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⬢ Holes · Fillets · Ribs · Patterns

Automate the Features Your Engineers Build Every Single Day

Holes, fillets, ribs, patterns and cut-outs consume a large share of your design bandwidth. CitiusKBE designs custom Siemens NX plug-ins that generate these features in seconds, with your standards enforced and manufacturing rules respected, delivered as a toolkit your team owns.

Built for the people who move engineering forward
OEM Engineering Leaders Mechanical Design HODs CAD Administrators Engineering Managers Product Design Heads CAD Engineers PLM Leads Tier 1 Suppliers
Holes
Fillets
Ribs
Patterns
Pockets
Chamfers
The Foundation

What is Feature Automation in CAD?

Feature automation is a CAD customization strategy where repetitive features, the holes, fillets, ribs, patterns and cut-outs your engineers build every day, are generated through custom plug-ins instead of manual modeling. CitiusKBE builds Siemens NX toolkits that wrap your standards, your fastener libraries and your manufacturing constraints around every feature. The result: your team works faster, your models stay compliant, and your engineering leadership gains capacity without increasing headcount.

Feature Categories

What CitiusKBE Automates Inside Siemens NX

Every engagement is tailored to your part families. These are the most common feature categories we deliver as custom Siemens NX plug-ins for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers worldwide.

Hole & Hole Pattern Automation

Simple holes, counterbores, countersinks, tapped holes and bolt patterns generated from fastener standards, plate thickness and assembly context, with standards compliance built in.

ISO Fasteners ANSI Series Bolt Circles Tapped Holes

Fillet & Chamfer Automation

Edge blends applied based on feature type, wall thickness and manufacturing constraints. Radius rules respect casting, forging or machining requirements automatically.

Constant Radius Variable Blend Edge Chamfer DFM Rules

Ribs & Gussets

Structural ribs and corner gussets placed based on load paths, span and plate thickness. Spacing follows your structural design standards, not individual designer preference.

Load-Aware Equal Spacing Corner Gussets Weldable

Linear & Circular Patterns

Rectangular, polar, curve-driven and geometry-referenced feature patterns built from edge counts, spacing rules and coverage requirements.

Rectangular Polar Curve-Driven Mirrored

Pockets, Slots & Cut-outs

Rectangular pockets, slotted holes, keyways and custom cut-outs positioned by geometric references or datum-driven rules, with zero manual placement.

Slotted Holes Keyways Reliefs Windows

Boss Features & Bosses

Raised features, threaded bosses and mounting pads with auto-calculated draft, wall thickness and reinforcement rules for plastic, cast or machined components.

Threaded Draft-Aware Molded Parts Plastic DFM
From Engineer Click to Production-Ready Geometry

The Automated Feature Workflow, Simplified

A typical feature that took 15 to 20 manual operations now completes in a single click. The plug-in handles selection, validation, standards compliance, and documentation updates in the background.

BUSINESS-OUTCOME VIEW

What Your Engineers Experience After a CitiusKBE Engagement

Three steps. One click. Full compliance. This is the operational shift your design leadership gets from a CitiusKBE feature automation plug-in.

Step 01

Engineer Picks Reference

  • Selects face, edge or assembly reference
  • Enters high-level input: part type, size class
  • No manual dimensioning needed
Step 02

Plug-in Runs Behind the Scenes

  • Reads part context and metadata
  • Applies your company and industry standards
  • Validates against DFM and compliance rules
Step 03 · Outcome

Compliant Feature Delivered

  • Feature placed with correct dimensions
  • Drawing and BOM auto-updated
  • Standards compliance documented
Stakeholder Value

Who Benefits From Feature Automation?

A CitiusKBE feature automation toolkit delivers a distinct outcome to every stakeholder in the design-to-manufacturing chain.

🏢

Engineering Leaders & HODs

Reclaim engineering capacity, accelerate project delivery and reduce reliance on senior designer availability.

📊

Design Managers

Consistent output quality across teams, measurable productivity gains and predictable delivery timelines.

👷

CAD Engineers & Designers

Escape repetitive modeling. Focus engineering expertise on design problems that actually need creative thinking.

🏭

Manufacturing & Downstream Teams

Receive standards-compliant, production-ready models that reduce rework loops and accelerate release cycles.

Delivery Methodology

How CitiusKBE Builds Your Feature Automation Toolkit

A four-stage consulting engagement that takes your team from manual feature modeling to a production-ready custom Siemens NX plug-in, tailored to your products and owned by your organization.

