Siemens PLM and Local Motors Form Partnership around Solid Edge and Crowdsourcing Design Approach

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced a new partnership with Local Motors, a next generation American car company that employs a unique approach to vehicle design called co-creation, combined with a revolutionary, local assembly and retail experience. Co-creation leverages the popular crowdsourcing concept to design collaboratively and develop a vehicle by involving an open design community, in this case a community of 13,000 – including the eventual customers of the vehicle. The first effort of this collaborative process resulted in the Rally Fighter, the world’s first open source production vehicle. As part of the agreement, Local Motors has adopted Solid Edge® software as the computer-aided design (CAD) tool for its recently launched Open Electric Vehicle project and is recommending the software to its entire product design community.

“We need to work with companies and individuals who can understand and appreciate our one-of-a-kind business model, and we need a powerful CAD tool with the ease of use, flexibility and adaptability to unleash the full creativity and innovative thinking of our diverse design community,” said Jay Rogers, president, CEO and Co-Founder, Local Motors. “We looked at several different options and unanimously determined that Siemens PLM Software and their Solid Edge application were an excellent fit. Solid Edge is easy to learn and use and its unique synchronous technology feature enables our design community to more intuitively realize design intent and more seamlessly share 3D geometry data with other CAD software.”

Local Motors results receive high praise: The first manufacturer of its kind, Local Motors invites any interested individual to join its community to participate in the design and development co-creation process of a brand new automobile. The company recently produced its first vehicle using this approach, with several more vehicle designs underway. One of the first results of its partnership with Siemens PLM Software will be seen with the Local Motors’ Open Electric Vehicle project, created to design a reusable open source chassis that can be included in electric vehicle creation.  Siemens PLM Software will provide design and development tools to support this effort, including its 3D CAD Software Solid Edge with synchronous technology, an exclusive capability that combines the speed and flexibility of direct modeling with the precise control of dimension driven design. 

Local Motors has been recognized for its groundbreaking approach to automotive development, appearing in articles in Popular Science, Wired and Popular Mechanics magazines. And, in a speech about manufacturing delivered on June 24, 2011 at Carnegie Mellon University, United States President Barack Obama recognized Local Motors for designing and building a new combat support vehicle for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in less than four months. The president credited Local Motors’ ability to collapse development time for not only delivering the vehicle “ahead of schedule”, but also for its potential to “save taxpayers billions of dollars” and possibly even “save lives” by getting necessary equipment to the battlefield faster.  
Local Motors’ next project is the development of “Local Forge”, a co-creative platform for transportation design, to be made available to automotive companies including manufacturers of aftermarket parts and accessories. 

“We are excited to establish this partnership with an innovative and forward thinking organization like Local Motors, and proud that they have selected Solid Edge for their Open Electric Vehicle project, and as a recommended CAD tool for their extended product design community,” said Karsten Newbury, senior vice president and general manager of Solid Edge and Velocity Series, Siemens PLM Software. “Its power to address the demanding design configurations, tight time schedules and quality standards inherent in the Local Motors approach will serve to validate and further stimulate the growing market momentum of Solid Edge with synchronous technology.” 

About Solid Edge: Solid Edge® software is the most complete hybrid 2D/3D CAD system that uses synchronous technology for accelerated design, faster change, and improved imported reuse. With superior part and assembly modeling, drafting, transparent data management, and built-in finite element analysis, Solid Edge, a core component of the Velocity Series™ portfolio, eases the growing complexity of product design.

About Local Motors: Local Motors is a new American car company setting an exciting and sustainable course to design, manufacture, and sell cars. Revolutionary yet simple, Local Motors creates a direct connection with customers who guide and participate in design development based on personal desires. The process is open source and the result is meaningful, exciting cars designed specifically for car enthusiasts. All chassis and body vehicle data is shared to make the car building and modding experience more enjoyable.

Local Motors will build micro-factories in regions where demand is highest.  Cars are built and sold from the micro-factories on a just-in-time basis. Both the products and process are sustainable. Local Motors vehicles feature best-in-class fuel efficiency. The development and manufacturing process dramatically reduces waste while maintaining the flexibility to incorporate new, efficient technologies as they emerge.

The first open source design concept brought to market by Local Motors and this dynamic community of contributors is the Rally Fighter; the original design is by Sangho Kim. The Rally Fighter is an off-road desert racer with on-street chops. To view and purchase the Rally Fighter, or to contribute to the future car concepts, go to www.local-motors.com.  
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