3D configurators and XR for manufacturers

Does this sound familiar?

Take as an example a machinery manufacturer who sells modular protective enclosures made of aluminium profiles. Their inside sales team keeps answering the same questions about dimensions. Choose the situation closest to yours, and the page adapts the route and the calculation to match.

What we build for it: A web configurator that calculates a drawing, key figures and a bill of materials from your rules.; An interactive 3D plant or a 3D explainer film that shows what a brochure and a conversation leave open.; An AR app, a WebXR presence or a VR walkthrough, depending on the location and the audience.
Where the route starts: In the Clarify stage: which variants exist, and which combinations are permitted?; Usually straight at the prototype, because the plant and the audience are known.; In the Clarify stage: there you decide whether a browser, an AR app or a VR walkthrough fits.
Check for yourself: The Fassaden-Rationalisierer (in German) shows how a calculator works with rules.; The configurator in the Insight section shows how much explanation a single rule can carry.; The configurator in the Insight section shows how a rule makes dimensions visible in space.

See the route

Which solutions fit these situations

Browser configurators come first, because they generate requests and bills of materials right where customers are already looking. We build explainer pieces, films and AR and VR applications when size, interior detail or spatial impression decide the purchase.

Illustration: a tablet showing a grey 3D model of an enclosure on an oak table, next to it aluminium profiles, a wire mesh pattern and an orange steel sample.

Example · Insight

Product configurator with rules and a bill of materials

Customers set dimensions and options themselves, and the rule does not allow impermissible combinations. The same calculation produces a drawing, a bill of materials and a request as a data record.

Try the example

Screenshot of the Fassaden-Rationalisierer: a curved facade surface in the browser, its panels coloured by type, with the legend of the most frequent types below.

Own tool

Calculator for planning and production

A configurator does not have to be three-dimensional. The Fassaden-Rationalisierer calculates the panel types of a curved facade in the browser and outputs unrolled shapes as DXF and quantities as CSV.

Open the tool

Screenshot from Inside the Line: the rotary kiln of a cement line with labels for kiln inlet, burning zone, kiln head and support station.

Project · Inside the Line

Walkable 3D plant

An entire plant as a 3D model in the browser: visitors walk through it station by station, with labels, sections and a guided walkthrough.

View project

Still from the concept film for FourCore: isometric platforms with servers and workstations, above them blue shields with pieces missing.

Project · FourCore

3D explainer film

When a product has nothing that can actually be filmed, it is built as a 3D scene instead. The building blocks of the scene can be reused for later versions.

View project

Four shots from the Space Era AR application: building models placed into real environments via smartphone, including a house with a solar roof by a riverbank and a cutaway, furnished storey in a meadow.

Project · Space Era

AR app for smartphone and tablet

Users place buildings and rooms to scale in their surroundings, walk around them and switch wall colours and floors. We add applications like this on request.

View project

Illustration of a bright living room with a sofa landscape, plants and arched windows in a curved all-round perspective.

Case study · Client anonymised

VR walkthrough

Fully furnished apartments as a walkthrough in a headset, to scale at eye height. It shows ceiling height, passageways and sightlines that a floor plan leaves open.

View case study

What do follow-up questions cost you each year?

In the example, inside sales clears every request in several rounds by email. Enter your own figures, and the page calculates how many hours a configurator could take over.

In the machinery manufacturer's example, follow-up questions arise mainly around width, doors and infill.

For products that need explaining, count the follow-up questions after trade shows and sales meetings.

For real estate and interiors, one follow-up round often means another on-site appointment.

Hours per year a configurator could take over

192hours

Value of these hours: 9,504EUR
Requests per year without a follow-up: 192requests

That is roughly as much as one full-time employee works in 4.8 working weeks.

The page only calculates a payback period if you enter an amount.

Worked example with your inputs, not a forecast.

How the calculation works

Hours per year = requests per month × 12 × follow-up rounds × minutes per round ÷ 60 × share without follow-up
Value in EUR = hours per year × labour cost per hour
Requests per year without follow-up = requests per month × 12 × share without follow-up
Working weeks = hours per year ÷ 39.9 weekly hours of a full-time employee
Months to payback = budget ÷ (value in EUR ÷ 12)

Labour costs and weekly hours come from Destatis²³. The calculation assumes that a request the configurator resolves no longer needs a follow-up round. Requests with special requirements continue as before.

Route from A to B

Four stages to a running configurator

This is how a project usually runs. After each stage you decide whether and how to continue, and the highlighted stage shows where most projects with your starting point begin.

Four stations on light paper, connected by an orange line: a roughly cut foam block, a white cardboard model, an enclosure made of aluminium profiles with mesh walls, and three such enclosures in different widths. — Illustration, AI-generated: from the rough block to the finished product line.

Try beforehand for yourself how a calculator works with rules (in German): Fassaden-Rationalisierer

Clarify

Most projects with this starting point begin here

We write down with you which variants exist, which combinations are permitted and in which form customers should see the product.

