A system and method is provided for creating editable configurations of 3D models and for using a specific type of 2D vector, namely a straight line, to compute and display real world measurements on the 3D model. A 3D model with UV map is created corresponding to a manufacturing pattern and to scale by a Scale Factor. A 2D vector created and overlaid on the UV map of a 3D model, is used to create several virtual mesh groups outlined by the 2D vector, on the underlying 3D model. Two points on a 3D model is selected to create a 2D Vector comprising the points on the UV map corresponding to the selected points on the 3D model. The Path Length of created 2D Vector and the Real Length as Path Length*Scale Factor, are calculated.