Siemens Digital Industries Software introduced NX 2025 in June. It has taken this long to digest all of what’s new. Perhaps never before has design, simulation and manufacturing software taken such a big step in functionality. Here were new products, new integrations, new considerations for the whole design to manufacture process, all software-assisted, with a generous helping of AI.
With the 2025 version, Siemens seems to be pulling away from the rest of the design and engineering software pack. While Autodesk courts AEC and PTC and Dassault Systèmes try to find their way after their visionary leaders have left, Siemens solidifies its lead as the manufacturing enterprise’s total software solution.
If you are already a NX user, you will feel as if you are in the right place. You may have every tool at your disposal, but should you need more or grow, you have every option. It is not technology that is forced upon you; rather, it is available should you care to try it. You’ll not get FOMO hearing news from other software vendors, and you’ll have no reason to look elsewhere. The best example of this is the way Siemens is making AI available. Other companies may be hoping that the AI fever will subside and let them get on with business as usual. Siemens, on the other hand, has found ways to make AI useful.
So when your CEO head turns towards a glitzy startup awash in AI investment, you can counter with “Don’t worry. Siemens has got this.”
The NX 2025 premiere highlighted Siemen’s latest advancements in AI, cloud capabilities, immersive technology, and integrated digital threads.
And Now for the Premier Event
(brought to you by Siemens)
You will want to watch the full introduction to NX 2025 here, but if you would rather read about it, we have tried to capture it below. It is lightly edited to fit in the narrative of a story we have attempted to tamp down the marketing a bit.
Siemens Designcenter, a comprehensive, flexible, and scalable software suite for product engineering. Designcenter allows transitions between browser and desktop preserving data fidelity, making it useful across the whole enterprise. Data integrity minimizes errors, reduces rework, and accelerates design processes, providing every team with up-to-date information and enabling efficient collaboration across the board.
At the heart of Designcenter is Siemens’ end-to-end Xcelerator digital thread, which integrates simulation, manufacturing, and PLM teams. The digital thread runs through disciplines giving all stakeholders access to the same data.
Starting with NX X Essentials, you gain access to fundamental CAD, CAM, and CAE tools in a lightweight browser-based environment. Creating, editing, and sharing NX data is simplified with AI predictive modeling that provides real-time feedback and design adjustments. Changes automatically sync in the cloud, allowing immediate cross-team collaboration from any device. The NX Design tiers let you scale as product complexity increases, offering best-in-class tools tailored to your needs. These tiers also provide built-in data management, powered by Teamcenter, to ensure everyone works with the latest data.
Through value-based licensing, you can access additional tools when needed, allowing your toolkit to expand alongside your projects. Included in this model is a brand-new simultaneous engineering tool that leverages Xcelerator cloud capabilities to let teams collaborate on the same part in real time—boosting overall design efficiency. More about pricing in the How Much? section at the end of this article.
Let’s walk through some highlights of the new NX using an electric vehicle workflow.
Design Enhancements
NX introduces multiple enhancements for existing modeling tools like Realize Shape. Features such as Sketch Navigator and Sketch Checker simplify the process of creating and refining intricate designs.
The 2025 NX introduces NX Immersive Designer, which uses AR/VR to fundamentally change how we interact with designs. In exclusive collaboration with Sony, Siemens has developed a head-mounted display optimized for engineers. Featuring dual 4K OLED micro-displays, intuitive controllers, and ergonomic design, the hardware enables comfortable, extended use in both VR and MR. A flip-up visor supports hybrid workflows.
NX Immersive Designer allows full NX functionality in virtual and mixed reality. Any changes made in NX update instantly in the immersive model and vice versa. AI-powered voice interactions enhance the workflow further, letting users launch commands verbally or consult the NX Copilot for detailed guidance.
For team collaboration, NX Immersive Collaborator extends the immersive experience by enabling colleagues to review designs together in VR. Teams can explore full assemblies or focus on specific parts, using review tools to measure, annotate, and set next steps.
