Guides to
3D configurators
for manufacturers, by theme.
Everything we have written about 3D configurators for manufacturers, distributors and brands, sorted by theme: 39 guides with examples from the 48 open demos, real figures for price and lead time, and what happens in the factory when the order comes out of the configurator. Start with the theme that applies to you.
Getting started
what it is, examples and how it is built.
If this is the first time you are considering a configurator, start here: what it is, what it is not, real examples and how one gets built.
What is a 3D configurator
What a 3D configurator is and how it helps sell product. A practical guide with examples, decision criteria, common mistakes and links to services…
Read the guide →3D configurator examples
Real examples of 3D configurators: windows, pergolas, kitchens, sofas, tiles, shelving and LED strips. 48 open demos and what comes out at the end of each one.
Read the guide →How to choose a 3D configurator for manufacturers
How to choose a 3D configurator: the signs, the 4 types, a checklist, questions for the supplier, what to prepare beforehand, and reference lead times and prices.
Read the guide →How to build a 3D configurator
How to build a 3D configurator: four decisions beforehand, what is needed (range, rules, price list, files), the four steps, five mistakes, lead times and price.
Read the guide →What a manufacturer needs for a 3D configurator
What a manufacturer gathers to build a 3D configurator: catalogue with references, sizes and rules, price list, photos of finishes, 3D or drawings, and real orders.
Read the guide →How long it takes to build a 3D configurator
How long it takes to build a 3D configurator: between 3 and 16 weeks depending on the level, what happens in each phase, what stretches the lead time and how to shorten it.
Read the guide →Custom configurator or subscription platform
Bespoke 3D configurator or subscription platform: three-year cost with an example, what happens if you stop paying, who edits the rules and when each one makes sense.
Read the guide →3D configurator vs PDF catalogue
3D configurator vs PDF catalogue. A practical guide with examples, decision criteria, common mistakes and links to related services.
Read the guide →3D configurator vs traditional catalogue
3D configurator vs traditional catalogue: which suits a manufacturer. A practical guide with examples, decision criteria, common mistakes and links to…
Read the guide →Price, return and ownership
what it costs and what it gives back.
How much it costs, what is priced separately, how much it returns, what maintenance includes and who owns the configurator at the end.
How much does a 3D configurator cost? 2026 prices
From €6,500 for a visual configurator; most manufacturer projects between €14,500 and €35,000. Pricing models, table of levels and costs afterwards.
Read the guide →Return on a 3D configurator
The full account of the return on a 3D configurator: what it costs (development, modelling, maintenance) and what it gives back (leads, orders, hours, renders).
Read the guide →Benefits of a 3D configurator
Ten benefits of a 3D configurator for a manufacturer and what to measure in each one: visits, order errors, extras sold, technical office and leads.
Read the guide →3D configurator maintenance
3D configurator maintenance from €190/month: what it includes (hosting, updates, price list from the panel), what is priced separately and how the subscription works.
Read the guide →3D product modelling for a configurator
How a product is modelled in 3D for a configurator: which files work, what is modelled and what is generated from its dimensions, and what it costs per part and per finish.
Read the guide →Who owns the code of your configurator?
Ownership of a configurator's code: licence to use, subscription or assignment. What happens if you change supplier, what is really yours and what to require by contract.
Read the guide →Selling more
website, sales network, shop and export.
The configurator in the hands of whoever sells: leads, sales reps, shops, installers, distributors with their own brand, export and contract.
Generating leads with a 3D configurator
How to capture qualified leads with a 3D configurator: what data arrives with each request, how they are assigned by area or distributor, panel and email alert.
Read the guide →3D configurator for the sales team
How a sales team uses a 3D configurator: quotes on the visit, presentation mode, comparator, PDF with their name, requests by area and analytics.
Read the guide →3D configurator in the showroom
3D configurator in the shop, the showroom and the trade fair: tablet with kiosk mode, automatic demonstration, offline use and the request assigned to the shop.
Read the guide →3D configurator for installers
3D configurator for installers: measurements from the site on the phone, price with their margin, augmented reality without an app and the order to the factory without rewriting it.
Read the guide →B2B configurator for distributors: what it does
What a B2B configurator does for your distributor network: login with a user, purchase price, margin, white label, stock and the order without rewriting it.
Read the guide →White-label 3D configurator for distributors
White-label 3D configurator: the distributor puts it on their website with their logo and their margin; the manufacturer keeps the rules and the price list and receives the order.
Read the guide →Multilingual 3D configurator for export
3D configurator for manufacturers who export: texts per language, price list and rules per country, PDF in the customer's language and order sheet in the factory's.
Read the guide →3D configurator for contract and hotels
3D configurator for contract: hotels, offices, care homes and public space. Orders by units and variants, PDF for the project, specifier and tender.
Read the guide →3D configurator for builders' merchants
3D configurator for builders' merchants and trade counters: quantities at the counter (boxes, litres, power supplies, panels), several manufacturers and your margin.
Read the guide →3D configurator for joinery workshops
3D configurator for joinery and bespoke furniture: the customer measures the space, picks modules and finishes and sees the price; the workshop gets the workshop sheet.
