{"id":9110,"date":"2024-01-24T04:26:42","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T09:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/?p=9110"},"modified":"2026-03-26T04:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:36:54","slug":"auto-draft-calculation-nx-jan-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/auto-draft-calculation-nx-jan-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Automatic Draft Calculation | NX Tips and Tricks | January 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NX&#8217;s\u2122 continuous release cycle means that there are always new ways to improve your designs and your workflows. Automatic Draft Calculation in NX&#8217;s Molded Part Design add-on module is just one of the many enhancements you can find in the December 2023 release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Automatic Draft Calculation is an AI-enabled tool that helps you quickly make the right design decisions to create better products with fewer iterations. It analyses your design based on a wide range of variables and recommends a suitable draft angle when using the Draft command on a particular face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on or watch the video to learn more about how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NX Tips and Tricks | January 2024 | Automatic Draft Calculation\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ELjD70C7dgM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1 &#8211; Moldability Validation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before adding draft, we want to check the overall moldability of the part. Molded Part Design&#8217;s <strong>Moldability Validation<\/strong> report will quickly highlight any areas of the design that need draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, use the <strong>Draw Direction<\/strong> command to check that the draw is correct and specify the draw direction if not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"568\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction-1024x568.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Draw Direction command in Siemens' NX Molded Part Design\" class=\"wp-image-9111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction-1536x852.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction-900x499.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draw-direction.png 1601w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you&#8217;re ready to run Moldability Validation to automatically check for a number of potential design issues, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Thin walls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thick walls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vertical walls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Undercut regions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All these are highlighted in an intuitive, color-coded visual report in the Graphics Window, with extra details available in the Molded Part Design Navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"519\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation-1024x519.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Moldability command in Siemens' NX Molded Part Design showing moldability issues such as vertical walls\" class=\"wp-image-9112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation-1024x519.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation-300x152.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation-768x390.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation-1536x779.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation-900x456.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-moldability-validation.png 1745w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/nx-tips-and-tricks-moldability-validation\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/nx-tips-and-tricks-moldability-validation\/\">Read more about Moldability Validation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2 &#8211; Draft &amp; Recommended Draft Angle Report<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"370\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draft-window.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draft-window.png 370w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-draft-window-169x300.png 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Moldability Validation has highlighted some vertical walls on our design. We need to add draft to these faces to ensure that the component is moldable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what draft angle should you choose? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A larger draft angle can make parts easier to remove from a mold, while smaller draft angles can result in smoother surface finishes. The optimum draft angle is a balance of these two factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Molded Part Design&#8217;s <strong>Draft<\/strong> command now includes a <strong>Recommend Draft Angle<\/strong> option which can answer this question for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve selected the face on which to add draft, the AI-enabled <strong>Recommended Draft Angle Report<\/strong> analyses the design to suggest a draft angle. It balances the two criteria above, while computing variables such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Design thickness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Draw direction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assigned material<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Geometric conditions (such as maximum depth of the face along the draw direction)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure you check the recommended draft angle each time you add draft to a new face &#8211; the specific geometric conditions of each face may mean different results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you run the report without a material assigned, it&#8217;ll show you the minimum draft angle for a range of material options. If you have a material assigned, you&#8217;ll only see the material relevant to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"533\" height=\"701\" data-id=\"9114\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-report-all-materials.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Recommended Draft Angle Report in Siemens' NX Molded Part Design showing a wide range of material options\" class=\"wp-image-9114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-report-all-materials.png 533w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-report-all-materials-228x300.png 228w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"537\" height=\"703\" data-id=\"9115\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-report-abs.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Recommended Draft Angle Report in Siemens' NX Molded Part Design showing a the recommended draft angle for ABS plastic\" class=\"wp-image-9115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-report-abs.png 537w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-calculation-report-abs-229x300.png 229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3 &#8211; Revalidate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve added draft to the part using the Recommended Draft Angle Report&#8217;s suggested angles, you can run Moldability Validation again to check that it&#8217;s resolved the issues flagged earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our case, adding draft to certain faces has dealt with the vertical walls highlighted when we first ran the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"492\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-1024x492.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-1024x492.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-768x369.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-1536x737.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-2048x983.png 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/automatic-draft-revalidate-900x432.png 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re now ready to address any other moldability issues such as unsuitable wall thickness or undercut areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch the Automatic Draft Calculation video<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Automatic Draft Calculation can save time for your designers and reduce time to market for your molded parts by leveraging AI to ensure right-first-time design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch NX Molded Part Design&#8217;s draft angle recommendations at work in the video below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NX Tips and Tricks | January 2024 | Automatic Draft Calculation\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ELjD70C7dgM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And don&#8217;t forget to <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/nx-december-2023-release-now-available\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/nx-december-2023-release-now-available\/\">check out all the other powerful new enhancements in the December 2023 release of NX<\/a>.<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NX&#8217;s\u2122 continuous release cycle means that there are always new ways to improve your designs and your workflows. Automatic Draft&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86058,"featured_media":9120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"industry":[],"product":[],"coauthors":[3743],"class_list":["post-9110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/Blog_Header_TipsTricks_AutomaticDraftCalculation_MoldParts.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9110"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9126,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9110\/revisions\/9126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9110"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=9110"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=9110"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/nx-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}