3D Modelling & Experiences.
3D product modelling is the process of rebuilding a physical product as accurate digital geometry, materials and light, so it can be rendered, animated or configured live in a browser without ever being photographed. Molo is a London 3D modelling agency producing product visualisation and real-time configurators for manufacturers and ecommerce brands, including a 120-product configurator for windows and doors manufacturer Glass Openings, after which the client recorded a 72% increase in conversion rate.
- Discipline
- 3D & Experiences
- Studio
- London
- Engagements
- Project · Retainer
- Brands served
- 200+
How we work
Immersive 3D, motion, and interactive content.
3D product modelling is the craft of rebuilding a physical product as geometry, materials and light inside a digital scene. The model carries real dimensions, real construction detail and real surface behaviour: how brushed aluminium scatters light differently from anodised, how glass tints and reflects. Once that model exists it becomes a reusable asset: catalogue stills, exploded views for technical documentation, animation for a launch, an AR preview, or a live configurator on your product page. Product visualisation is what you produce from the model; the modelling is the investment that makes everything after it cheap.
3D is not automatically better than photography, and any 3D product modelling company that tells you otherwise is selling. Photography still wins when a product is a one-off, when the surface is genuinely hard to simulate, certain fabrics, food, anything heavily translucent, or when you need a handful of images once and will never revisit them. 3D wins on variation and repetition. If your product comes in forty finishes, if you launch seasonal colourways, if you sell configurable or made-to-order goods, or if you need consistent imagery across a catalogue that keeps growing, modelling once and rendering many times costs less across the life of the range than reshooting. It also lets you show products that do not physically exist yet.
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Configurators are where product modelling stops being marketing collateral and starts doing commercial work. We modelled more than 120 products for Glass Openings and engineered a browser-based configurator handling over 70 materials, more than 30 glass variations, and live dimensional controls for width, height, mullions and transoms. Customers see their actual specification rather than imagining it. Glass Openings recorded a 72% increase in conversion rate, a 41% increase in qualified enquiries and a 38% improvement in mobile engagement, with no SEO or paid media running alongside the build. For OuterWings we built a custom configurator for personalised leather-patch hats, part of an ecommerce project that saw a 92% increase in custom hat enquiries.
Real-time 3D on the web plays by different rules from offline rendering. A film-quality model can run to hundreds of megabytes; a product page has a few. The work is in the reduction, rebuilding geometry at a sensible polygon budget, baking detail into texture maps, compressing with glTF and Draco, and streaming assets so the page is usable before the model finishes loading. We build with Three.js and React Three Fiber and treat Core Web Vitals as a constraint rather than an afterthought, because a configurator that damages page speed costs more in lost sessions than it wins in engagement. Mobile is the hard case and the one worth solving: the 38% mobile engagement improvement at Glass Openings rested on responsive interaction and performance work, not on how the model looked on a desktop monitor.
Our pipeline runs references in, then modelling, then look development, then output. Where CAD exists, STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Rhino, we start there, because manufacturing data is the most accurate reference available. It is also rarely usable as-is, so it gets retopologised and cleaned for rendering or real-time delivery. Where CAD does not exist we model from physical samples, technical drawings and photography. Look development is where materials are authored and calibrated against real samples, and it is the stage that decides whether the final image reads as a product or as a render. Output is the cheap part, which is rather the point.
Animation earns its keep when a product needs explaining rather than displaying: assembly sequences, cutaways through a sealed unit, mechanisms in motion, scale and fit demonstrations. These are things a still image cannot do and a video shoot can only do expensively. As a 3D product animation agency we work from the same models used for stills and configurators, so animation extends an existing asset rather than starting a separate production. That matters commercially, because the second deliverable from a model always costs less than the first.
If you are choosing a 3D product modelling studio, ask three questions. Ask to see the models, not only the finished renders: attractive images can hide unusable geometry, and you will feel that the moment you want a variant or a real-time build. Ask who holds the source files at the end; you should, along with textures and scenes, so you are not renting access to your own catalogue. And ask whether the studio can engineer as well as render, because a team that only produces images will hand a configurator brief to someone else, and integration is usually where these projects fail. We are a London 3D model agency with both disciplines in one team, which is why the Glass Openings platform shipped as a single piece of software rather than a pile of assets and a hopeful handover.
Capabilities
Everything you need under one roof.
Each engagement is shaped around the outcome you’re hiring us for. Below is the full toolkit our team brings to 3d & experiences engagements.
- 3D product modelling from CAD
- Photoreal product visualisation
- Real-time 3D product configurators
- Interactive Web3D (Three.js, R3F)
- 3D product animation
- Material & look development
- Exploded views & technical visuals
- CGI lifestyle & in-situ scenes
- Augmented reality (AR) previews
- Ecommerce & product page integration
- glTF optimisation & asset delivery
- Motion graphics & launch films
Our Process
A clear path from brief to launch.
We’ve refined this process across hundreds of engagements. It scales from a four-week sprint to a multi-year partnership without losing momentum.
