The new cloud tool offers small manufacturers a streamlined slice of Siemens’ operations, manufacturing, collaboration, design and simulation software.
Siemens is expanding its Xcelerator-as-a-Service (XaaS) portfolio of cloud-based engineering software. The company announced five new XaaS applications yesterday at its annual Realize Live user conference taking place this week in Las Vegas, Nevada: NX X for product design, Opcenter X for manufacturing operations management, Simcenter X for simulation, Teamcenter X Essentials for PLM and Zel X for manufacturing and shop floor operations.
Xcelerator-as-a-Service, which Siemens launched in 2021, is a cloud-based version of the company’s Xcelerator portfolio of engineering software. Four of the five new XaaS apps have an existing, traditionally-licensed counterpart, but one is entirely new: Zel X. Here’s what you need to know about it.
What is Zel X?
Zel X is a little bit of everything, according to Oliver Duncan, product manager for Siemens Cloud Solutions. The new cloud application borrows functionality from across the Xcelerator portfolio and delivers it in a single, streamlined package.
“We’re trying to make the proven technology that Siemens has delivered to the BMWs and the Dysons of the world affordable and accessible to those for whom, traditionally, it’s not been as accessible,” Duncan told Engineering.com.
In particular, Siemens is pitching Zel X at small manufacturing businesses such as machine shops, metal fabricators and contract manufacturers. The software includes functionality for operations, manufacturing, collaboration, design and simulation.
The most interesting thing about Zel X, Duncan says, is how it’s delivered. While all of Siemens’ XaaS apps are built around the cloud, many are still accessed in a desktop client. Not Zel X. The new app is completely browser-based, meaning it can run just as easily on a desktop as it can on a laptop, tablet or phone.
What can Zel X do?
Aiming to help small manufacturers move away from paper printouts and whiteboards, Siemens Zel X includes tools to understand and plan operations on the shop floor. It provides interactive dashboards to monitor real-time operations and track jobs, as well as tools to help with automated request-for-quotes (RFQs).
Zel X also includes 3D CAD tools based on Siemens NX and complete with AI-based predictive modeling capabilities. “It will predict your design intent in real time by looking at the geometry,” Duncan explained. He gave the example of a designer changing one leg of a table, and Zel X recognizing that the same change should apply to the other legs.
Alongside its design environment, Zel X offers 2.5-axis CAM tools with the ability to edit G-code. It also includes cloud-based simulation based on Siemens Simcenter. Since Zel X is based on existing Siemens technology, it’s entirely interoperable with NX, NX CAM, Simcenter and other Xcelerator solutions.
“So if the customer reaches the boundaries of what Zel X can do and they need to go use NX or Teamcenter or something more, they can just take their data with them,” Duncan said. “There is no translation because it’s based on the same technology.”
One of the main draws of cloud-based software is how it enables collaboration, and that’s a key focus of Zel X. The new software offers cloud storage, data management and sharing capabilities, task management tools, the ability to view and markup models, and augmented reality (AR) visualization features.
How much does Zel X cost?
Zel X is available now as a yearly subscription. It comes in two versions, Zel X Standard and Zel X Advanced, the latter of which includes additional functionality for design, simulation and data management.
Zel X Standard costs $1,296 per user per year and Zel X Advanced costs $2,292. Users can buy both versions online at Siemens.com or try a free 30-day trial.
