Metal Building 3D Configurator: How to Use It, Step by Step
By Facundo Campo, 3D quoting tool developer
In short: The Estructuras 3D metal building configurator lets you choose span, length, eave height, roof pitch, frame type, cladding, openings and floor, and see the building in 3D instantly in the browser, with nothing to install.
A metal building 3D configurator is a web tool where you choose the span, length, height, frame type and finishes, and the building is drawn instantly in your browser. The Estructuras 3D configurator is a free, working demo: you can rotate it, change it and share it with a link, from a computer or a phone.
I built it myself, Facundo Campo, on my own parametric rendering engine. This guide covers what you can configure, how to use it, and why a metal fabricator would want it with its own products.
Which dimensions you can configure
The panel on the left (at the bottom on a phone) starts with the dimensions, since they define everything else:
- Width (span): 6 to 40 meters.
- Length: 6 to 90 meters.
- Eave height: 3 to 12 meters.
- Roof pitch: 5 to 35%.
- Frame spacing: 3 to 9 meters.
When you change a dimension, the building doesn't stretch like a photo: it's regenerated. If you lengthen it from 30 to 32 meters, another frame appears and the purlins are redistributed. I explain this in detail in parametric rendering.
Structure and roof
- Frame type: truss or solid-web. With a curved (arched) roof, the arch replaces the frame.
- Profile thickness and cross bracing, which you can add or remove.
- Roof: gable, single-slope or curved, with the eave overhang and the sheeting color.
- Sheeting trims (flashing), with their color.
Cladding, openings and floor
- Side walls: open, half-height, fully clad in metal sheeting, block plus metal sheeting, or brick plus metal sheeting, with pilasters and masonry base wall height.
- Front and back walls: enclosed or open, each set separately.
- Openings: a sliding door with its width, height, color and how far open it is; a walk door and side windows.
- Side canopy: with its width and slope.
- Floor: none, concrete, wood or rubber, with its shade.
- Equipment: light fixtures and reference pallets to help you read the scale.
- Walk through: the camera drops to eye level. Tap the floor to walk, drag to look around, and jump to the spots people show the most.
- Pallet racks: loaded shelving along the inside of the side walls, like a warehouse in use.
- Rural surroundings: a pickup truck, a person, a forklift, a row of poplars, the wire fence with its gate and the power line, so you can read the scale at a glance. They can be turned off.
How to use it
- Adjust the dimensions in the panel. The figures at the bottom update as you go: span, length, eave height, ridge, frames and floor area.
- Rotate the model by dragging, and zoom in with the mouse wheel or with two fingers.
- Use Views to switch to front, side or plan view, and Frame to bring the whole building back into view.
- Use Layers to remove the roof or the cladding and see the structure inside.
- Use Day/Night to see the light fixtures turned on.
- Use Image to download the current view, and Share to send a link that opens exactly that building.
How it helps a metal fabricator
People buying a metal building almost never know how to read a drawing. Seeing the building with its door and its color before signing clears up their doubts, and it saves the sales rep the round trip of "send me a render": three variants can be shown in the same meeting, on a phone. I go through examples in quote in the meeting.
The demo deliberately doesn't show prices. In a custom build, every decision becomes a line on the quote (square meters of roofing, meters of cladding, doors), calculated with your company's price table. That's how a metal building 3D quoting tool works, and that's how it's put together in a custom build.
If you run a metal fabrication shop and want to see your buildings like this, with your profiles, your sheeting and your prices, message me on WhatsApp or by email and we'll take a look.
Frequently asked questions
Which dimensions can I configure for the building?
Width (span) from 6 to 40 meters, length from 6 to 90 meters, eave height from 3 to 12 meters, roof pitch from 5 to 35%, and frame spacing from 3 to 9 meters. The roof can be gable, single-slope or curved.
Which frame types does it have?
Truss, solid-web or curved arch. Profile thickness and cross bracing are adjusted separately, and the structure is drawn with its purlins, beams and columns.
Is it useful for a metal fabricator that builds metal buildings?
That's what it's designed for. The fabricator sets its standard dimensions, profiles and sheeting, and the sales rep designs the building with the customer in the same meeting. With the quoting layer, every meter and every door adds its price.
Can I save or send the building I designed?
Yes. The Share button generates a link that opens exactly that configuration, and Image downloads the current view so you can paste it into a quote or send it on WhatsApp.
Credits
The 3D models in the surroundings are used under a CC BY 4.0 license and were adapted in size and file weight:
- Toyota Pickup truck, by alban: sketchfab.com
- Dennis Posed 004, by Renderpeople: sketchfab.com
- Realistic HD Lombardy poplar (16/75), by PlantCatalog: sketchfab.com
- Forklift Truck, by louis-muir: sketchfab.com
