AbstractThe Wendelstein 7‐X stellarator (W7‐X) is a superconducting fusion experiment presently under construction at the Greifswald branch of the Max‐Planck‐Institut für Plasmaphysik in Greifswald, Germany. W7‐X is a device with extreme geometrical complexity due to the close‐packing of components inside the cryostat and their complex three‐dimensional shapes. The task of the Configuration Space Control department is to ensure that these components do not collide with each other under the defined set of configurations such as during assembly, at cool down, or during operation at various coil currents, among others. To fulfill this task, sophisticated tools and procedures were developed and implemented within the realm of a newly founded division that focuses on design, configuration control, and configuration management. This paper will discuss the Configuration Space Control process, explore the advantages to the project resulting from the process, and demonstrate its application in the analysis of the cryogenic cooling pipes of Module 5 (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)