3D Plantation Shutters Configurator

Context

This configurator is the direct successor to the 2D Plantation Shutters Configurator — itself a module of the Shutters Factory Bespoke In-House CRM & Ordering Portal. By 2021, the 2D approach had reached its limits: the flat technical drawing, while accurate and functional, was becoming cumbersome to work with at scale and no longer reflected the level of product presentation expected in a competitive premium market.

The decision was made to step up the technology stack entirely — replacing the 2D module with a fully rendered 3D configurator that would raise the bar both for client-facing presentation and for internal production reference.

Development ran from 2021 to 2023, carried out alongside the Shutters Factory in-house development team and a second external team. The module has been maintained and continuously improved since launch and remains in active use within the CRM today.

Why the upgrade was necessary

The window covering industry had been moving steadily towards richer product visualisation. B2C clients — often making significant purchasing decisions for entire homes — increasingly expected to see a realistic representation of what they were buying, not a technical line drawing. At the same time, the manufacturing facility needed a more precise and spatially accurate reference than the 2D output could provide for complex configurations.

A 3D configurator addressed both needs simultaneously: higher impact for the client at the point of sale, and greater clarity for the production team on the shop floor.

What it does

The configurator renders a fully three-dimensional model of the configured shutter in real time, directly within the CRM ordering interface. As the operator or client adjusts product parameters, the 3D model updates live — no reload, no delay.

The visualisation reflects the full configuration of the product:

• Dimensions. The 3D model scales accurately to the specified width and height, giving a true spatial sense of the product in context.
• Panel configuration. The number of panels, their arrangement and proportions are rendered correctly in three dimensions — including the depth and shadow behaviour that a 2D drawing cannot convey.
• Colours and finishes. The selected colour is applied to the 3D model in real time, allowing clients to evaluate the finish under the lighting conditions of the scene.
• Manufacturing constraints. As with the 2D predecessor, the configurator validates against manufacturing boundaries in real time — preventing invalid configurations from progressing through the ordering workflow.
• Open and closed states. The shutter can be toggled between open and closed positions, and louvre tilt can be adjusted — giving clients a dynamic sense of how the product will look and operate once installed.

Integration with the CRM

The 3D configurator is not a standalone tool — it is embedded directly within the Shutters Factory in-house CRM and ordering portal, appearing at the quoting and ordering stages of the workflow. The 3D model is generated from the same product parameters that drive the order, ensuring the visualisation is always an accurate representation of what will be manufactured — not an approximation.

Built with Three.js

The configurator is built on Three.js, the same WebGL-based rendering library used in our 3D Blinds Configurator PoC and Reel Propagation Visualiser. The choice of Three.js provided the performance, flexibility and browser compatibility needed for a production tool used daily by the sales and operations teams — while keeping the rendering pipeline maintainable within the broader Laravel codebase of the CRM.