With dimension questions, the work sits first in the rulebook, so it begins with Clarify.
The product and its data are usually already available, so a short Clarify stage on level of detail and location is enough.
First comes the decision on whether a browser, an AR app or a VR walkthrough fits the location and the audience.

Typical durationDays to weeks, depending on scope
DecisionIs a configurator worthwhile, and in which form does it go into the prototype?
Prototype

Most projects with this starting point begin here

A working configurator shows the most important variants on your real models, and we measure how quickly it loads on your customers' devices.

Typical durationA few weeks, depending on scope
- Working prototype
- Load-time measurement
DecisionRoll out, refine further, or stop at this point.
Rollout

Most projects with this starting point begin here

All variants are added, the request and bill of materials go to your CRM or ERP, and the configurator runs on your website.

Typical durationWeeks to months, depending on scope
DecisionSign-off for going live, and clarifying who creates new variants.
Operation and expansion

Most projects with this starting point begin here

Your team maintains the variants, and further products or an AR view are added if you wish.

For a walkthrough of a single property, the project often ends with the rollout.

ScopeAs you need it
- Handover package
- Further products or forms
DecisionWhich product or form comes next.

Typical deliverables at each stage

This is what a project usually looks like in files and milestones. Which deliverables apply to you, we decide together in the Clarify stage.

Clarify

The basis for deciding which form the configurator takes.

Document
Variant rulebook
Records as a table which combinations are permitted, so sales, engineering and the configurator read the same rule.
Document
Decision on the form
Determines whether a browser, an AR app or a VR walkthrough fits the location and the audience.
Document
Data intake from CAD
Shows which components are taken from your design data and how fine the model needs to be.
Prototype
Click dummy
Makes the flow from the first control to the request operable before any programming happens.

Prototype

A measurable version built on your real models.

Prototype
Working prototype
Shows the most important variants on your real models, so sales and customers can try it out.
Document
Load-time measurement
Shows how quickly the model loads on your customers' devices, before all variants are added.

Rollout

The configurator in your sales team's daily work.

Code
Configurator with all variants
Covers the range that should be configurable online.
Code
Handover to CRM or ERP
Passes the request and bill of materials on as a data record, so inside sales does not have to retype anything.
Code
Integration into your website
Places the configurator where customers are looking for the product anyway.
Training
Process for new variants
Shows your team in a training session how a new version gets from the rulebook into the configurator.

Operation and expansion

The basis for taking the configurator further.

File
Handover package
Model files, the rule table, source code and documentation, with which your team or a provider of your choice can continue the work.
Code
Further products or forms
On request, further product lines or an AR view are added on the same rule.
AI-GENERATED
Illustration, AI-generated: sorted parts and the folder that goes with them.

Try the configurator from the example

Here is the machinery manufacturer's enclosure as a configurator. Set width, depth, height, infill, plinth and doors, and watch the drawing, key figures and bill of materials calculate along with them.

Footprint: 12.00m²
Envelope area: 30.80m²
Weight: 255.3kg
Individual parts: 186pieces

Bill of materials for the selected configuration
Item	Qty	Unit size	Total
Post 40 x 40	14	2,200 mm	30.80 m
Rail 40 x 40	42	1,000 mm	42.00 m
Door frame 40 x 40	4	2 x 1,000 / 2 x 2,200 mm	6.40 m
Infill Wire mesh 4/40 mm	13	1,000 x 2,100 mm	27.30 m²
Door infill Wire mesh 4/40 mm	1	1,000 x 2,200 mm	2.20 m²
Plinth sheet 2.0 mm	13	1,000 x 100 mm	1.30 m²
Clamp connector	84	40 mm slot	7.14 kg
Base plate 120 x 120 x 8	14	per post	12.66 kg
Door hardware set	1	Hinge, hinge, lock	1.20 kg
Total	186	Total profile 79.20 m	255.3 kg

This button only writes the configuration into the box beside it. Nothing is sent or saved.

Nothing applied yet.

Because the drawing and the bill of materials come from the same rule, the configurator states quantities and does not allow settings that are not permitted.

All figures are calculation results of this page with assumed material densities, not project figures. In a real project the values come from your design data.

Projects

Where we have built applications like this

The configurator above is a demonstration. The following work was built for clients or is one of our own tools, and each card names a figure from the linked page.

Project, built for RGS Group Holdings

Inside the Line

Starting point: A cement plant is a machine about a kilometre long, and hardly anyone who decides about it has seen it from the inside.
Implementation: The line is built to scale in the browser, with twelve stations, labels, sections and a guided walkthrough in three languages.
What it shows: A single file holds every dimension, and geometry, cameras and labels read from it, so the image and the figure stay in sync.

