AI Made a 3D Blueprint in 5 Minutes

It Started with a Casual Conversation

I was chatting with AI about random things.

I’ve been getting into hardware since my Raspberry Pi kiosk project, and I mentioned wanting a custom case for an SBC (single-board computer).

The AI said, “Want me to make a 3D model for you?”

I thought it was joking. It wasn’t.

Under 5 Minutes

I gave it the dimensions and described the shape I wanted. It generated OpenSCAD code and produced a renderable 3D model just like that.

USB port cutouts, ventilation slits, mounting holes — all included in a model that appeared in under 5 minutes. Learning Fusion 360 to build something like this would have taken a full day…

It wasn’t perfect, of course. Fine tolerance adjustments and assembly structures needed manual tweaking. But having a draft in 5 minutes is a game changer.

Expanding the Software Developer’s Territory

This was shocking because hardware design used to be an entirely separate specialization.

Learning CAD software alone takes months, and proper design requires mechanical engineering knowledge. A software developer building a hardware case? Even with a 3D printer, the design was always the bottleneck.

AI just obliterated that barrier. “This size, these holes, this shape” — that’s all you need to say. Since it generates code, modifications are easy too. Change a parameter, instant update.

I had been pondering what services to build in the AI era, and this is exactly what I mean. AI is dissolving the boundary between software and hardware.

But Can You Actually Use It?

I printed it on a 3D printer.

Surprisingly, the basic fit was right. Not perfect — it took a few modify-and-print iterations — but the “AI draft → modify → print” cycle was significantly faster than “design from scratch.”

Like I wrote in how to get AI to code well for you, giving AI clear specs is the key. Not “make me a case” but exact dimensions and requirements — the quality difference is dramatic.

The era where software developers dabble in hardware design seems to have truly arrived. It’s both intimidating and exciting.