Realize LIVE Americas 2026 recap: from agile to autonomous: building the future of Digital Manufacturing

Realize LIVE 2026 brought together manufacturers, technology leaders, partners, and innovators to explore the technologies and strategies redefining what’s possible in modern manufacturing. Whether organizations are just beginning their digital transformation journey or scaling existing investments, this year’s Digital Manufacturing sessions focused on a common theme: the convergence of AI, data, cloud technologies, and the digital twin to create more connected, intelligent, and autonomous operations.

Setting the stage: from agile to autonomous

The Digital Manufacturing experience kicked off with a visionary keynote from Zvi Feuer, SVP Digital Manufacturing, and Mark Hindsbo, Head of Operations Software, who shared Siemens’ vision for adaptive production powered by digital twins and Industrial AI. Their message was clear: manufacturing is entering a period of unprecedented acceleration. Across industries, organizations are facing increasing pressure from labor shortages and skills gaps, growing demands for agility and autonomy, rapid advances in AI and robotics, and the need to turn industrial data into a strategic advantage. At the same time, manufacturers are looking for more connected and intelligent ways to design, plan, operate, maintain and continuously improve production.

While Siemens has invested in Smart Manufacturing capabilities for decades, establishing leadership positions across manufacturing engineering, planning, simulation, SCADA, MES/MOM, automation, service and the aftermarket, customers are now demanding something more integrated, modular, and autonomous. To address this need, Siemens is bringing together its software and automation portfolios to accelerate an AI-native approach to manufacturing operations. At the center of this vision is a comprehensive digital twin connected across the digital thread, from product design and manufacturing engineering to factory operations and service, powered by Industrial AI and the Siemens Agentic Enterprise Platform.

This vision provided the foundation for every Digital Manufacturing track at Realize LIVE 2026.

NX for Manufacturing: accelerating the future of part manufacturing

To start, the NX for Manufacturing track highlighted how part manufacturers are modernizing machining operations through digitalization, automation, simulation, and AI. Across these sessions, attendees learned how manufacturers are combining CAM, simulation, machine connectivity, and AI to improve productivity, reduce programming effort, and accelerate time to production. Presentations from organizations such as Cummins, Pratt & Whitney, HELLER, and DMG MORI demonstrated how digital manufacturing technologies are helping teams standardize processes, scale expertise, and create more resilient manufacturing operations.

A recurring theme throughout the track was the growing role of AI in part manufacturing, from intelligent programming assistance and simulation-driven optimization to advanced machining strategies and additive manufacturing workflows, attendees saw firsthand how AI is becoming an integral part of the part manufacturing process.

Highlights of the NX Manufacturing sessions included:

• Ford Motor Company discussing machining planning using NX CAM and RunMyVirtualMachine
• Cummins Inc talking about scaling manufactuirng with NX CAM
• Pratt & Whitney describing how they deploy post processors across their large enterprise
• Partners having conversations about AI-driven machining, interfacing with various machines, and optimizing CNC processes
• Siemens manufacturing experts discussing what is new in NX Manufacturing and what is to come

Tecnomatix: merging industrial AI, manufacturing planning and simulation, model-based enterprise, and the digital twin together

The Tecnomatix track highlighted how manufacturers are using solutions around manufacturing planning, simulation, service, digital twins, and Industrial AI to improve decision-making before implementation, reducing risk while increasing productivity, quality, and operational performance. Throughout the week, customers, partners, and Siemens experts shared how these technologies are transforming manufacturing engineering and factory operations.

To begin, several sessions featured how users are leveraging Process Simulate to facilitate simulation, validation, optimization and commissioning of complex manufacturing processes involving equipment and people for faster launches and higher production quality. Presentations from organizations including Embraer, Patti Engineering featuring Catepillar, and Oakland University. As a key session to highlight, Embraer, for example, has used Siemens Process Simulate for over a decade for to improve automatic drilling & riveting applications, leveraging the solution to improve manufacturing quality, reduce lead times, and optimize offline programming. By enhancing its OLP environment, Embraer shortened programming workflows by 40% and eliminated non-quality issues caused by undetected collisions, resulting in a more efficient and reliable engineering process.

To transition to the following sessions, many users were excited to share their use cases and insights about the efficiencies achieved in production and logistics with Plant Simulation. Organizations like Northrop Grumman, Amazon Robotics and Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR) demonstrated how Plant Simulation is helping teams validate new factory designs, modernize legacy production systems, and optimize material flow. Together, these examples showcased the measurable business value of simulation across aerospace, industrial equipment, and advanced manufacturing.

