The way forward for manufacturing won’t be formed by a single breakthrough in expertise. As a substitute, will probably be outlined by a robust mixture of 4 important substances that, when utilized collectively, have the potential to rework greater than ten industries without delay — from aerospace, protection, power, and mobility to healthcare, electronics, shopper merchandise, and past. Firms throughout sectors face quick innovation cycles, stronger international competitors, provide chain disruptions, and rising demand for sustainable and round manufacturing. The organizations that may lead on this new period are these able to orchestrating the precise applied sciences and the precise collaborations throughout the worth chain.
In our work with clients, companions, and ecosystems resembling America Makes in the USA and Bavaria Makes e.V. in Europe, one perception has turn into very clear: subsequent‑technology manufacturing emerges solely when corporations, lecturers, and politics work carefully collectively to make the longer term occur moderately than in isolation.
The primary ingredient is an open, interoperable expertise stack that kinds the digital spine of contemporary trade. It connects design, engineering, simulation, automation, and manufacturing by means of a steady digital thread. With executable digital twins and a ruled knowledge basis, corporations can transfer from idea to certification‑prepared manufacturing sooner, with larger predictability and cross‑trade compatibility. The openness and interoperability of this stack make sure that machine builders, suppliers, OEMs, analysis companions, and startups can collaborate with out technological lock-in, which is important for scale. Siemens companions with corporations like Nvidia, Microsoft, and AWS to make these digital twin experiences immersive, working collectively throughout areas and totally different capabilities on the similar time.
The second ingredient is Industrial AI, which acts as a power multiplier throughout each stage of innovation and manufacturing. Inside every engineering or manufacturing instrument, Co‑Pilots and embedded AI capabilities will make skilled workflows sooner, extra intuitive, and way more accessible. Above the instrument degree, AI Brokers will more and more orchestrate complete multi‑step workflows throughout the toolchain. An engineer, manufacturing facility supervisor, or planner will not want knowledgeable‑degree mastery of each specialised software; as a substitute, AI Brokers will information, coordinate, and adapt workflows in actual time. This evolution allows extra agile, adaptive, and responsive operations, laying the inspiration for true lot‑measurement‑X manufacturing — reaching the identical economies of scale and profitability historically related to mass manufacturing, whereas retaining the flexibleness of individualized or quickly altering manufacturing.
The third ingredient consists of robotics and additive manufacturing as totally digital‑native manufacturing strategies. Robotics brings flexibility, pace, and resilience to manufacturing facility operations, enabling native‑for‑native manufacturing and adaptive automation. Additive manufacturing turns into a pure a part of engineering and manufacturing — designed instantly from the digital thread, simulated earlier than printing, built-in with subtractive and put up‑processing steps, and scalable from a single machine to a whole manufacturing facility. AM solely reaches its transformative potential when it’s woven into the broader digital and automation panorama, moderately than handled as a standalone specialty.
The fourth and infrequently underestimated ingredient is the ecosystem alongside the worth chain. No single group can industrialize AM or subsequent‑technology manufacturing by itself. True progress occurs when materials suppliers, machine OEMs, software program and automation suppliers, analysis institutes, authorities businesses, startups, and finish‑person industries collaborate carefully. Ecosystems like America Makes and regional alliances resembling Bavaria Makes e.V. in Germany speed up qualification processes, strengthen provide‑chain resilience, develop the longer term workforce, and pace up the switch of expertise throughout industries. They amplify innovation far past what any particular person firm might obtain by itself.
Collectively, these substances allow the shift from remoted pilot initiatives to scalable industrial manufacturing enabled by additive manufacturing, from linear provide chains to adaptive manufacturing networks, and from incremental enhancements to exponential progress. That is the recipe for the following technology of producing — and the rationale greater than 10 industries are converging on the identical transformation mannequin.
Siemens is a Gold Sponsor of Additive Manufacturing Methods (AMS) 2026 (AMS 2026), which is able to happen in New York Metropolis from February 24–26. The occasion will carry collectively leaders from throughout the additive manufacturing trade to debate expertise, technique, and real-world adoption. Study extra and register at AMS 2026.
In regards to the Authors:
Steve Vosmik is a part of Siemens, the place he works carefully with clients and companions on additive manufacturing adoption and digital manufacturing methods. His work focuses on serving to organizations join design, manufacturing, and automation to help scalable, real-world use of additive manufacturing throughout industrial environments.
Karsten Heuser is a senior chief at Siemens, the place he’s accountable for driving additive manufacturing technique and ecosystem growth. He works on the intersection of software program, industrialization, and trade collaboration, specializing in advancing the adoption of additive manufacturing throughout manufacturing, provide chains, and digital workflows.
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