Designing robotics hardware with AI — what it makes, what it exports, and where its limits are.
What is MechAInical?
MechAInical is an AI CAD tool for mechanical and robotics design. You describe a part or assembly in plain English and it returns a real 3D model split into named components — a gripper finger, a motor mount, a cable bracket — which you can then click and edit individually. Finished geometry exports as a STEP file for use in any standard CAD package.
Can I use AI to design CAD parts for a robotics project?
Yes — that is what MechAInical is built for. You type something like "a NEMA 23 motor mount with belt tensioning slots" or "a compliant two-finger gripper for a 5 kg payload" and get back an editable 3D assembly with named components, real millimetre dimensions and materials assigned. From there you refine it by talking to it, then export STEP into SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape or FreeCAD to finish the detailed design.
How can I brainstorm 3D design ideas for a robotics build?
Describe the problem rather than the part and let MechAInical propose a form you can react to — "a quick-change tool coupling for a cobot wrist" returns a concrete assembly in seconds, which is far faster than starting a sketch from a blank screen. Because each result is a real editable model rather than a picture, you can push a version further, change one component, or throw it away and rephrase. Most people find it easier to judge a wrong first attempt than to specify the right one up front.
Do I need CAD experience to design robot parts with it?
No. There is no sketching, constraining or feature tree to learn — you type what you want in ordinary language and edit it the same way, for example "make the mounting plate thicker" or "add two M5 clearance holes". Engineering judgement still matters for deciding whether a result is sensible and manufacturable, but no CAD software training is required to produce geometry.
What robotics parts can MechAInical actually design?
It is strongest on the mechanical hardware around a robot rather than the robot as a whole: grippers and end effectors, motor and servo mounts, sensor and lidar brackets, tool couplings, gearbox output flanges, cable-routing brackets, mounting plates, jigs and fixtures. Designs are assemblies of roughly 3 to 12 components built from boxes, cylinders and spheres with holes and filleted edges, in nine materials including aluminium, stainless steel, titanium, ABS and nylon. It does not model threads, gear tooth profiles, sheet-metal unfolding, or organic freeform surfaces.
How is this different from SolidWorks, Fusion 360 or Onshape?
Those are full parametric CAD systems built for detailed design and manufacturing release; MechAInical is built for the stage before that, when you are still deciding what the thing is. It gets you from a sentence to an editable 3D assembly in seconds, then exports STEP so you can finish the detailed work in your existing CAD package. It is a front end to that workflow, not a replacement for it.
Is the output real CAD geometry or just a mesh?
It is real solid geometry. MechAInical writes STEP AP214 as a proper B-rep — manifold solid breps built from closed shells — so a CAD kernel opens each part as a solid body rather than a triangle soup. Surfaces are planar throughout, which means boxes are exact while cylinders, spheres and bores are faceted (48 segments around a cylinder, 24 around a hole). That is a genuine fidelity limit and it is stated in the header of every exported file.
What file formats can I export, and can I 3D print the parts?
MechAInical exports STEP (ISO 10303-21, AP214), the standard neutral CAD format, in millimetres. Slicers that import STEP directly, such as PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio, can print it as-is; others including Cura need the file converted to STL or 3MF first, which any CAD package or FreeCAD will do in one step. There is no direct STL export yet. Every saved version of a design is archived as its own STEP file, so you can export an earlier revision, not only the current one.
How do I change one part without regenerating the whole assembly?
Click the component in the 3D view and describe the change — only that component is affected. Components declare what they are mounted on, so when a base plate gets wider the parts anchored to it move with it while everything else stays exactly where it was. Unchanged parts keep their existing geometry rather than being rebuilt, which is what makes iterating on one bracket feel immediate instead of like a fresh generation.
Which AI model powers MechAInical?
Generation and structural edits run on OpenAI GPT-5.4-mini, which returns a structured component graph — named parts with dimensions, positions, materials and mounting relationships. The model never writes CAD code or geometry directly; deterministic code turns that graph into solids and clamps every dimension into a buildable range. Simple parameter edits such as "make it 20% taller" are handled locally and instantly, without an AI call, and are not counted against your monthly allowance.
How much does MechAInical cost, and is there a free trial?
There is a 7-day free trial with no credit card and no signup — you can start designing directly from the homepage. Paid plans are CAD $29/month for Starter (30 AI generations, 10 saved designs), CAD $99/month for Pro (150 generations, 50 designs) and CAD $299/month for Founding/Team (500 generations, unlimited designs under fair use). Local edits like resizing, moving parts and adding holes are free and never count against the generation allowance.
Are my designs private?
Yes. Designs are private to your account by default and are scoped to your user id at the database level, so no other account can read them. Sharing is opt-in: turning it on creates an unguessable link that gives read-only access to that one design plus its STEP download, and those links are excluded from search engine indexing. You can turn sharing off again at any time, and deleting your account removes every design, version and session it owns.