Another standout session part of the Tecnomatix track was the AI Production Engineering and Service Digital Twins: From Planning to Production, featuring Larry Bemis, Vice President of Digital Manufacturing Planning and Simulation at Siemens, alongside Heiko Wenczel, Head of Omniverse Segment Sales at NVIDIA. Together, they explored how manufacturers can leverage AI and digital twins across the entire production lifecycle, from planning and validation through commissioning, operations, and service.

Attendees learned how technologies including Teamcenter Easy Plan, Process Simulate, Plant Simulation , NX Line Designer, Process Preparation, Teamcenter Service Lifecycle Management, and Digital Twin Composer are helping organizations create intelligent digital twins that connect engineering data, operational data, simulation, and AI. The session also highlighted how Siemens and NVIDIA are collaborating to bring Industrial Metaverse capabilities to manufacturers, enabling teams to test ideas earlier, identify issues sooner, and make better decisions before changes reach the shop floor.

Attendees also received a roadmap update during the What’s New in Process Simulate and Plant Simulation sessions led by Uli Rossgoderer, Senior Director of Portfolio Development at Siemens, which showcased the latest portfolio innovations, including expanded AI-enabled  manufacturing capabilities, enhanced simulation workflows, and continued integration across the digital thread.

Another session that caught attention was all about the emergence of humanoids and how Siemens Process Simulate can help support the simulation and validation of human-like robots before they hit the factory floor. Over the past 18 months, Siemens has been pushing the boundaries of industrial humanoid robotics, using advanced simulation, AI, and automation technologies to explore how humanoids can safely and effectively work alongside people and machines in real manufacturing environments.

Together, these discussions reinforced a central theme of Realize LIVE 2026: simulation, Industrial AI, and the digital twin are becoming foundational technologies for manufacturers looking to move from reactive operations toward more predictive, adaptive, and autonomous production systems.

Interested in learning more about these sessions? Deep dive into the Tecnomatix-focused topics at Realize LIVE Americas.

Service and Aftermarket Business sessions

Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) is key to service excellence and keeping assets in production and at peak performance. Teamcenter SLM sessions this year highlighted strategies for improving integrated product support (IPS) processes, service and maintenance processes, asset performance, and adding new revenue streams via asset monetization. Several product support data management (PSDM) sessions were delivered this year at Realize LIVE, representing the importance of this topic to ETO manufacturers and operators. Dave Riemer, founder of Intermountain Aerospace Consulting, led a lively PSDM Panel Discussion with A&D industry leaders and IPS expert James V. Jones.  

Aftermarket business transformation was another important topic this year. As manufacturers navigate digital transformation, opportunities to add new revenue paths, especially related to sales and service in the aftermarket, begin to emerge. In the Accelerate Aftermarket Business Success session, Siemens and Salesforce thought leaders discussed how manufacturers can take advantage of combined PLM and CRM software in a single app, leveraging agentic AI and an open ecosystem to drive up aftermarket revenue and achieve an unmatched customer experience. 

Manufacturing Process Planning sessions

Modernizing manufacturing process planning capabilities with a superior user experience with industry best practices built-in, and enabling users with the ability to collaborate between domains to share rich, contextualized manufacturing data across the digital enterprise is key to boosting productivity and getting quality products launched on time. In the manufacturing process planning sessions this year at Realize LIVE, you could feel the energy and excitement to learn more about how our solutions continue to evolve to meet our customer expectations. 

Attendees in the From MPP to Teamcenter Easy Plan: real world lessons & challenges to driving digital-first culture at Lockheed Martin session heard about A&D industry challenges and lessons learned while migrating their user base to Easy Plan from MPP. They also heard about Lockheed experiences using EBOM-MBOM and BOP capabilities, including assembly-level PMIs. 

The Extend Teamcenter to Easy Plan session highlighted customer stories where a powerful UX and comprehensive digital twin that spans from design to manufacturing is key to their success. Mike Graham (Siemens) presented a technical overview chock full of product demonstrations to show new features added to Teamcenter Easy Plan. This included embedded AI, enhanced visualization, and enhanced manufacturing BOM (MBOM) management – all built to help manufacturers work smarter and innovate faster.

Opcenter

The Opcenter track showcased how manufacturers are transforming production operations through modern MES and MOM capabilities. Sessions highlighted strategies to improve execution, quality, traceability, and operational visibility while laying the foundation for AI-powered manufacturing operations.

Everything starts with listening to our customers, and at Realize LIVE America, customer perspectives were front and center, including valuable insights from Zimmer Biomet and Keysight Technologies. Their experiences illustrated how real-world challenges are shaping Opcenter’s evolution and reinforced three clear themes driving our investments in Opcenter MES Advanced today. These insights reflect the realities manufacturers face as they scale operations, optimize performance, and prepare for their digital transformation.

