Accelerating design-to-production innovation using AI in NX X Manufacturing, supported by Microsoft Azure
The race to move from initial design to a fully manufactured component is becoming faster, more complex, and more crucial than ever for manufacturers. Whether you’re building precision aerospace parts that must withstand extreme conditions or crafting sleek, durable housings for mobile devices, the design-to-manufacturing process demands seamless collaboration, precision engineering, and rapid iteration.
That’s why Siemens teamed up with its strategic partner, Microsoft, to demonstrate a future concept for the production process for a next-generation component and how AI can be used to optimize the entire workflow. Through the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, explore an AI-powered digital thread, which can be run on Microsoft Azure, to seamlessly connect design, engineering, and manufacturing.
Join Siemens at Microsoft Ignite 2025 from November 18th -21st in San Francisco, California, where we’ll showcase how companies can transform the design-to-manufacturing process for next-generation products, bringing ideas to market faster requires an end-to-end digital approach.
From Concept to Component: A Unified Workflow
Programming complex parts can be time-consuming and demanding, making it difficult to balance speed, accuracy, and compliance with best practices. To overcome these challenges, manufacturers are embracing AI to streamline product design-to-manufacturing workflows.
At Siemens booth, we’ll showcase the complete end-to-end process for designing and manufacturing a next-gen smartphone housing — a component that may look simple, but requires a careful balance of aesthetics, durability, and manufacturability. With a seamless digital backbone powered by AI, Siemens accelerates the journey from concept to production, ensuring speed, precision, and quality every step of the way. With AI capabilities like suggesting machining strategies, optimizing workflows, and anticipating quality issues, the AI-powered NX CAM Copilot helps manufacturers meet growing demands for quality, sustainability, and efficiency.
Learn how combining generative design, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, and cloud-based quality inspection tools from Siemens Xcelerator — powered by Microsoft Azure and its AI platform— can transform the design and production process.
The demonstrator uses a digital twin to create a seamless digital thread, connecting design, engineering, manufacturing, and quality inspection. By sharing data across integrated solutions in one unified environment, it enables rapid iteration and evaluation of countless possibilities, leading to optimized component design and production.
The design-to-manufacturing process typically begins with CAD modeling, where engineers define the geometry and intent of a part. This is followed by CAE simulations to validate performance under real-world conditions, stress, thermal loads, vibrations. Creating CNC toolpaths and inspection routines with conventional CAD/CAM software often requires long, repetitive cycles. This demonstrator will feature how Siemens NX CAM software, powered by AI, automates much of this work. Finally, quality inspection ensures the part meets specifications before it qualifies for the final assembly steps.
The Smartphone Housing and the Manufacturing Complexity
When we look at the smartphone housing, it is a deceptively simple component that must balance aesthetics, durability, and manufacturability. From a CAD perspective, designers must account for tight tolerances, antenna placement, and ergonomic contours. In CAE, engineers simulate drop tests, thermal dissipation, and structural integrity. The manufacturing phase involves multi-axis machining or mold design, often with intricate surface finishes. And in quality inspection, precision metrology ensures every unit meets exacting standards.
Focus on Manufacturing: How AI Is Changing the Game
During the manufacturing stage, the smartphone part undergoes subtractive finishing in NX CAM, where the AI-powered NX CAM Copilot accelerates programming by suggesting optimal machining operations, tooling, and parameters — cutting programming time by up to 80%. Machine learning algorithms analyze historical data to suggest optimal cutting strategies, tool selections, and even predict potential collisions or inefficiencies.
Siemens Xcelerator + Microsoft Azure: A Seamless Digital Thread
These innovations are part of the broader Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, a comprehensive suite of software, services, and application development platforms. When paired with Microsoft Azure, Siemens NX CAD/CAM enables a cloud-powered digital thread that connects every phase of the end-to-end process. Teams can collaborate in real time, access high-performance computing for simulations, and scale their operations globally with secure, reliable infrastructure.
At Microsoft Ignite 2025, don’t miss how Siemens and Microsoft demonstrate the power of generative design, additive manufacturing and CNC machining, quality inspection capabilities from the cloud-based Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, delivered on Microsoft Azure and which take advantage of the Azure AI Platform, have enabled them to rethink the entire design and production process.
Together, Siemens and Microsoft are empowering manufacturers to innovate faster, reduce waste, and deliver better products, from the skies to your pocket.
Interested to learn more? Come visit the Siemens booth #4029 at Microsoft Ignite in San Francisco, CA
