Siemens releases its Zel X web-based engineering application

While the design and development stages of bringing a product to market are efficiently handled by several product lifecycle management software products, Siemens Digital Industries Software is expanding this area by adding capabilities for manufacturing workflows such as quoting, planning, tracking and collaborating with customers and suppliers in its new web-based engineering application, Zel X.

Siemens developed this application in response to insights from manufacturing users that most manufacturers believe that using multiple, separate software tools slows down digital transformation and increases overall costs.

According to Siemens, Zel X enables users to plan, execute, and track production and assembly on the shop floor; streamline incoming and outgoing requests for quotes (RFQs); track jobs and projects, not only from item to part, but also from quote to payment. It enables them to use 3D model-based CAM and G-code editing on the shop floor. Zel X tools help review, mark up, and edit CAD models from all sources using Parasolid-based translators. In addition, AI-based modeling and automated drawings can be used for pricing, tooling design, and to assist in preprocessing of machining data. Other tools help validate and optimize designs with rapid simulation.

A key aspect of Zel X is its ability to work with CAD and CAM systems outside of Siemens NX or Solid Edge. Zel X can also work with non-Siemens CAD systems such as Creo, SolidWorks, and Inventor.

Siemens says the goal of Zel X is not to replace existing CAD or CAM software, but to enhance it by expanding the use of CAD data so that other teams or departments, such as purchasing, sales and manufacturing, or even customers and suppliers, can benefit from the design data.

Zel X does this by delivering the technologies behind Siemens Teamcenter, Simcenter, NX, and Solid Edge in a lightweight, affordable environment accessible via a web browser. Zel X can reportedly run out-of-the-box on existing PCs, Chromebooks, MacBooks, tablets, Androids, and iPhones. Zel X updates are delivered automatically at no additional cost.

Zel X is available in two subscription options—Standard and Advanced (both cost less than $200 per month). Zel X Standard provides the basic tools you need to quote, plan, design, and prepare for machining. Zel X Advanced adds more data management and simulation options, and extends design with assembly- and history-based modeling.

The application can be accessed during a 30-day free trial period.

Zel X Early Adopters

Siemens has highlighted three early adopters of the Zel X app to highlight differences in how it is used by different manufacturers.

Schuster Mechanical in Detroit is a manufacturer of automotive test equipment. Schuster uses Zel X to better manage and organize operations, especially when working with clients and creating quotes. The Zel X collaboration offers unlimited permission-based sharing that allows clients to view, review, mark up and comment on active projects through any web browser. Siemens says this gives companies a professional, consistent interface with clients so they can stay up to date on progress.

Like Schuster, ultralight, high-performance vehicle manufacturer VUHL in Querétaro, Mexico, adopted Zel X to help manage projects, collaborate with customers and transfer Siemens NX design data to the shop floor. VUHL says the ability to access and edit designs from anywhere on any device allows them to quickly make engineering changes on the shop floor.

Bowstone Metal Fabrication in Ball Ground, Georgia, was concerned that a human-centric approach to tracking progress and order status would become unmanageable at scale, risking overloading staff, reducing on-time delivery, and potentially damaging their reputation. Bowstone chose Zel X because it allowed them to implement a system that embraces simplicity over complexity and allows employees to access it from any device while reducing the burden on IT.