Products
Manufacturing simulation
Enhance your manufacturing projects with our all-in-one simulation software. Easily design, optimize and validate your processes and layouts on a reliable, flexible and scalable platform. Ideal for professionals at any level, our software supports all your digital transformation needs.
Drive digital transformation with 3D manufacturing simulation
Powerful
Leverage powerful simulations to gain deeper insights, understand, and effectively plan your manufacturing processes.
Productive
Design, analyze, refine, and validate your manufacturing layouts with Visual Components, enabling quicker, informed decision-making.
Visual
Easily manage processes by visually representing them, simplifying complex tasks with an intuitive, user-friendly interface.
Factory simulation
Discover the full potential of your operations with our simulation software. From product flows to interaction between automated systems and human teams, our platform brings your entire production environment to life.
If you’re new to manufacturing simulation, take a look at our overview page.
Virtual commissioning
Test and validate your control code against digital models before physical commissioning. Our concurrent engineering approach allows layout and PLC designers to work simultaneously, ensuring smooth integration before execution. This reduces CAPEX and frees up shop floor space by delaying hardware purchases. We offer a comprehensive toolset for virtual commissioning, including robot controller connectivity and control system testing, all under one roof.
Custom connectivity
Build your own plugins to connect Visual Components with external systems.
Robot controller connectivity
Connect your robots from top brands to their controllers using physical controllers or software through our connectivity plugins. Quickly validate your robot programs, accurately match cycle times, and visualize robot paths.
Create and share content
Nothing communicates your ideas better than a 3D simulation. Easily create, collaborate, and share simulations in multiple formats, bringing your concepts to life. Make your proposals clear and compelling, help secure deals with ease, or ensure your internal presentations are impactful and persuasive.
Working with someone who doesn’t have access to Visual Components? No problem. Easily export and share your simulations across multiple platforms with our free app. This ensures everyone, everywhere can view your simulations effortlessly.
Sometimes, the straightforward charm of a flat layout is all you need. Transform your 3D layouts into detailed 2D drawings.
Take high-quality pictures of your designs – whether it be a birds-eye view of a factory line or a close-up of a weld path.
Record and showcase your simulations using our built-in virtual camera. With the possibility of customizable camera movements, we can ensure a more impactful demonstration when presenting your projects.
Show, don’t tell. Export your simulations as an interactive 3D PDF and make your designs more tangible.
Experience Visual Components on mobile
Our mobile app allows manufacturing professionals to easily share, experience, and navigate their production design solutions on-the-go. The Visual Components Experience mobile viewer works on both iOS and Android devices and is available for free in the App Store and Google Play.
Experience Visual Components in VR
Immerse yourself in simulations to better collaborate with project stakeholders and enhance your credibility. Export your simulations and use VR to create impressive presentations and effective training materials.
Experience Visual Components on the web
Showcase your capabilities and highlight your solutions. Visual Components Experience Web is designed to integrate seamlessly into your website, providing visitors with an interactive, engaging, and unique way to explore your simulations and concepts.
Manufacturing simulation FAQ
Visual Components can efficiently simulate piece goods production, which involves manufacturing processes where individual items are produced rather than continuous processes with a constant flow of materials.
Yes, Visual Components offers physics simulation capabilities. Although physics simulation can affect performance, it is possible to simulate the physical behavior of only the desired components within the layout.
Most likely yes. Verify the supported CAD files here.
It typically takes from a few days to several weeks to become proficient with Visual Components, depending on your prior experience, learning pace, and project complexity. We offer 2-3 days of training, after which users can start their projects. For more complex projects, additional training days can be provided in a workshop format. Starting with basic tutorials and progressing to more complex projects is recommended for efficient learning.
While Visual Components can simulate the level of a liquid in a container (such as the fill rate in a bottle), it does not support the simulation of fluid flow (liquids or gases) within your layout.
To make your machine move, you need to follow the steps for 3D importing and component modeling. For a quick example of modeling a custom machine, refer to this guide.
Visual Components can handle layouts and simulations from small production lines to entire manufacturing plants. Efficient resource use, like model simplification and optimization, can allow for larger layouts. Hardware performance also impacts simulation performance; check the recommended system requirements here.
