Why Visual Components 5.0 could redefine Digital Factory Planning

Visual Components 5.0 launches with faster simulation, expanded connectivity and advanced robot offline programming to support digital factory planning.

13 March 2026

Espoo, Finland – March 12, 2026 – Visual Components today announced the launch of Visual Components 5.0, a major upgrade to its 3D manufacturing simulation and robot offline programming software platform.

The update helps manufacturers design and optimize production systems in a fast-changing industrial landscape, one where planning decisions increasingly start in the digital world. Visual Components 5.0 arrives as manufacturers worldwide race to reshore production and automate operations amid supply chain shifts and labor shortages. It provides an all-in-one digital environment for factory layout planning, process simulation, robot offline programming, and virtual commissioning, enabling companies to test and refine their ideas in a risk-free virtual space before committing on the shop floor.

Visual Components 5.0 builds on the company’s two and a half decades of simulation expertise with a focus on speed, flexibility, and real-world integration. It remains “the fastest way from concept to reality” for factory planners, now with:

Expanded connectivity to robot controllers (Denso, Yamaha, Techman, Mitsubishi) and PLCs (LS Electric) joining a growing number of connectivity options for virtual commissioning applications
Modern Python 3 API for easier scripting and customization
Faster collision detection and simulation performance
MQTT support for real-time data exchange with equipment like AGVs or AMRs

A major highlight of the release is a new level of robot offline programming (OLP) automation in Visual Components. This shifts robot programming earlier into the planning phase, reducing dependency on hardware availability and tightening collaboration between engineering teams.

These upgrades enable manufacturers to bridge digital and physical production more seamlessly, integrating automation and control systems into virtual models to validate processes with greater confidence.

With 5.0, we’ve focused on what really matters: helping teams move faster with less risk. It’s built to support real decisions, under real constraints, and to bring confidence back into the manufacturing planning process.

Mikko Urho, CEO Visual Components

More information

Read the full press release on visualcomponents.com

Press Release

About Visual Components

Visual Components is a KUKA Group company and a pioneer in 3D manufacturing simulation. The company is a trusted technology partner to over 2 400 leading brands and 40 partners globally, offering machine builders, system integrators and manufacturers a simple, quick and cost-effective solution to design and simulate production processes and robot offline programming (OLP) technology for fast, accurate and error-free programming of industrial robots.