Read the guide →3D configurators and SEO
A 3D configurator does not rank on its own: what it takes for the product to show up in search engines and AI assistants: its own address, text, images, speed and data.
Read the guide →For the factory and the technical office
rules, documents, cutting lists and your ERP.
What the configurator does under the bonnet: the manufacturing rules, the documents it generates, the cutting list, the quoting tool and the connection to your management software.
Reducing order errors in the factory
The six most expensive order errors in made-to-measure product (handing, size, colour, missing part, rule, retyped order) and how a configurator avoids them.
Read the guide →Manufacturing rules for a 3D configurator
How the rules of a 3D configurator are written: limits, dependencies, exclusions, mandatory items and calculations, from the foreman's head to a versioned table.
Read the guide →Documents a 3D configurator generates
The documents a 3D configurator generates and who receives each one: quote PDF, order sheet, workshop sheet, drawing, cutting list, DXF and CSV.
Read the guide →Online quoting tool for manufacturers
Online quoting tool for manufacturers: instant price with your price list, manufacturing rules, transport and installation by area, PDF and order sheet.
Read the guide →CPQ configurator for manufacturers
What a CPQ (configure, price, quote) is for manufacturers, how it differs from a 3D configurator and when 3D is needed. Rules, price and order.
Read the guide →Cutting list and glass sizes from the website
What a profile cutting list with glass sizes is, why it lives in the workshop and what changes when the distributor receives it exact from the website.
Read the guide →How a technical configurator is validated
How to check that a technical configurator calculates correctly before publishing it: cases solved by hand, automatic tests, test environment, versioned rules.
Read the guide →From the manufacturer's spreadsheet to the web configurator
How to move formulas, limits, compatibilities and codes from the manufacturer's Excel to a web configurator with rules, and why costs never leave the server.
Read the guide →Integrating a 3D configurator with your ERP
How a 3D configurator connects to the manufacturer's ERP: what data goes each way, in phases, what to ask your supplier and what you have in the meantime.
Read the guide →Website, online shop and AI
where the configurator lives.
How it is embedded in your website and your shop, when a 3D viewer is enough and what an AI assistant adds.
Embedding a 3D configurator in your website
How a 3D configurator is embedded in the website you already have (WordPress, Shopify or bespoke) with one line of code, on the product page and on your network's websites.
Read the guide →WooCommerce, Shopify or PrestaShop configurator
Configurator for WooCommerce, Shopify or PrestaShop: when an options plug-in is enough and when you need a bespoke 3D development. Six signs.
Read the guide →3D product viewer for your website
What a 3D product viewer is, how it differs from a configurator, what it adds to the product page, how it is embedded and how much it weighs on the website.
Read the guide →Configurator with AI: how it works, cost and limits
What an AI assistant really does in a product configurator, what it costs each month, what it cannot do and the eight questions for comparing offers.
Read the guide →What we get asked
about the guides.
There are more short answers in frequently asked questions about 3D configurators and who we are in 3D configurator company.
Where do I start if I know nothing about 3D configurators?
With the “Getting started” theme: what a 3D configurator is, the examples in the open demos and how one gets built. Then the price guide and the lead-time guide. With those four, the whole project makes sense.
Are the guides useful for distributors and brands without a factory?
Yes. Almost all of them talk about the manufacturer, but the white-label configurator, the builders' merchants one, the multilingual one and the company page explain the case of whoever sells without manufacturing: the rules belong to the manufacturer; the price list, the brand and the order belong to whoever sells.
Are the figures in the guides real?
Yes: price from €6,500, lead time of 3 to 16 weeks, maintenance from €190/month and modelling at €30 to €120 per part or finish are the same figures as on the pricing page. The worked examples (order errors, return) use made-up figures so that you can put in your own.
Is there an English version?
This is it: the guides are being published in English on grup3d.com one by one. The ones not yet translated open in Spanish on grup3d.es.
Can I ask for a guide about my case?
Yes. Tell us what product you make and what question you have, and if it is a question other manufacturers ask too, we will write it. In the meantime, we will answer it on a 20-minute video call with your range in front of us.
How much does a 3D configurator cost?
Development starts from €6,500 for a visual configurator of one product family; most manufacturer projects fall between €14,500 and €35,000, depending on catalogue, rules and integrations, plus maintenance from €190/month. Details in the price of a 3D configurator.
Try it now
or see it with
your range.
Every guide ends in the demos: 48 open configurators, no sign-up, with sample products and prices, at configurador.grup3d.es/demo.
Would you rather we walked you through it? Tell us what you make and in a 20-minute video call you will see the configurator with your range and the answers to your questions. No commitment.
Would you rather talk it through? Call us on 662 061 421 or write to grup3d@grup3d.es.
3D configurators
to keep reading.
All 48 configurators
The index with one card per configurator, filtered by sector, with their open demos.
Read →3D configurator company
For manufacturers and for those who sell without a factory: what we do, how, and at what price.
Read →106 questions with a short answer
Price, code, cutting lists, online shop, mobile, AI and every sector.
Read →The price of a 3D configurator
The three levels, what each one includes and what is priced separately.
Read →