A product configurator is a system of software that enables the user to create a customisable product by ensuring that the final product is feasible for manufacturing. The objective of the configurator is to uses rules and constraints that restrict the user from configuring an invalid product. This medium not only enhances the user experience but also decreases the lead time, documents the configuration details better and decreases the knowledge required to configure. The configurator may be linked to other software to make calculations that validate the configuration and is linked with a database to keep track of the product's components.

Rightly said, "Fundamentally customers do not want choice; they just want exactly what they want" (B. Joseph Pine II, "The Power of Intentional Design," 15 February 2000. [Online]. Available: https://www.di.net/articles/the-power-of-intentional-design/). This requirement arises the demand to produce customisable products and has become a mean to increase market share in highly competitive and saturated markets. The provision also brings new challenges to the industries as they now need to provide the customer with a tool to customise their product before the manufacturing or assembly can begin. In most cases, a graphical user interface is required for the customer to be able to customise the product.

The more customisable variables the product has, the more difficult it is to customise it. It amplifies the problem when the user has minimal knowledge of the internal working of the product and yet needs to fine-tune it to meet his needs. One such product is the customisation of hydraulic valves. The users have a particular requirement and might not know the internal workings of a valve. In most cases, the user knows the input parameters and expects an output function.

Keywords: customisation, configurator, hydraulic valve, spool, Combinum