Dimensioned 3D Previews Deliver Enhanced Customer Experience for Manufacturer Components

Industrial component manufacturers are streamlining the process of finding, configuring, specifying, and purchasing products by including dimensions directly within their 3D product previews. This feature helps engineers quickly determine the scale of a product, as well as critical dimensions like bolt spacing, shaft size, inside diameter (ID), outside diameter (OD), and more. Manufacturers are helping engineers find the right product the first time, with clear information up front.

 

Dimensioned 3D Previews Deliver Enhanced Customer Experience for Manufacturer Components

 

Dimensioned 3D Previews Streamline the Selection Process for Engineers and Designers

Engineers have a tough job. They design products and machinery from components they manufacture, as well as off-the-shelf products from suppliers. They spend hours researching a product before downloading a CAD model representation to test within their design.

Each minute they save in this process is valuable. This is why they get frustrated when they select a product that appears to be 3” tall, only to find out it is 4” tall once they have fully downloaded it into their design.

This frustration is preventable.

Manufacturers Who Include 3D Dimensions on Product Previews Are Easy to Work With

When manufacturers show CAD downloads with 3D previews on their website, it makes it easy for engineers to spec products into their designs by providing three-dimensional product confirmation and on-demand access to engineering content. It’s like test-driving a car. Once you’ve gone around the block, your chances of buying have increased tenfold.

Interactive configuration gives engineers the power to select product parameters based on manufacturer rules. Engineers can see these changes instantly within the 3D preview, with a level of detail that 2D can’t provide.

How Colson Group uses Dimensioned 3D Previews to Deliver an Enhanced Customer Experience

Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to tell the scale of industrial components from a 3D preview on the screen. Think of products such as bearings, fittings, motors, or casters, which scale up with amazingly equal proportions. A ⅛” stainless steel instrumentation fitting looks the same as a 1 ½” of the same style, and there is also about an $800 difference in price. You wouldn’t want to order a box of 25 of the wrong one.

However, showing critical dimensions in an interactive 3D preview right on your website allows engineers to configure the part they need and visualize the 3D model before downloading and purchasing it. It provides the capability to produce accurate digital versions of products that are viewable and maneuverable right on your website. From a simple bolt pattern on the top plate of a caster to the design details of a solenoid valve, dimensional 3D previews in actual scale help customers to search, receive immediate downloads, specify, and order the exact products they need.

 

Deploying Dimensioned 3D Previews for Industrial Components Is Easier Than Ever

Available from CADENAS PARTsolutions, dimensioned 3D previews reduce the time for engineers to determine if the scale of the product they’re looking at is correct for their project.

Without a dimensioned 3D preview, they would need to download multiple CAD models to test within their larger design.

Once they’re happy with the product they’ve previewed, the online configurator can produce 3D CAD models in seconds.

 

How Colson Group uses Dimensioned 3D Previews to Deliver an Enhanced Customer Experience Just a few examples of manufacturers currently using the eCATALOGsolutions dimensioned 3D preview:

Colson Group USA, the world’s largest caster manufacturer, has a dimensioned 3D preview within their online product pages, as well as within their mobile app.

“Sometimes visualizing a new caster on your project can be hard to do, and the dimensioned 3D preview really brings this to life. Our customers are really able to take our product and see it come to life in their project through the Colson Caster CAD 3D App.”

Mike Kromer, Digital Marketing Manager at Colson Group USA

Moeller Precision Toolmoeller-dimensioned-3d-preview, a global manufacturer of precision tooling components, leverages the 3D dimensions feature within their “M-CAD” interactive configurator. With the 3D preview, the platform lets users directly see and edit the configuration’s dimensions. Users simply press the dimensions in the preview and can edit in real time.

When satisfied with the configuration, engineers can generate a geometrically accurate product model in the CAD format of their choice.

“Our customers love the 3D preview. It helps them quickly change the critical dimensions to fit their needs, and they can see instantly if the product will fit their application.”

John Montroy, Senior Process Engineer at Moeller Precision Tool

Thermal Transfer Products, a designer and manufacturer of pre-engineered and off-the-shelf heat transfer solutions, utilizes their 3D configuration tool to provide detailed three-dimensional data of industrial heat exchangers. The goal is to give their customers the ability to Size it, Price it, and Draw it by providing on-demand access to a web-based product configurator system, PDF datasheets and CAD models in their preferred format.

JIE-embedded-3D-dimensioned-previewJIE Drives, a drive solutions provider of high-quality gearbox and motor-related products, offers their online 3D CAD gearbox and gearmotor configurator to their customer’s engineers for an on-demand selection of motors and drives. To maximize the engineer’s experience, the configurator utilizes custom parameters that enable the user to select the exact product for their application.

Brennan Industries, a major manufacturer of hydraulic fittings, instrumentation fittings, and valves, offers a web-based 3D CAD configurator that has dimensional characteristics and thread detail for their products in a verifiable format. This makes it easy for customers to select and specify Brennan products into their own fluid power application.

 

How To Provide Online 3D CAD Configurators for Your Customers

Thermal Transfer Products dimensioned 3D previewAn easy-to-use yet intelligent 3D modeling software gives your customers the ability to view product drawings online in any configuration and specification selection they require, such as:

  • Control of three-dimensional rotation of parts and components
  • Multiple selection criteria by:
    • Part number
    • Model size
    • Dimensional characteristics
    • Image size that they can easily increase and decrease with the roll of a mouse
    • Product requirements, including:
      • Hole patterns
      • Electrical requirements
      • Burst pressure
      • Pricing
      • Or whatever your product configurations and specifications require to make the buyer journey fast and simple

 

Industrial Marketing Meets Innovative Engineering

The eCATALOGsolutions 3D CAD configurator converts your website visitors into sales leads with interactive 3D models as content. This platform is built to your specific needs and allows your customers’ engineers to design, configure, download and specify your product into their application, making each engagement a highly qualified sales lead.

Built for both desktop and mobile devices, you can even integrate the eCATALOGsolutions platform into a custom-branded app with your CAD model catalog, 3D configurator, data sheets and more.

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Adam Beck

Director of Marketing at CADENAS PARTsolutions | A Marketing graduate from the Miami University, Farmer School of Business in Oxford Ohio, Adam has years of experience in marketing and design for a variety of industries.