3D Workstation Visualization & Engineering Configurator

The Problem

The manufacturer relied on a manual process to design and document custom workstations. Sales teams struggled to quickly visualize configurations, while engineering teams had to recreate designs in CAD—causing delays, errors, and duplicated effort.

Constraints & Challenges

• Experience: Providing an intuitive 3D configuration experience for non-engineering users.
• Rules: Enforcing design rules related to size, load, and compatibility.
• Validation: Preventing invalid or overlapping accessory placements.
• Accuracy: Generating production-ready engineering outputs from sales configurations.
• Security: Integrating securely with existing enterprise authentication systems.

Our Approach

FDES designed a full-stack engineering platform connecting web-based configuration with SolidWorks automation.

• Secure login using Microsoft Azure Active Directory with role-based access.
• Step-by-step web configurator for selecting profiles, dimensions, and accessories.
• Real-time validation of fitment and design rules.
• Visual feedback for valid and invalid accessory placements.
• Seamless handoff from sales configurations to engineering workflows.

What Was Automated

SolidWorks Integration

FDES also developed a custom SolidWorks plugin for the engineering team.

• Fetch proposal data created in the web configurator.
• Open and review configured workstation designs.
• Automatically generate 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, and BOMs.
• Eliminate manual re-modeling of sales configurations.

Impact

What Changed After Deployment

The configurator did not just speed up a single step — it restructured how the entire business operates around custom workstation orders. The changes rippled across sales, engineering, and customer-facing operations.

Sales Independence from Engineering

Before the platform, every custom workstation quote required a senior engineer to review dimensions, validate accessory compatibility, and sketch a rough layout. Sales representatives had to wait in a queue — sometimes days — before they could respond to a customer inquiry. After deployment, the sales team configures workstations independently using the guided web interface. Engineering rules are embedded directly in the configurator, so every selection is validated in real time. Sales no longer submits requests to engineering for feasibility checks. They build, visualize, and deliver proposals on their own schedule.

3x Order Volume Without Additional Staff

With the manual process, the company's throughput was limited by the number of engineers available to process quotes. As order volume grew, the bottleneck became unsustainable — either hire more engineers or accept longer lead times. The configurator eliminated this constraint entirely. The same engineering team now supports three times the order volume because they are no longer involved in routine configuration tasks. Orders that previously required dedicated engineering time now flow through the system automatically, from sales configuration to production-ready outputs.

Engineering Refocused on Innovation

Freeing engineers from repetitive configuration work had a less obvious but equally valuable effect: the engineering team could redirect their expertise toward product development and process improvement. Instead of spending their days recreating sales sketches in SolidWorks, they now focus on designing new workstation profiles, improving structural performance, and developing accessories that expand the product line. The configurator handles the routine work; engineers handle the work that actually requires engineering judgment.

Faster Customer Experience

From the customer's perspective, the most visible change is speed. What used to take multiple rounds of back-and-forth — sales collecting requirements, engineering producing a sketch, sales presenting options, the customer requesting changes, engineering revising — now happens in a single session. Sales representatives can configure a workstation with the customer present, show them a 3D visualization in the browser, adjust dimensions or swap accessories on the fly, and deliver a complete proposal with drawings and pricing before the meeting ends. The reduction from days to minutes has a direct impact on win rates and customer satisfaction.

Consistent Quality Across the Organization

With multiple sales representatives configuring workstations manually, inconsistencies were inevitable. Different reps used different approaches, applied different rules of thumb, and occasionally produced configurations that were technically infeasible. The configurator enforces a single source of truth. Every proposal follows the same engineering rules, uses the same validated components, and produces the same quality of documentation — regardless of which sales representative creates it or how complex the configuration is.

Why This Approach Worked

Not every automation project delivers this level of impact. Several specific decisions in the design and implementation of this platform made the difference between a tool that gets used and a system that transforms operations.

Deep SolidWorks API Integration

Many configurator projects take a generic approach — they produce a specification document that someone still has to translate into CAD. This project went deeper. FDES built a direct integration with the SolidWorks API, so the configurator does not just describe a workstation — it generates the actual 3D model, complete with assemblies, part files, and production drawings. There is no translation step, no manual re-entry, and no opportunity for information to be lost between systems. The configuration is the engineering output.

Browser-Based 3D Visualization

A critical design decision was rendering the 3D workstation preview directly in the browser using React Three Fiber, rather than requiring users to install desktop software or wait for server-rendered images. This meant sales representatives could show customers exactly what they were ordering — in three dimensions, from any angle — without any special tools. The immediacy of the visual feedback eliminated the most common source of miscommunication between sales and customers: the gap between what was described in text and what was actually being built. When a customer can rotate a 3D model and see their workstation from every angle, there are far fewer surprises at delivery.

Configuration Connected Directly to Manufacturing BOM

The configurator does not stop at producing a visual and a quote. Every configuration automatically generates a complete Bill of Materials and profile cut list ready for the production floor. This closed the loop between what sales promises and what manufacturing builds. There is no manual BOM creation, no interpretation of sales notes, and no risk of ordering the wrong materials. The same data that drives the 3D preview drives the manufacturing documentation — a single source of truth from customer request to production.

Rule Engine Built for Engineering, Not Just Commerce

Generic product configurators typically enforce simple rules — option A requires option B, or size X is not available in color Y. This system needed to enforce physical engineering constraints: load capacities, dimensional limits, spatial collision detection for accessories, and structural compatibility between profiles and components. FDES built the validation engine around actual engineering rules rather than adapting a commerce-oriented rule engine. The result is a system where every output is not just commercially valid but physically buildable — which is why zero invalid configurations have reached production since deployment.

Designed for Both Audiences

The platform serves two fundamentally different user groups — sales teams who need simplicity and speed, and engineers who need precision and completeness. Rather than forcing both groups into a single interface, FDES designed separate workflows connected by shared data. Sales uses the web configurator with its guided steps and visual feedback. Engineering uses the SolidWorks plugin to pull configurations directly into their native environment. Each team works with tools that match their expertise, while the underlying platform ensures both are working from the same validated configuration.

Before vs After