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Text-to-CAD, with a model you can keep working on.
Text-to-CAD uses a written description to create or edit CAD geometry. In FORM, your AI assistant calls modeling tools through MCP while you inspect the result in a browser workspace. You can retain editable FORM source and export STL, OBJ, or 3DM, with different levels of geometry fidelity.
How does text become CAD?
Your assistant translates a brief into modeling operations: create shapes, place parts, combine solids, or edit curve and surface definitions. FORM executes those operations in the open browser workspace. The assistant supplies the reasoning; FORM supplies the geometry tools and live view.
- Connect. Open FORM, sign in, and use the Connect agent panel to configure a compatible MCP client.
- Describe. Specify units, overall dimensions, separate parts, and the details that must remain editable.
- Inspect. Look at the model from several directions and check measurements before asking for the next change.
- Save and export. Keep a FORM JSON copy, then choose the format your next application needs.
Keep the signed-in workspace open during hosted MCP operations. See the CAD MCP connection guide for setup and troubleshooting.
What should a first prompt include?
Begin with a small, measurable object. A rectangular plate is easier to verify than a complete vehicle or a vaguely described machine.
Use FORM to create a plate 120 mm wide, 80 mm deep, and 5 mm thick. Center it on the XY plane, with its bottom at Z = 0. Name it “Mounting plate.” Inspect its dimensions and show me the result before adding holes.
This is a suggested starting prompt, not a promise of a particular model’s output. Follow it with one change at a time. Our prompt guide includes a hole pattern, revision instructions, and a reusable brief.
Is text-to-CAD the same as text-to-3D?
The terms overlap in marketing. To choose a tool, inspect what it actually creates. A rendered image, a triangle mesh, editable source parameters, and a CAD surface are different deliverables.
| Format | What you receive | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| FORM JSON | FORM shapes, parameters, layers, and transforms. | Reopening and editing in FORM. |
| STL / OBJ | Sampled mesh geometry; OBJ also supports sampled curve polylines. | Mesh tools and preparation for printing. |
| 3DM | Native NURBS curves and surfaces, supported primitive BReps, and mesh fallbacks. | Continuing supported geometry in Rhino. |
FORM does not currently import or export STEP. A 3DM export does not turn every object into an editable solid; read the 3DM fidelity guide before choosing a downstream workflow.
What still needs a designer’s judgment?
Check dimensions, object placement, part intersections, and whether each intended solid is closed. FORM’s solid measurements are based on faceted geometry. NURBS source definitions remain editable, but an open surface has no material thickness.
FORM currently has a narrower modeling scope than a full desktop CAD system. General sketch constraints, fillets, chamfers, shell operations, and arbitrary NURBS trimming are not implemented. Describe a construction the available tools can produce, or continue the model in a tool with the finishing operations you need.
For a concrete artifact, inspect the 29-part chair example. For measured AI attempts, see the FORM benchmark. Neither a convincing image nor a successful export establishes that a design is ready to manufacture.
Written by the FORM team. Product details can change; the linked references and current workspace describe the available workflow. Tell us if something needs correcting.