SolidWorks.


One problem with the NX CAD software is cost. According to the SIEMENS website, the basic NX CAD

software costs around USD 3093 per year, and 10 additional modules ranging from US$ 1866 to

US$ 8359 per year (SIEMENS, n.d). Compared to SolidWorks, the premium SolidWorks software

has a one-time fee of US$ 7995 and an annual maintenance fee of US$ 1995 (Engineering Clicks, 2021). 


In conclusion, with the higher number of advanced features available with the NX CAD software

compared to SolidWorks. The benefits of using NX CAD software compared to SolidWorks outweigh the cost.




SIEMENS. (2019, March). Lifesaving drones designed with CAD.

https://new.siemens.com/global/en/company/stories/industry/lifesaving-drones-designed-with-cad-software.html


SIEMENS. (n.d). Syncrofit.

https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/global/en/products/nx/syncrofit.html


Digital Design Solutions. (n.d). NX DESIGN AUTOMATION.

https://www.ddsplm.com/products/nx-design-automation/


Goncharov, P., Artamonov, I., Khalitov, T., Denisikhin, S., & Sotnik, D. (2014). Engineering Analysis With NX Advanced Simulation. Lulu Press, Inc

https://books.google.com.sg/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8FZcCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP15&dq=%22nx+capabilities%22&ots=E4wNjwOxZO&sig=

vMv9nrAec5c0IFS7gJdlfV7LCYc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nx%20capabilities%22&f=false


Kurowski, P. M. (2022). Engineering Analysis with SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2022. SDC Publications.

https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=uptXEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=solidworks+heat+analysis&hl

=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiS6pCqvrf6AhWuTmwGHb8xDPwQ6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=solidworks%20heat%20analysis&f=false


SIEMENS. (n.d) NX Cloud Connected Products.

https://www.dex.siemens.com/plm/nx-cloud-connected-products?viewState=ListView&cartID=&portalUser=&store=&cclcl=en_GB


EngineeringClicks. (2021). The Ultimate SOLIDWORKS Price Guide – All Options!

https://www.engineeringclicks.com/solidworks-price-guide/

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