Design parts by asking your AI
Connect Claude, ChatGPT or another AI app to CheapCAD Tools once. Then describe the part, and it builds the design, checks it against the standards and hands you the files.
Connect once
CheapCAD Tools is a connector (an MCP server) at this address:
https://cheapcadtools.com/mcp
| AI app | How to add it |
|---|---|
| Claude (claude.ai and the desktop app) | Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, and paste the address. |
| Claude Code | claude mcp add --transport http cheapcadtools https://cheapcadtools.com/mcp, then /mcp to sign in. |
| ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and others | Wherever the app lets you add a remote MCP server, add the same address. |
The first time, your browser opens a CheapCAD Tools page. Sign in with Google, GitHub or an email link, choose a daily token limit for the AI app, and press Approve. That's all: the app stays connected until you disconnect it.
Then just ask
Describe the part the way you'd describe it to an engineer: the belt, the teeth, the shafts, how the pulley should hold on. The AI looks up every setting the generator has, builds the design, and checks it against the belt makers' standards. When a check finds a problem (a face too narrow for the belt, a screw too big for the hub), it applies the same one-click Auto-fix as the generator. When you're happy, it gives you a download link for STL, STEP, DXF or SVG.
Every sample has an AI prompt button that copies the prompt for that exact design. It's the quickest way to see it work: paste one in, then ask for changes ("make the bore 6 mm", "add flanges to the big pulley").
What it costs
Designing and checking are free. Files cost the same tokens as on the website (see pricing), and the tokens are only taken when your download completes. The daily limit you set is a cap per AI app; change it, or disconnect an app, on your connected apps page.
What's connected today
The Timing Pulley Generator: every belt profile, bore, hub, spoke and flange option it has. The sprocket and gear generators join the same connector when they launch, with nothing to add on your side.
For developers
The connector drives each tool's public HTTP API: GET /tools/pulleys/api/v1/describe lists every parameter, with its units, limits and choices. POST …/check, …/quote and …/files take {"params": {…}}. A summary for AI crawlers is in /llms.txt.