Manufacturability and Quality
NX also advances manufacturability validation and quality assurance. The new Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Advisor identifies potential challenges such as draft angles or wall thickness, offering actionable feedback. Checkers tailored to your manufacturing process can be executed with HD3D visual reporting, and results integrated seamlessly with Teamcenter.
Another major addition is NX Inspector, a new module for model-based characteristic definition. Inspector supports multiple PMI types with direct associativity, ensures real-time updates, and provides CAD-neutral support with PLM XML and QIF. Integration with Teamcenter Quality ensures traceability across the digital thread, bridging design and production.
For molded parts, NX Molded Part Designer simplifies the creation of features like snap fits and grooves, while NX Mold Wizard accelerates the entire mold development process. New features include cost estimation for complex layouts, real-time updates to standard parts, and mold-fill simulation for optimized performance.
Simulation and Performance
In simulation, Siemens highlights thermal and mechanical analysis for EV batteries. Effective thermal management ensures safety, efficiency, and longevity. Leveraging the digital thread allows multidisciplinary collaboration across electronic, mechanical, and thermal domains.
The new NX CFD Designer, powered by Simcenter FLOEFD technology, integrates fluid flow and thermal simulation directly into NX. Its wizard-based setup, automatic fluid volume detection, and easy meshing enable designers without deep CFD experience to quickly generate meaningful results.
For structural validation, Performance Predictor enables designers to simulate mechanical behavior within NX. Enhancements now allow simulation on assemblies as well as parts. Through value-based licensing, Performance Predictor is available across all NX packages, starting with Essentials. Integrated with NX Copilot, users can receive contextual assistance and direct links to commands.
Conclusion
We’ve explored the integration of Siemens’ Xcelerator suite within NX—from conceptual design through manufacturability checks, quality assurance, and performance validation. Everything demonstrated is available now under value-based licensing. For more details, explore the full release notes and upcoming video series starting with Core Design.
How Much?
NX X comes in 4 flavors:
- Core Features:
- Browser-based NX CAD, CAM, and CAE tools
- Zero translation needed for NX data
- Feature-based solid modeling, synchronous tech, drafting, sheet metal, PMI
- Basic CAM tools (e.g., 2.5-axis milling & hole making)
- Performance Predictor included
- Ideal For: Lightweight, browser-based design workflows; teams needing real-time cloud-collaboration and core CAD functions.
- Price: $2,292 per year.
- Key Add-ons Over Essentials:
- On-premises or desktop-class features
- Basic freeform modeling, sheet metal design
- Core Convergent Modeling
- HD3D visual reporting out‑of‑the‑box (OOTB)
- Basic data management, and Teamcenter integration (G2)
- Ideal For: Standard mechanical parts and assembly design with built-in data governance and management.
- Price: $7,371 per year
- Feature Enhancements:
- All Standard capabilities plus:
- User-defined features
- 3D product and manufacturing information (PMI) annotation
- Photorealistic rendering
- Basic routing capabilities
- Validation checking and enhanced productivity tools (Siemens Digital Industries Software, G2)
- All Standard capabilities plus:
- Ideal For: Teams transitioning into deeper product engineering workflows requiring richer validation, routing, and visualization.
- Price: $9,576 per year
- Advanced Tools:
- Includes all Standard and Advanced features, plus:
- Advanced assembly modeling
- Advanced freeform modeling and surface analysis
- AI-based tools like “Select Similar Components” and “Selection Prediction”
- Molded part validation and customization capabilities (360 Quadrants, G2)
- Includes all Standard and Advanced features, plus:
- Ideal For: Complex and detail-heavy design needs—e.g., industrial design, styling workflows, mold/tooling, or high‑end assembly work.
- Price: $12,222 per year
Built on enterprise-grade cloud architecture, NX offers industry-leading security, seamless flexibility, and cloud-based AI tools to simplify complex design tasks.