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Animated & Interactive Models

A model that shows how your process works, not just what it looks like.

A static model shows what your equipment looks like. An animated model shows how it works: the cooling loop running, the pump starting, the radar turning. LED strips trace the flow through the pipes, motors move the parts that move, and a button lets a visitor run it themselves. We've been making models for 60+ years, and in all that time we have never missed a client's show date.

See one run

Our interactive Cisco power systems model: five buttons along the front each run a scenario, from fault detection and power re-routing to substation automation, traced in LEDs across a 6-by-3-foot grid.

Ways to make a model work harder

Each one starts from the same CAD we build your model from.

Lights and motion

LEDs and LED strips inside the model, servos and motors that move, run from a small board in the base. A visitor presses a button and the model runs that part of the process: the pump, then the line, then the tank.

3D on your website

The same model on your website in 3D, for visitors to turn and zoom. Options as configurations, cutaways to show the inside, and callouts on the parts that matter. We host it; your web person pastes one line of code.

What we build in

Motion: rotating assemblies, linear motion, mechanical articulation, automated sequences
Lighting: LED indicators, animated lighting, internally lit systems
Sound: audio cues, system alerts, synchronized effects
Controls: push buttons, remote control, programmable logic, touchscreens
Modular parts: sections that lift out to show the systems inside

The model, and the same model in 3D

Animated data center cooling scale model with its supply and return loops lit red and blue — The finished model, with LED strips tracing every cooling loop.

The same model in 3D. Drag to turn it, scroll to zoom, or pick a view along the bottom.

Animated, working and lighted models

17 projects

Animated Data Center Model: How Air, Liquid and Immersion Cooling Work

Carbon capture facility model from the front, with lit piping linking power plant, columns, compressors and control room

Animated Carbon Capture Facility Model

Oil and gas field model with green and blue LED flow paths lit, linking pump jacks, separators, tanks and a control room

Animated Oil and Gas Field Model

LNG regasification plant model with green and blue LED flow lines lit across a black base, tanks and LNG carrier ship

Animated LNG Regasification Plant Model

PX pressure exchanger model with glowing green, blue and pink tubes through two white rings on a black base

Animated PX Pressure Exchanger Model

Stellarator Fusion Reactor Model

Radar scale model rear view showing heat sink fins and olive green housing on a round black base, pencil for scale

3/4 Scale Spinning Radar Model

Oshkosh FMTV 1/8 scale truck model in desert tan, front three-quarter view of armored cab, bumper lights and tires

Oshkosh FMTV 1/8 Scale Remote Controlled Model

Slim Large Gimbal

Automated Wood Retrieving Robot

Two gate valve models side by side, one full exterior and one cutaway with red section faces, on white bases

Working Gate Valve Model

Hydroelectric dam model close-up of cutaway powerhouse with blue generator above clear turbine housing and penstock

Hydroelectric Working Dam Model

Working pumpjack model on a black steel frame, seen from the rear quarter with motor, gearbox, cranks and wellhead

Large Working Pumpjack Model

PropX Sand Scorpion Model

Remote Controlled Semi Truck Model

Night Club Display Model

Native American community site model, overhead view of green meadow, shrub clusters and woodland edge

Historical Site Model of Native American Community

From your CAD to the show floor

Most models take 8–14 weeks, so count back from your show date.

Send us your CAD

A STEP file from SolidWorks, Inventor, or anything else, or drawings. We build the model from it, and design the animation on a drawing of the model.

Review it in your browser

Before it ships, you get a link to the show playing on the 3D model, with its buttons, and to your website model. Changes are quick.

Plug it in

At the show, it starts when the power comes on. Nothing on the table, nothing to log into, and it ships in the Pelican or custom case included with every model.

Animated & interactive model questions

What marketing teams ask us before they add motion to a model.

How much do lights and animation add to the cost of a model?

Models typically start around $6,000, and multi-model projects often run $10,000 and up. What animation adds depends on how much of the model moves and lights: simple lighting can add as little as $1,000, and complex animation can add $10,000 or more. Send photos or CAD, tell us what you want the model to show, and we'll give you a real number, free.

Can visitors run the model themselves?

Yes, and that's usually the point. A push button, touchscreen, or remote control starts each part of the process, so a visitor can run the pump, then the line, then the tank. Scenes work like lighting cues: Standby, Running, Alarm, each started by a button or on a timer.

Will the animation hold up through a full show week?

Yes. A small show computer and a board for the lights live in the model's base, and the show starts when the power comes on, so there's no laptop to babysit and no password to know. If the picture ever stalls, it restarts on its own in a few seconds. Every model ships in a Pelican or custom case.

Can you change the animation after the model ships?

Yes, without a trip. The model picks up the new version the next time it starts with an internet connection, or from a USB stick plugged in at the booth.

How does the 3D model on our website work?

We build it from the same CAD as your physical model, in your colors and finishes, with buttons for each option you offer and cutaways that show what's inside. Parts that can't be seen from outside stay out of the file. We host it: your web person pastes one line of code, and it updates when we update the model.

How long does an animated model take?

Most models take 8–14 weeks depending on complexity and features. We plan backward from your show date, and in 60+ years we have never missed a client's show date. You review the animation in your browser before the model ships.

What do you need from us to get a quote?

A STEP file or other CAD, drawings, or photos, plus what you want the model to show and your show date if there is one. Send it through the quote form and we'll come back with pricing and a timeline.

Show them how it works.

Tell us the equipment and the date. We'll tell you what the model and its animation would take.

Request a Quote Call (626) 813-9661

Not ready for a quote? E-mail us — two sentences and a photo is plenty.