# When an interactive 3D configurator pays off for process equipment

A 3D configurator pays off when your range has options that combine, such as working volumes, ports, sensors or skid layout, and first meetings with customers keep circling the same questions. If you sell a few standard systems, or every project is fully bespoke, a good set of renders and drawings does the same job with far less upkeep.

[Web version](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/3d-configurator-process-equipment/)

By David Monje, crida studio · Published 2026-02-03 · Updated 2026-02-03

## Renders, 3D viewer or configurator, three different tools

Before deciding, separate three things. A render set is still images. A 3D viewer lets visitors rotate and zoom a model on the web, and sometimes place it in their own space with augmented reality. A configurator goes further and changes the model based on the options the customer picks, such as vessel volume or ports.

Each level takes more work than the one before. In a configurator, every option has to be modelled, validated by engineering and kept up to date when the product changes. If nobody owns that, the website ends up showing combinations you no longer build.

## When a configurator shortens URS conversations

The URS is the customer's document, and a configurator does not replace it. What it can do is help the customer arrive at the first meeting with a clearer idea of what they need. It makes most sense when some of these situations apply.

- Your range has options that combine, such as working volumes, ports, sensors, control or single-use versus stainless steel.
- First calls are always the same questions about dimensions, connections and space.
- Customers need to fit a skid into a room with limited height or little space for maintenance access.
- Distributors in other countries have to explain the range without an engineer next to them.
- At trade shows, buyers want something hands-on and the real system will not fit on the stand.


### Can we build the configurator from our engineering CAD?

Yes, but not as it is. The CAD model includes internal parts, fasteners and details that make the 3D file very heavy and also reveal how the equipment is designed. The usual approach is a simplified web version with the exterior, the ports and whatever the customer needs to see to decide.

## When a good set of renders is enough

If your range is a handful of standard models, a configurator adds little. A good render set, a clear product page and PDF drawings answer the same questions. It does not pay off either when every project is fully bespoke, because the options cannot be boxed into a menu and the conversation with engineering is unavoidable.

There is a third case. If your typical buyer is a technical team that wants documents for its evaluation, they would rather download datasheets and drawings than play with a model. Before commissioning anything, ask your sales engineers which tool they would genuinely use in meetings.

## What a good equipment configurator should do

A useful configurator is closer to a smart form than to a game. The rules come from engineering and the output goes to the sales team. These are the points it cannot miss if it is meant to help sell.

- It only offers combinations you can build and blocks incompatible ones.
- It shows overall dimensions, footprint and maintenance access.
- It produces a PDF summary of the chosen configuration that helps prepare the URS.
- It sends that summary to the CRM so the sales engineer knows what the call is about.
- It states clearly that the result is indicative and the final specification is the one in the quote.
- It works on mobile, on a trade show screen and in the languages of your markets.


### Should the configurator show prices?

It can, but for process equipment the price depends on documentation, validation, consumables and service, and that is settled in the quote. A safer route is for the configurator to end in a quote request with the chosen configuration, which the sales engineer reviews before replying.

## A 3D model that does not slow down your site

The usual format for 3D on the web is glTF. Khronos describes it as a royalty-free specification for transmitting and loading 3D models efficiently, and since 2022 it has also been the ISO/IEC 12113 standard. To display it there are open-source components such as Google's model-viewer, which runs in current browsers and also supports augmented reality.

Google's Core Web Vitals treat it as a good experience when the main content appears within 2.5 seconds and the page responds to input in 200 milliseconds or less. A heavy model can break both. Show an image first, load the 3D only when the visitor wants to use it and export a simplified version of the CAD.


### Does a configurator help the site rank on Google?

On its own, not much. What ranks is the page for each model, with a clear explanation, specifications and well-described images. The configurator mainly serves people who have already reached your site, helping them understand the system and request a quote with better information.

## How to start without a big project

A careful way to start is to add a 3D viewer of your best-selling model to its product page and see whether people use it. A GA4 event shows how many visitors interact with it, and your sales team can tell you whether meetings change. If it works, the next step is adding the options that weigh most in the decision.

David Monje, founder of crida studio, led marketing at TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions for four and a half years. He took the company's technical content into 3D renders, animation and interactive tools, and acted as the bridge between engineering, product and sales to open new markets.

## References

- [Khronos Group, glTF, the 3D asset delivery format](https://www.khronos.org/gltf/)
- [Google, model-viewer, web component for 3D models on the web and in AR](https://modelviewer.dev/)
- [web.dev, Core Web Vitals](https://web.dev/articles/vitals)

## The crida perspective

We are a marketing, brand and technology studio based in Girona. We bring identity, content and development together so a digital experience makes sense from beginning to end.

crida studio, Caldes de Malavella (Girona, Spain). David Monje, founder and director.

## Considering a 3D viewer or configurator?

Tell us about your range, the questions that keep coming up in first meetings and the 3D models you already have. We will tell you whether a configurator makes sense or renders are enough.

[Talk to us](https://www.crida.studio/en/#contact)

## More on web design

- [Marketing for biotech, bioprocess and pharma companies](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/biotech-bioprocess-pharma-marketing/)
- [How to write a case study when the pharma client must stay anonymous](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/anonymous-pharma-case-study/)
- [3D render or photography to show equipment inside a cleanroom](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/cleanroom-render-or-photography/)
- [3D and rendering](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/3d-renders/)
- [Product renders for catalogues, brands and online sales](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/3d-product-renders/)
- [Web design and development from Girona.](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/web-design-development/)
- [What to prepare before commissioning a 3D render](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/prepare-3d-render-brief/)