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Together with Visual Components, member of the KUKA Group since 2017, KUKA Group is accelerating the adoption of industrial simulation across engineering, planning, commissioning, and lifecycle management \u2013 delivering measurable value for customers, partners, and the manufacturing industry as a whole. \u201cSimulation is no longer an optional engineering tool \u2013 it is a strategic capability,\u201d says Christoph Schell, CEO KUKA Group. \u201cWith Visual Components, we are empowering our customers and partners to reduce risk, shorten time-to-market, and unlock new levels of efficiency across the entire automation lifecycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KUKA Group\u2019s ecosystem brings together international customers, system integrators, and technology experts to showcase how simulation driven ap-proaches are reshaping the way automation solutions are designed, validated, and deployed. A Simulation Event held at KUKA\u2019s headquarters in Germany reinforced this strategic focus supported by partners of Visual Components like\u00a0TWINZO,\u00a0RIIICO,\u00a0DUALIS,\u00a0REALTIME ROBOTICS,\u00a0Flexcon\u00a0and\u00a0Team CMC\u00a0on industrial simulation. Visual Components, which launched a major update with\u00a0Visual Components 5.0\u00a0in March, plays a key role, with its simulation platform enabling high fidelity digital twins, collaborative planning, and informed decision making at a very early stage\u00a0\u2013\u00a0well before any physical systems are built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Planning Tool to Strategic Advantage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Industrial simulation is rapidly evolving from a niche planning aid into a decisive competitive differentiator. By combining KUKA\u2019s automation expertise with Visual Components\u2019 advanced manufacturing simulation software, customers can virtually design, scale, and optimize production systems with a high level of accuracy and confidence. \u201cThis approach enables manufacturers to validate layouts and robot concepts at an early stage, identify bottlenecks and optimize cycle times before commissioning, improve collaboration between engineering, production, and management and reduce costly changes during installation and ramp-up\u201d, says Mikko Urho, CEO Visual Components. For KUKA Group, this represents a strategic step toward more predictive, data-driven automation solutions \u2013 aligned with the growing demand for flexibility, resilience, and faster innovation cycles. \u201cAs a long standing strategic partner of KUKA, the integration of\u00a0Visual Components\u00a0is a natural and complementary step. One advantage lies in the enhanced visualization of major investments, enabling a much faster and clearer understanding of the full potential of both mechanical automation and digitalization\u201d, says Alexandra Krupp, Director Process development at\u00a0Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, who is a valuable partner of the KUKA ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strengthening the KUKA Group Partner Ecosystem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Simulation Event also highlights KUKA Group\u2019s commitment to its global partner ecosystem. System integrators, engineering partners, and technology providers play a critical role in bringing simulation-driven automation to life at customer sites worldwide. \u201cWorking with KUKA and Visual Components in the development of our production cells has significantly enhanced both our product and process development. Through simulation and data driven analysis of our production data, Visual Components enables us to shorten development cycles, improve process efficiency, and bring products to market faster\u201d, says Dr. J\u00fcrgen Fr\u00fcnd, Project Leader Innovation & Digital Transformation at\u00a0BENTELER Automotive\u00a0Components. Visual Components therefore serves as a shared platform that enables consistent workflows, faster project execution, and closer collaboration across company boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
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\u201cUsing Visual Components together with KUKA technology allows us to simu-late complete production systems with an unprecedented level of realism,\u201d says Matthias Wilhelm, Sales Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Visual Components. \u201cThis fundamentally changes how we collaborate with customers and deliver projects.\u201d For end customers, the strategic push for simulation means greater transparency and confidence in automation investments. \u201cFor us, Visual Components is a key building block within the digital engineering toolchain we are developing. We see strong strategic value in the application of Visual Components and look forward to enlarging the functionality of our product library in the eCatalog\u201d, says Matthias Vietz, Software Engineer and Product Owner at\u00a0Bosch Rexroth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automation 2.0: Simulating the Future of Manufacturing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This strategic push for industrial simulation is a core element of KUKA Group\u2019s Automation 2.0 strategy. Automation 2.0 represents the next evolution of industrial automation: moving beyond individual machines toward fully connected, intelligent, and software driven production systems. Simulation plays a critical role in this transformation by enabling virtualization, data driven decision making, and continuous optimization across the entire lifecycle of automation solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n
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