Cad Agent

What This Skill Does

The Cad Agent skill provides a specialized bridge for AI agents to perform 3D mechanical design tasks within a containerized environment. By acting as a rendering server, it enables your agent to generate, modify, and inspect build123d-based parametric models. Instead of manually writing and debugging geometric code, your agent sends modeling commands via HTTP to the server, which then processes the CAD logic using VTK. The agent then retrieves visual feedback in the form of rendered images, allowing for a tight, iterative loop of 'design, view, correct, and finalize.' It essentially gives your agent a 'visual eye' for 3D engineering workflows.

Installation

To integrate this skill, use the ClawHub command: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/clawd-maf/cad-agent. Ensure you have Docker installed on your host machine. Once installed, initialize the environment by running docker-compose up -d within the repository directory. Verify the connection by sending a health check request to http://localhost:8123/health. If you are working within a restricted environment like a sandbox, be aware that you may need to use docker exec commands to interact with the container directly, as standard host networking may be restricted.

Use Cases

• Mechanical Component Design: Rapidly prototype parts for 3D printing, such as brackets, gears, or enclosures, with precise parametric control.
• Iterative CAD Modeling: Automate the creation of complex assemblies by defining base shapes and then applying modifications or boolean subtractions via the API.
• Automated Engineering Prototyping: Streamline the transition from a natural language request to a downloadable STL file for manufacturing.

Example Prompts

1. 'Create a 60x40x30mm rectangular base for a gear assembly, then show me an isometric view so I can check the proportions.'
2. 'Add a 10mm diameter cylinder cutout at the coordinates (20, 10, 0) on the current part and render the updated top-down view.'
3. 'The holes are misaligned. Please modify the build123d code to shift the cylinder by 5mm along the X-axis, re-render the view, and export the final version as an STL file.'

Tips & Limitations

• Container Isolation: Remember that all modeling operations happen inside the container. Do not attempt to run mesh processing locally; trust the container to handle the geometry.
• Visual Feedback: Always request a render after every significant modification. The visual output is your primary debugging tool.
• Network Configuration: If local testing returns errors, verify your container's port binding. For restricted environments, use docker exec for all interactions to avoid networking limitations.