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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Civil 3D

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk's Civil 3D is a computer aided design (CAD) application designed to support a variety of civil infrastructure projects including rail, roads and highways, land development, airports, drainage, storm and sanitary, and civil structures.

    $335

    per month

    NX CAD

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ASiemens NX software is an integrated product design solution that helps deliver products faster and more efficiently. NX delivers design, simulation, and manufacturing solutions that enable companies to realize the value of the digital twin.N/A
    Pricing
    Civil 3DNX CAD
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Civil 3DNX CAD
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsCan be licensed monthly ($305), Annually ($2,430), or every 3 years ($6,560).Available free for one year on a student license.
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    Civil 3DNX CAD
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Autodesk Civil 3D and NX CAD
    Feature
    Autodesk Civil 3D
    -
    Ratings
    NX CAD
    7.6
    5 Ratings
    7% above category average
    3D Modeling00 Ratings8.75 Ratings
    2D Drafting00 Ratings8.85 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization00 Ratings5.94 Ratings
    Parametric Design00 Ratings8.45 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing00 Ratings6.54 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats00 Ratings7.65 Ratings
    Assembly Design00 Ratings8.35 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation00 Ratings7.15 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions00 Ratings7.45 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Civil 3DNX CAD
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Onshape
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MicroStation
    Score6 out of 10
    Onshape
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    PTC Creo
    Score5.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Civil 3DNX CAD
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.7
    (7 ratings)
    8.1
    (28 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (7 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (8 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.4
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Civil 3DNX CAD
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Autodesk
    Civil 3D is best suited for medium to large-scale projects, as it may be overkill for small projects. It is very efficient in design and drafting work, as well as creating reports. It also helps in creating surfaces using external data and building assemblies, as well as providing drainage for infrastructure projects. It can also provide outputs as DWG files to be directly used in the AutoCAD application.
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    There is perfect integration between NX CAD and NX CAM modules with less data loss. Better graphical interface and simplified commands makes NX CAD a better software then others. The tool has scope to develop an algorithm for generating surfaces from the point data. Include of option to convert .STL to any CAD format will be helpful. The connectivity of splines laying in different planes can be improvised.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Autodesk
    • We use this software for the optimal and advanced design of pipelines and complex structuring, or it can also be said that we use it mainly for a geotechnical model, due to its high definition of the large proportion of the works that are carried out through of this application, since the tasks that are used with Civil 3D require extreme patience, precision and a lot of time to develop a model in its entirety, but we managed to acquire all the necessary and strategic points, to establish and start the production of a prototype digitized in particular.
    • Easy to export to normal AutoCAD or collaborate with most Autodesk products.
    • Vehicle Turning Simulation and Stormwater analysis is great addition to the package. Ability to use the all familiar AutoCAD tools, as well as LISP and SCR to automate some processes is one of the greatest advantages of the software.
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    • Seamless interaction across multiple departments.
    • The software allows you to create a very high level of control and organization within your engineering staff. This reduces the companies mistakes and maximizes productivity.
    • The software makes it very easy to track your product through every phase of the production cycle.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Autodesk
    • I think I need more experience in using Autodesk Civil 3D as it is a huge jump from the previous software that I had been using
    • Some functions could take less steps to complete
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    • Keeping the colors of surfaces if volume bodies are linked
    • Show and keep symbolic threads
    • For me, I miss more information why a surface can't be deleted or a radius is not possible. And maybe a solution, how could it look like, if NX CAD adds a new surface.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Siemens AG
    possibility of integration and customization
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Autodesk
    It is one of the most standard Designing and drafting tools for infrastructure projects and is the go-to for including it with the Autodesk ecosystem. Its strong collaboration with GIS and Other tools helps us to create a software workflow as a digital twin platform as well. The Drawings and plans generated can be easily imported into other applications, allowing for full control over the workflow.
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    Siemens NX CAD has been has been simple in design & user interface. It is best among the competitors. It can develop heavy models & designs with very ease. It has Layers options for arranging multiple assemblies in the same file. It does not require heavy system investment & works fine on professional PCs
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Autodesk
    They have a vast open community, which has helped us understand Autodesk Civil 3D from the beginning. They have provided many templates and tutorials videos to our team due to that we can learn every new feature from them. Autodesk Civil 3D has also helped us to interconnect all its software in an internal bridge, which helps us switch between software as we need.
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    NX CAD version is going out of support after only 12 months. Changes will not be implemented after 12 months from prodcution
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Siemens AG
    the manitenance period is too small for our implementation timeline
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Autodesk
    As mentioned before, using Civil3D got its own pros such as creating different profiles that are interactive such if you change any level, the profile will be updated automatically while in AutoCAD you will suffer by updating them manually. In addition, creating models that also are interactive and help in clash detection for different utilities in a project.
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    NX CAD is very good for interoperability between different three dimensional modelling softwares, it can convert to .jt models, from native format such as .CATPart, .CATProduct, and ones from SOLIDWORKS. Also it is integrated to Siemens Teamcenter, which also enables other downstream workflow, such as Tecnomatix Process Simulate. Other software packages would need more integration effort to make this possible
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Autodesk
    • positive: saved us time on setting up sheets/sheet set manager
    • positive: saved time and effort on cutting profiles
    • positive: saved us money on printing, since it is easy to bind the dgns it creates
    Incentivized
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    Siemens AG
    • The software itself is pretty expensive compared to other CAD-systems.
    • Implementation is not out of the box, it requires a lot of consulting and iteration cycles.
    • On the positive side is to mention the seamless of downstream functionalities, from product development to manufacturing and visualization, etc.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Civil 3D Screenshots

    Screenshot of Civil 3D - Infrastructure Software from AutodeskScreenshot of Civil 3D - Rail Alignments

    NX CAD Screenshots

    Screenshot of NX technology can generate multiple design options. (It's like having an extra employee dedicated to "trying out" different designs.) Then Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) can be used to generate the part.Screenshot of Studies show an inordinate amount of time can be spent by designers as they look for previous or similar parts. The software can search for similarly-shaped parts.Screenshot of NX has the ability to validate a part (or assembly) and its adherence to standards, collisions, and manufacturability.Screenshot of Virtual inspection and mark up full sized assemblies.Screenshot of a rendering created from the actual product design. Notice the lighting and surface realism.