2026-09-12 · video
A product configurator built from components
A video companion on generating article numbers, specifications, PDFs, and tender wording from a component model.
A lighting catalogue can show a familiar product shape while hiding many possible specifications. Size, control, optics, and other components change what the finished light can do. The question was how to let a planner explore those choices while keeping the resulting specification usable.
The obvious data model was a large table containing every finished article. I took a different path: model the components and their valid combinations, then generate an article number from the selection.
From selection to specification and back
The chosen components generate an article number that connects the product to its practical output. A planner can produce a PDF data sheet with the selected specification and tender wording. Later, entering the article number into a lookup brings back the product, size, and selected components.
That reverse lookup matters because a product code should remain understandable after it leaves the configurator. The system connects product discovery with the work of specifying and finding the configuration again.
This is a design choice about structure, not a performance claim. Read the related case study.