1

Feature Audit

We study which features your engineers rebuild most often and quantify the time recovery potential of automating them.

2

Requirements Mapping

Each feature category is mapped with inputs, standards, validation criteria and integration points across your environment.

3

Plug-in Build

Our engineers develop and test the custom NX toolbar, dialogs and Teamcenter integration inside a controlled sandbox before rollout.

4

Handover & Scale

Training, documentation and a governance framework so your CAD administrators can extend the toolkit with new features over time.

Measurable Impact

Time Recovery Per Feature Category

Indicative time spent creating a representative feature set on a typical mid-complexity part, before and after a CitiusKBE feature automation engagement. Actual savings scale with part volume and feature complexity.

Hours Collapsed Into Clicks

Once features are encoded into a custom Siemens NX plug-in, what took 15 to 30 minutes per feature group now takes seconds. Across a full part, the savings compound dramatically.

Typical outcome: 85 percent reduction in total feature modeling time, quarter over quarter.

Hole Patterns (Manual)
18 min
After CitiusKBE
90 sec
Fillets / Chamfers (Manual)
12 min
After CitiusKBE
45 sec
Ribs / Gussets (Manual)
20 min
After CitiusKBE
2 min
Where Feature Automation Pays Back

Industry Applications of Feature Automation

Feature automation delivers the highest ROI in industries with heavy repetitive feature creation, strict compliance standards and large design volumes across global OEM and Tier 1 supplier networks.

Industry Priority Features Standards Referenced Impact
Aerospace Fastener holes, lightening patterns, fillets AS, ISO, company High
Automotive / BIW Weld studs, locator holes, rib patterns OEM-specific, ISO High
Heavy Engineering Pressure boss features, tube holes, gussets ASME, ISO High
Industrial Machinery Mounting bolt patterns, cable cut-outs, ribs DIN, ISO Medium
Plant & Piping Flange bolt patterns, nozzle cut-outs ASME B16.5, API High
Tool & Die Ejector pin holes, cavity pockets, reliefs Internal standards Medium
Sheet Metal & Enclosures Louver patterns, cable pass-throughs, bends IEC, UL, internal High
Explore the Full Customization Stack

Related CAD Customization Capabilities

Feature automation multiplies its value when combined with parametric modeling, variant generation and standards enforcement. Explore the adjacent capabilities in the CitiusKBE customization platform.

Frequently Asked

Feature Automation, Answered

The questions design leaders, CAD administrators and mechanical engineering heads raise most often when scoping a feature automation engagement with CitiusKBE.

What is feature automation in CAD?

Feature automation is a CAD customization approach where repetitive features like holes, fillets, ribs, patterns and cut-outs are generated through custom plug-ins rather than manual modeling. The plug-in applies your standards, positions and dimensions automatically based on input conditions.

Which features can CitiusKBE automate inside Siemens NX?

CitiusKBE automates hole patterns, counterbores, fillets, chamfers, ribs, gussets, pockets, slots, boss features, weld seams, fastener cut-outs and any customer-specific parametric feature defined by your design standards.

Is feature automation a standalone tool or a custom plug-in?

CitiusKBE delivers feature automation as a custom-built Siemens NX plug-in engineered for your specific feature library, standards and part families. Each engagement starts with consulting and ships as a deployable toolkit you own.

How does feature automation improve compliance?

Automated features embed your standards, tolerances and material rules at creation time. Hole sizes match fastener standards, fillet radii respect manufacturing constraints, and rib spacing follows design guidelines, eliminating after-the-fact correction cycles.

How long does a feature automation engagement take?

A typical first-phase engagement covering five to eight feature categories runs 8 to 14 weeks from discovery to rollout. Subsequent phases extend coverage to additional part families or feature types.

Can the plug-in integrate with our fastener libraries?

Yes. CitiusKBE feature plug-ins connect to your existing fastener libraries, Teamcenter classification and company standards databases so every feature call uses the correct part number and specification.

Who maintains the feature rules after delivery?

Your CAD administrators do. CitiusKBE provides training, documentation and a maintainable structure. We also offer optional support retainers for long-term evolution as your standards change.

Stop Modeling the Same Features Every Day

Tell us which features your team rebuilds most often. CitiusKBE consultants will map the automation scope, quantify the time savings and propose a custom Siemens NX plug-in tailored to your design practice and owned by your organization.

Schedule a Feature Audit