The free VC Academy offers extensive content to help with your simulation tasks. You can also contact our technical support team for guidance.
Import your own CAD models with
Visual Components Professional
Convert your CAD data to simulation models
In addition to our 3000+ ready-made components in our eCatalog, Visual Components Professional provides you with the tools to design and create custom simulation models. You can create 3D geometries from scratch, import existing CAD data, or modify any components from our library to perfectly fit your unique needs.
Need to create intersections, unions, or subtractions of CAD models? Our Boolean Modeling operations have you covered. Modify your CAD geometries for advanced simulations with ease.
Streamline your component development with our pre-built functionality plugins. Just provide simple inputs, and let our tools configure component behaviors automatically.
Save time and quickly activate your CAD files for the 3D world. Build new 3D geometries or update imported 3D models effortlessly using our modeling toolkit, all within Visual Components.
Boost simulation performance by simplifying your models and removing unnecessary details. Enjoy reduced file sizes and faster simulations.
Connect your simulations to control systems via industry standard protocols OPC UA and MQTT.
Bridge the gap between simulations and reality with Visual Components Premium
Enhanced virtual commissioning
Avoid mistakes before physical commissioning by connecting various physical and virtual vendor-specific controllers and PLCs with your simulations. With Visual Components Premium, you can plan, debug, and verify your programs and processes, all enhanced by impressive visuals.
Program KUKA robots in KUKA Robot Language (KRL) using the Visual Components robot program editor. Seamlessly transfer your projects to KUKA virtual controller (KUKA.OfficeLite) and physical controllers. Enhance your virtual commissioning with precise cycle times, accurate robot paths, and advanced collision detection.
Connect your simulations directly to ABB, Doosan, FANUC, Kawasaki, OMRON and Yaskawa robots using their respective physical controllers or robot software. Validate your programs with precise cycle times and robot paths, and remotely monitor the performance of your manufacturing systems, ensuring optimal efficiency and accuracy.
The Beckhoff ADS plugin allows you to connect a running Beckhoff TwinCAT PLC version 2 or 3 with a loaded program.
Siemens S7 PLC Connectivity supports native connectivity to most physical and simulated Siemens PLCs, including older models. This native connection ensures faster communication speeds with physical S7-1200 controllers and supports connections to S7-PLCSIM.
WinMOD and SIMIT connectivity plugins enable communications with several physical and virtual automation systems. Verify your PLC programs and robot kinematics by connecting with many vendor-specific controllers. SIMIT connectivity opens the door to the complete range of Siemens automation systems including PLCSIM Advanced, PLCSIM, Virtual Controllers, SIMIT UNIT and PLCs.
Quickly create and share designs by exporting them in the FBX format. Includes the ability to export skeletons and joint limits of your 3D objects. Additionally, you can also export animations, providing a more dynamic and interactive view of your designs.
Find the right product for your application
Whether you’re looking for a tool to quickly design and present production solutions, or want to connect real-life control systems and robot controllers to your simulations, we’ve got you covered. Check out and compare our family of 3D manufacturing simulation products.
Essentials
Design, build, and simulate. Quickly get started with an intuitive interface that allows you to drag and drop ready-made components effortlessly into the 3D world.
- 3D design and configuration
- Custom connectivity
- Marketing and sales content creation
- Interactive VR and other visual tools
- Simulation and analysis
- Data and point cloud management
Professional
The ideal solution for creating and importing custom components in our 3D simulation environment, providing advanced tools to define and model your unique components.
- All features in Essentials
- Custom model creation
- Geometry optimization
- Industrial protocol support
Premium
The all-in-one manufacturing simulation solution, merging advanced functionalities with industry-leading virtual commissioning features, taking your concepts closer to reality.
- All features in Essentials
- All features in Professional
- Robot connectivity and post-processors
- Advanced control systems integration
Compare products
Essentials
Professional
Premium
Layout import and configuration
Factory simulation
Collaboration
Virtual commissioning
Looking for robot programming tools? Check out our range of robot offline programming (OLP) software.