Scope & references
We agree the product list, the shot or interaction spec, and what the models must do later: stills only, or configurator and animation as well. We collect CAD, technical drawings, physical samples and finish swatches, and flag anything difficult to reproduce before the budget is fixed.
Modelling
We build accurate geometry from CAD or from scratch, at the detail the output genuinely needs. CAD is retopologised for rendering or real-time use, UVs are laid out, and the model is structured so parts can be swapped, hidden or driven by configurator logic later.
Look development
Materials are authored and calibrated against real samples, metals, glass, timber, powder coatings, fabrics, then lit in test scenes. We review on your screens and on mobile, because a finish signed off on a calibrated monitor can read very differently on a phone.
Production
Rendering, animation and real-time builds run from the approved models. For Web3D this is where geometry budgets, texture compression, glTF export and loading strategy are set, and where we test on mid-range devices rather than only on the fastest hardware in the studio.
Integration & handover
We integrate into your site, product page or configurator, measure against your baseline for engagement and enquiries, then hand over source files, textures and scenes so new variants, angles and campaigns can be produced without starting again.
Outcomes
Proof, in the only currency that matters.
Faster than traditional photography
Engagement on 3D-led campaigns
Add-to-cart rate on configurators
Related work
3D & Experiences in practice.
FAQ
Common questions.
Don’t see your question? Email info@molo.agency and we’ll come back within one working day.
How much does a 3D product configurator cost?
Cost is driven by three things: how many products need modelling, how many options each product carries, and whether the specification and pricing logic behind it is simple or complex. A single product with a few colourways is a modest project. A catalogue like Glass Openings, 120+ products, 70+ materials, 30+ glass variations and live dimensional controls, is a software build measured in months. We scope and quote per project rather than publish a rate card.
Is 3D cheaper than product photography?
Not always. For a small number of images of a single existing product, photography is usually cheaper. 3D becomes cheaper with variation and repetition: multiple finishes, seasonal colourways, growing catalogues, or imagery for products that do not exist yet. The model is the upfront cost; every render, angle and variant afterwards is comparatively inexpensive, and that is where the saving accumulates.
How long does 3D product modelling take?
A single product model with look development typically takes days rather than weeks once references are supplied. Timelines stretch with catalogue size and with what the model must do: an asset built for still imagery is faster than one built for real-time configuration. The Glass Openings platform, covering more than 120 products plus a custom configurator, ran across eight months from start to launch.
Can you model from CAD files?
Yes. STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Rhino and similar manufacturing formats are the best starting point because they carry accurate dimensions. CAD is rarely usable for rendering as-is, it is built for manufacture, not for clean shading or real-time performance, so we retopologise and clean the geometry, lay out UVs and author materials before it enters production.
Do 3D configurators work on mobile?
Yes, but only if they are built for it. Phones have less memory and slower GPUs, so geometry budgets, texture compression and loading strategy must be set with mobile in mind rather than retrofitted afterwards. The Glass Openings configurator was engineered with responsive interaction and performance work from the outset, and the client recorded a 38% improvement in mobile engagement.
What is the difference between 3D modelling and product visualisation?
3D modelling is building the digital asset itself: geometry, UVs and materials. Product visualisation is what you produce from it: rendered stills, lifestyle scenes, animation, AR or an interactive configurator. Most projects need both, and the modelling stage is where quality is decided, because a poorly built model limits every output that follows it.
Do we own the 3D models you create?
Yes. On completion you receive source files, textures and scenes, not only the exported images. This matters more than it sounds: if you hold final renders alone, every new angle, finish or variant means returning to whoever holds the models. Owning the assets keeps future production competitive and keeps your catalogue portable.
Can 3D product modelling improve conversion rate?
It can, when it removes uncertainty from a buying decision. Configurable and made-to-order products are the clearest case, because customers are otherwise asked to imagine what they are paying for. Glass Openings recorded a 72% increase in conversion rate and a 41% increase in qualified enquiries after launching its 3D configurator, with no SEO or paid media running alongside. Results vary by product, price point and traffic quality.
Are you a London-based 3D modelling agency?
Yes. Molo is based in London and works with manufacturers, ecommerce brands and product businesses across the UK, Europe and the US. Most 3D work runs remotely, since CAD, references and reviews move digitally, but we meet in person for kickoffs and physical sample reviews where finish accuracy matters, which, for metals and timber, it usually does.
What file formats do you deliver?
For stills, layered files plus print-ready and web-optimised exports. For animation, standard video deliverables at the resolutions and aspect ratios you need. For Web3D and AR, compressed glTF or GLB with Draco or Meshopt, plus USDZ for iOS Quick Look. Source scenes and textures are handed over alongside the deliverables so the models stay usable in future.
Let’s discuss a project.
Tell us about your business, your ambition, and your timing. We’ll come back within one working day with the right shape of partnership for what you’re trying to build.
- info@molo.agency
- Phone
- +44 207 255 2221
- Studio
- 1st Floor Woodgate Studios, 2-8 Games Road
Cockfosters EN4 9HN
United Kingdom