I Am IRON MAN: Elon Musk uses Siemens NX and Leap Motion to Design like Tony Stark

In case you’ve been living under an “Apple IIe” for the past 15 years, Elon Musk is the founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX. He, and his small group of international super-geniuses, have brought products to the mainstream which were only considered possible in a Flash Gordon comic. His electric cars are currently the world standard, SpaceX is the leading private exploration firm in the USA, and he’s mentioned he may take on Tube-Travel…if he’s got time.

As if that wasn’t enough, now he’s taking Iron Man, head-on. One of the coolest parts of those movies was when Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, would design and build his inventions in real-time, with his interactive design tool. He would use his hands to manipulate 3D parts in a virtual work-space. Well, now Elon’s got one of those too. It didn’t previously exist, so they made one themselves.

Interactive design tool: Using Siemens NX, a Leap Motion controller and their own array of custom designed displays, Elon Musk has enabled his team to design parts and machines in a more organic way (plus it’s super cool!).

Check out how Littleford Inc. is enabling their users to design on the fly with their Interactive Design Tool, built by CADENAS PARTsolutions. 

From SpaceX

SpaceX is exploring methods for engineers to accelerate their workflow by designing more directly in 3D. We are integrating breakthroughs in sensor and visualization technologies to view and modify designs more naturally and efficiently than we could using 2D tools. We are just beginning, but eventually hope to build the fastest route between the idea of a rocket and the reality of the factory floor. Special thanks to Leap Motion, Siemens and Oculus VR, as well as NVIDIA, Projection Design, Provision, and to everyone enabling and challenging the world to interact with technology in exciting new ways.