12stations, breakdown wall to truck
3languages, interface and narration
1file, offline by double-click

View project

Portrait of Elmar Thyen and Kaif Ali — **Elmar Thyen & Kaif Ali**CEO, Space Era

How the collaboration usually works

We build the configurator; the knowledge about your product sits within your company. These are the points where the two come together.

How a project runs, with the contributions of both sides
Step	What happens	Your contribution
First conversation	We talk about the product, the variants and the questions customers ask today.	A contact person from sales who knows the typical follow-up questions.
Clarify	We record dimensions, components and dependencies from your documents.	CAD data or drawings of the products that should become configurable.
Rulebook	We write the variant rulebook as a table and review it with you.	The list of variants and the rules, even if so far they only exist as a table or in one person's head.
Prototype and rollout	We build the prototype and the rollout in interim versions you can try out.	Feedback on the interim versions, ideally from both sales and engineering.
Integration	We connect the request and the bill of materials to your systems and train your team.	Access to your website, CRM or ERP, and a person who will create new variants going forward.

Does a configurator fit your product?

Not every product needs a configurator. The two lists help with a first assessment.

A good fit if

Your product exists in many variants, and the rules behind them can be described.
Customers only understand the product once they see its size, structure or interior.
CAD data or reliable drawings exist for the products.

Less of a fit if

There are only a few variants, and good photos answer your customers' questions.
The goal is attention, and no request is meant to reach sales.
Nobody in the company can name the rules, in which case the Clarify stage comes first.

Frequently asked questions about 3D configurators and XR

Can we use our CAD data?

Yes, your CAD data is the source. A lighter version is derived from it for the browser, because a model taken directly from the design is almost always too fine. A derivation that can be regenerated whenever something changes makes more sense than a second model rebuilt by hand.

Does it have to be 3D, or is a drawing enough?

Often a drawing is enough. A dimensioned view like the one in the configurator above loads quickly, can be printed and answers questions about size, structure and quantity. Real 3D pays off when customers need to walk around an object, look inside it or judge sizes in a room.

How large can a model in the browser be?

There is no fixed limit, what matters is load time and the device's memory. That is why the prototype is usually measured on the devices your customers use, and the level of detail is set afterwards. A model for sales usually needs far less detail than one for production.

Who creates new variants?

That depends on where the rule lives. If the variant space sits in a table and the geometry is calculated from it, a new variant is an extra row your team can maintain without a 3D program. If every variant is its own model file, each new one becomes its own task.

When are AR or VR better than the browser?

AR pays off when customers want to see at the installation site whether size and scale fit, VR when the sense of space carries the decision. For anything a link can handle, the browser stays the simpler choice, because nothing needs to be installed. According to Bitkom, one fifth of companies with 20 or more employees already use AR or VR technology respectively.

Where does the data visitors enter run?

If the rule runs in the browser, the configuration stays on the visitor's device until they send it. If price tiers, customer terms or design knowledge are part of the calculation, it belongs on a server you determine, and the browser only receives the result.

What is included in the handover of a configurator?

Model files, the rule table, source code and documentation are usually included. With these, your team can create new variants, or have the application developed further by a provider of your choice.

Does the configurator have to run on someone else's platform?

No, it does not. A configurator built this way is a web application that can run on your website or on a server of your choice. If a parametric definition remains the source, it likewise runs as a service on a server you determine.

Sources

Bitkom e. V. (the German digital industry association), press release "Wie Unternehmen Augmented und Virtual Reality nutzen" (How companies use augmented and virtual reality), 29 May 2024. https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/Wie-Unternehmen-Augmented-und-Virtual-Reality-nutzen
Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany), press release no. 148 of 29 April 2026: “Eine Arbeitsstunde kostete im Jahr 2025 durchschnittlich 45,00 Euro” (an hour of work cost EUR 45.00 on average in 2025; manufacturing figure in the table: EUR 49.50). https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2026/04/PD26_148_624.html
Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), press release no. N035 of 27 May 2026: “Vollzeitbeschäftigte arbeiteten 2025 im Schnitt 39,9 Wochenstunden” (full-time employees worked 39.9 hours a week on average in 2025). https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2026/05/PD26_N035_13.html

Next step

Which dimension question does your inside sales team answer most often?

Which part of your product is hardest to explain?

Where should customers see your product in the room?

Bring your list of variants, and we will discuss whether a rulebook like the one for the machinery manufacturer in the example is the right first step.

Describe the plant and the audience to us, and we will discuss whether a walkable 3D plant, a film or a drawing fits best.

Describe the object and the location to us, and we will discuss whether a browser, an AR app or a VR walkthrough fits.

Discuss your project

Try the Fassaden-Rationalisierer (in German)

Does this sound familiar?

Which solutions fit these situations

Product configurator with rules and a bill of materials

Calculator for planning and production

Walkable 3D plant

3D explainer film

AR app for smartphone and tablet

VR walkthrough

What do follow-up questions cost you each year?