Siemens Enhances NX with AI Copilot and Mixed Reality
Siemens Digital Industries Software has introduced a substantial package of updates for its NX and cloud-based NX X product-engineering platforms, bringing artificial-intelligence assistance, immersive mixed-reality design, integrated quality workflows and in-context simulation into a single release. The enhancements are delivered under the wider Designcenter brand and form part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, aligning design, manufacturing and lifecycle management within a unified environment.
A central feature is Design Copilot NX, an artificial-intelligence module that allows users to pose everyday language questions inside the CAD interface. The copilot draws on Siemens’ learning resources, best-practice material and technical documentation to supply context-sensitive guidance. By embedding natural-language search directly in the modelling workspace, the company aims to shorten learning curves for new users while helping experienced engineers to discover seldom-used commands and advanced workflows without leaving the application.
Alongside AI support, Siemens has expanded immersive design capabilities developed in collaboration with Sony. NX Immersive Designer now enables engineers to create, review and edit three-dimensional models in both virtual- and augmented-reality environments by pairing NX with Sony’s mixed-reality headset. A companion application, NX Immersive Collaborator, permits multiple stakeholders to enter the same virtual session from within the NX user interface, eliminating the need for external data-preparation steps. Participants can inspect assemblies at full scale, annotate geometry in situ and iterate designs in real time, which is expected to accelerate sign-off cycles and reduce physical prototyping costs.
Quality and manufacturing workflows also receive attention through NX Inspector. This extension embeds model-based characteristics, defined under the Digital Metrology Standards Consortium’s guidelines, directly into the 3D model. Product Manufacturing Information can now be consumed by Teamcenter and Teamcenter Quality to automate inspection plans and metrology processes, ensuring that downstream quality-control data remains synchronised with design intent.
For manufacturability checks earlier in the process, Siemens has rolled out the Design for Manufacture (DFM) Advisor. The tool automatically analyses part geometry for potential drilling, milling, assembly and moulding challenges, presenting feedback immediately inside NX. Engineers can generate graphical reports and route findings into collaborative workflows via Teamcenter, allowing design and manufacturing teams to converge on feasible solutions sooner. Within the DFM suite, NX Mould Wizard now incorporates parameter-driven standard parts that update automatically when configurations change, while a refined cooling-channel simulator helps balance cycle times against part quality.
Simulation capability is broadened with NX CFD Designer, which embeds computational-fluid-dynamics and thermal analysis inside the CAD window using Simcenter FLOEFD technology. Automated volume detection, mesh generation and boundary-condition setup lower the barrier for designers who lack prior CFD expertise, letting them compare alternative concepts through rapid “what-if” studies without exporting geometry. For structural evaluation, the Performance Predictor extension introduces stress analysis across complete assemblies, allowing teams to assess load paths and component interaction during early design iterations.
Industry observers have noted the impact of these developments. Frost & Sullivan’s 2025 Frost Radar report on mechanical CAD identifies Siemens’ NX software as the leading innovator in the PLM segment, citing the company’s sustained pace of functional expansion and responsiveness to evolving manufacturing requirements. The latest update reinforces that assessment by integrating AI, mixed reality and simulation directly within day-to-day engineering tools rather than treating them as external add-ons.
Both NX and NX X continue to sit inside the Designcenter umbrella and are delivered through the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, which connects cloud-based lifecycle management with advanced design and engineering applications. By converging AI-driven assistance, immersive review, model-based inspection and in-model simulation, Siemens aims to reduce context switching, shorten development timelines and enable manufacturers to iterate products with greater confidence from concept through to production readiness.
