MxD Virtual Factory Tour: Digital Manufacturing – Where Virtual Meets Real

North American Manufacturing Excellent Summit 2021 was held virtually due to COVID19, but that did not prevent hundreds of senior manufacturing executives and the service and solution providers relevant to their interests from coming together to network, benchmark, learn, and share with one another during what has been a difficult year in uncharted business territory.

As part of NAMES21, Executive Platforms and Siemens organized a virtual factory tour of the MxD on Goose Island. MxD (Manufacturing x Digital) – formerly DMDII (Digital Manufacturing Design Innovation Institute) is where innovative manufacturers go to forge their futures. In partnership the Department of Defense, MxD equips U.S. factories with the digital tools and expertise they need to begin building every part better than the last. As a result, approximately 300 partners increase their productivity and win more business. The 22,000 square foot research factory is used to test and demonstrate new technology, train the workforce on these new systems and tools, and demonstrate the need for cybersecurity in manufacturing. Many partners, including Siemens, use the floor for experimentation and training on everything from augmented reality to advanced simulation techniques. Focus areas include Cybersecurity, Supply Chain, Digital Engineering, Workforce Development, and Defense Collaborations. https://www.mxdusa.org/

The MxD factory tour was recorded live. The Siemens team walked attendees through the MxD shopfloor with onsite streaming of key demonstrations with particular focus on how to enable a flexible digital thread on the shopfloor with a combination of existing assets and cutting edge technologies applied to the manufacturing processes.

  • MxD shopfloor
  • Siemens Digitalization Hub
  • Hands-on Flexible Manufacturing demonstration

Davide Picciotto
Digital Enterprise Thought Leader
Siemens Digital Industries Software

Davide has joined the exciting journey of the Digital Enterprise in early 2015 as Thought Leader in the Consumer Products space. Previously he has been leading the Siemens US MOM Food & Beverage team since January 2013. His background is in the Manufacturing Execution space, but his focus has grown over time to cover Automation, MOM and now the broader digitalization space including PLM.

Davide has an excellent knowledge of all the technologies used in digitalization and of the value of applying them to industrial processes and has focused in the manufacturing and economics of the Process Industry linking ROI, financial KPIs, and qualitative benefits to manufacturing processes. He has earned a Master Degree in Communication Engineering at the University of Genoa, IT. He is currently based in Chicago, IL.

Nina Verstandig
Digital Enterprise Industry Manager for Consumer Products and Retail
Siemens Digital Industries Software

Nina is part of the Thought Leadership Digital Enterprise Team. As industry manager for consumer products, she works with customers across the globe to leverage PLM, MOM and Automation technologies. As she is located in Chicago, IL, she works mainly from MxD, one of the Siemens Digital Enterprise Experience Centers where visitors can explore the possibilities of the Digital Enterprise solutions in a unique mock-manufacturing environment.

Siemens Digital Industries Software is a leading global provider of software solutions to drive the digital transformation of industry, creating new opportunities for manufacturers to realize innovation. With over 140,000 customers worldwide, we work with companies to transform the way ideas come to life, the way products are realized, and the way products and assets in operation are used and understood.   Formerly Siemens PLM Software, our new name reflects the depth of our software offerings across a broad spectrum of industry domains.

Amid unprecedented change and the rapid pace of innovation, digitalization is no longer tomorrow’s idea. We take what the future promises tomorrow and make it real for our customers today. Welcome to… Where today meets tomorrow.