The first theme is economics, delivering stronger ROI by reducing the total cost of ownership and enabling scale. Customers need to deploy MES across multiple plants without costs increasing at each step. Opcenter addresses this by eliminating the need for costly third-party database and operating system licenses, reducing hardware requirements, and leveraging a metadata-driven approach with Mendix to significantly reduce development effort. At the same time, more standardized and simplified deployments mean implementations that once took months can now be completed in a fraction of the time.

The second and third themes, operator experience and AI, are equally critical. A modern, task-focused user experience ensures operators can work efficiently without unnecessary friction, supported by low-code flexibility to adapt interfaces to specific workflows. In parallel, AI is being introduced in a practical, human-centered way, with agents that work alongside operators to surface insights, flag anomalies, and support better decision-making. Together, these investments reflect a shared ambition: helping manufacturers like Zimmer Biomet and Keysight Technologies run smarter, more scalable, and more resilient operations into the future.

Insights Hub

The Insights Hub track explored how industrial IoT, analytics, and connected operational data are helping manufacturers make faster and more informed decisions. Discussions focused on turning manufacturing data into actionable intelligence that improves asset performance, operational efficiency, and business outcomes.At Realize LIVE America, Insights Hub demonstrated its growing role as an AI‑driven manufacturing foundation, bringing together data, analytics, and contextualized operational intelligence to help organizations unlock greater value from their operations. A standout example came from BorgWarner, which presented its sustainability use case, showcasing how they leverage Insights Hub to gain deeper visibility into energy consumption, monitor emissions, and drive more sustainable production practices. Their story highlighted how contextualized data enables not only transparency, but also actionable improvements aligned with both operational and environmental objectives.

Central to this innovation is the evolution of the Insights Hub Production Copilot, which brings AI directly into the manufacturing environment. By combining contextualized data with intelligent agents, Insights Hub enables teams to move from reactive to proactive decision-making. Whether identifying inefficiencies, surfacing anomalies, or guiding operators with actionable recommendations, the Production Copilot empowers users to act faster and with greater confidence, while keeping humans firmly in control.

Together, these capabilities position Insights Hub as the next generation of intelligent manufacturing, where AI augments human expertise, sustainability becomes measurable and actionable, and data is transformed into real-time operational intelligence. As demonstrated at Realize LIVE, customers like BorgWarner are already putting this into practice, proving how AI-driven manufacturing is delivering tangible results today while setting the stage for continued innovation.

Siemens Solution Center – the Make station

At the heart of the event is the Solutions Center, a central hub where Siemens brings its latest innovations to life through interactive demos, product expert consultations and partner showcases. As part of this experience, the Make zone features eight interactive stations aligned to key digitalization topics. including Data Driven Optimization, AI-Powered Production, Flawless Commissioning, Quality Culture, Flexible Adaptable Production, Design Driven Manufacturing, Digital Production Optimization and Seamless Automation, showing how Siemens Digital Manufacturing solutions connect and optimize the manufacturing lifecycle.

Serving as the centerpiece of the Make zone, the Gimbal provides a physical demonstration of the virtual reality capabilities in Process Simulate, allowing attendees to see how immersive technologies can enhance manufacturing planning, validation and collaboration. Together, the stations and Gimbal experience give visitors a hands-on opportunity to explore Siemens Digital Manufacturing solutions while engaging directly with the presales experts who use and support them.

One of the strongest themes throughout Realize LIVE 2026 was the growing importance of connecting traditionally siloed manufacturing processes. Across every Digital Manufacturing track, attendees saw how Siemens is bringing together product engineering, manufacturing planning, factory simulation, production execution, Industrial IoT, service operations, and automation. The result is a future where manufacturers can move beyond reactive decision-making and toward adaptive, autonomous operations powered by connected data and intelligent software.

Combining AI with trusted operational data and the digital twin

Realize LIVE 2026 reinforced a simple but powerful idea: the future of manufacturing is built on the convergence of AI, digital twins, simulation, and connected operations. As manufacturers navigate increasing complexity, the ability to connect engineering, production, operations, and service through a common digital thread will become a critical competitive advantage.

Across every session and customer story, attendees saw how Siemens is helping organizations build that foundation today while preparing for a future of more intelligent, adaptive, and autonomous operations.

More than a technology conference, Realize LIVE 2026 sparked new conversations between customers, partners, industry leaders, and Siemens experts about what’s next for manufacturing. By bringing together software, automation, AI, and the digital twin, manufacturers can unlock new levels of productivity, agility, and resilience. Join the community shaping the future of manufacturing. We look forward to continuing the conversation and seeing you at the next Realize LIVE or register for the upcoming shows in Europe, Asia-Pacific or Greater China.