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[Jones Smith]

Has anyone tested text-to-CAD tools for quick concept modeling of enclosures? I’m designing a small plastic enclosure for a PCB-based sensor module (around 60x40x20 mm) and was wondering if any of the new text-to-CAD AI tools could help speed up early-stage conception—just basic geometry, mounting bosses, snap-fit features, and some ventilation slots. I don’t expect full manufacturable parts, but something good enough to clean up in Fusion or SolidWorks.

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[Vincent D]

First up, my answer below may be outdated within a matter of weeks or months. At the rate that consumer AI tools have been developing, it will only be a matter of time before there is a new update from one of the many tools that become the new benchmark in capability. There are already a few text-to-CAD tools that can get close to what you’re looking for, and they’ll only get better from here!

I think you need to be sure about the file type that the tool will generate for you – judging from your question, I think a STEP file is probably best for compatibility across packages. For this reason, I’d suggest you use Zoo.dev. neThing.xyz is another option, but you may need a premium tier.

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[eric79]

The best user experience I’ve seen with text-CAD is Adam CAD. It provides the various parameters for adjusting the details of the model that’s been generated.

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[Lucas]

Just be careful not to get too lazy as AI tools improve! You don’t ever want to be caught where you’re no longer current in 3D design basics, and you just let the AI do the work for you. Even as AI gets better, if you get into the habit of just blindly accepting what it spits out, you’re inevitably going to get caught out at some point—there will be an unexpected flaw or an element that wasn’t properly suited to the context.

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[Shawn]

If it is mainly for decorative functions, then Text-CAD is fine, it seems to be called Text-to-CAD. You need to pay special attention to the assembly relationships and dimensional details of the model features.

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