Depending on the specific design phase and relevant goals, engineers have various options to visualize machine tool development. This study examined two types of visualization (e.g. concerning complexity, colors, animations, vividness) using VR technology. More than 25 experts were asked to identify and assess hazards in two 3D-models that differed in complexity. Besides technical aspects, we tested whether psychological aspects such as sense of “being there” and the quality of the risk assessment were affected by the type of the 3D-representation. Furthermore the relations between the user‘s traits (e.g. conscientiousness, risk perception, etc.) and the properties of the 3D-models were explored.