Case StudyCreator & AI Engineer

Design Agent AI.

A conversational CAD tool: describe a 3D-printable drone part in plain language and Claude generates parametric OpenSCAD code, compiled to STL and rendered in an interactive 3D viewer.

Client
Independent Product
Year
2025
Tools
Claude API, React, TypeScript, Three.js, Node.js, Express, OpenSCAD, Vite, Tailwind CSS

Overview

Design Agent AI collapses the distance between an idea and a printable part. You describe what you need in plain language — "a propeller mount for a 5mm shaft, 30mm diameter" — and the system produces real, parametric CAD geometry you can inspect in the browser and send straight to a 3D printer. Built for drone parts, where custom mounts and brackets are constant, low-volume needs.

How It Works

Claude acts as an expert OpenSCAD programmer: a domain-tuned system prompt encodes 3D-printing constraints (wall thicknesses, tolerances, printability rules), and the model generates parametric OpenSCAD source in response to each request. The Node/Express backend compiles that code to STL using a local OpenSCAD binary, and the React frontend renders the mesh in an interactive Three.js viewer.

Conversational Iteration

The interesting part is refinement. Because the full conversation history rides along with each request, design becomes a dialogue — "make it 2mm thicker," "add M3 mounting holes," "chamfer the edges" — with each turn regenerating the parametric model. Reference images can be attached to ground the design in something physical, using Claude's multimodal input.

Outcome

A working prototype that demonstrates LLM code generation applied to physical output — where the generated artifact isn't text on a screen but an object you can hold.

Key Outcomes

  • Natural language to manufacturable geometry: prompts like 'propeller mount for 5mm shaft, 30mm diameter' become printable STL files
  • Iterative multi-turn refinement — 'make it 2mm thicker, add M3 holes' — with full conversation context
  • Multimodal input: reference photos guide Claude's parametric code generation
  • Domain-tuned system prompt encoding 3D-printing constraints, tolerances, and OpenSCAD best practices
  • Live in-browser preview via Three.js / React Three Fiber