What Is a 3D Product Viewer?
A 3D product viewer is an interactive component that allows users to inspect a digital product model. Common interactions include rotating, zooming, and viewing the product from different angles.
A viewer is primarily concerned with product inspection.
What Is a 3D Product Configurator?
A 3D product configurator adds product selection and configuration capabilities to the interactive product experience.
Users can select predefined product options and see the resulting configuration in 3D.
Key Differences
| 3D Product Viewer | 3D Product Configurator | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Inspect a product | Configure a product |
| Rotate / zoom | Yes | Yes, where implemented |
| Product options | Not required | Core part of the experience |
| Colors / materials | May be displayed | Can be selectable |
| Components | May be shown | Can be configurable |
| Configuration rules | Not required | May be required |
| Best suited to | Product exploration | Product selection and customization |
When Is a 3D Product Viewer Enough?
A viewer can be enough when users only need to inspect the product visually.
This can be appropriate for products where the available configuration is fixed or where product options do not need to be selected interactively.
When Do You Need a Configurator?
A configurator becomes more relevant when users need to compare or select predefined product options.
For example, a product may have different:
- components
- materials
- colors
- dimensions
- finishes
Can a Configurator Include a 3D Product Viewer?
Yes. A configurator can use an interactive 3D viewer as its visual layer.
The viewer provides the product representation, while the configurator controls which predefined options users can explore.
How to Choose
Use a 3D product viewer when the primary requirement is interactive inspection.
Use a 3D product configurator when users need to select product options and review different configurations.