Make a dimensioned spacer with Zoo’s CAD assistant

A simple spacer is a useful first CAD exercise because its intended dimensions can be written down before any geometry appears. Here the proposed part is a rectangular frame with an opening through its centre. You can judge the result by its measurements and editable features.

Zoo’s Zookeeper uses language models to create and modify parametric CAD geometry. The resulting model has editable parameters and a feature tree. This is a documentation-based exercise; we have not generated, exported or manufactured this part.[3]

Create a Zoo account and open Design Studio in a browser. Start a blank project from the dashboard. Browser projects use Personal Cloud; wait for the Cloud synced indicator before switching devices. The modelling session runs on cloud infrastructure, so use a stable connection.[1][2]

The Free plan permits Zookeeper’s Auto mode. CAD modelling is unlimited, but Zookeeper reasoning is metered against usage credit. Check your available allowance before beginning; this exercise makes no promise about the credit needed.[3][4]

Describe one small part

Set the project units to millimetres. Use the following original practice prompt in Zookeeper. Its dimensions define the exercise, rather than a tested design or a specification for a particular load.[1]

Inspect the generated model from above, below and the side. Is the opening really through the part? Is it centred? Ask for one correction at a time, naming the feature and the dimension that should change.

Zookeeper can use selected faces, edges or features as context for an instruction. Its guide recommends incremental commands. It keeps sketches at the top level by default because visual sketch editing currently cannot reach sketches inside custom KCL function bodies.[3]

Check the geometry, then change a parameter

Click the ruler in the lower-right status bar to open Measure. Select a straight edge; its length appears in the current project units. Check the outer edges, opening edges and a vertical edge against your five requested dimensions. Measure currently supports edge lengths, not a general radius, area or volume check.[5]

For the proposed frame, centring a 40 mm opening inside a 60 mm length leaves 10 mm at each end: (60 − 40) ÷ 2. Centring a 10 mm opening across 30 mm likewise leaves 10 mm on each side. These are our calculations from the prompt, not measurements of generated geometry.

Try a second instruction: “Set the outer width to 34 mm, keeping the opening centred and its dimensions unchanged; keep the length and thickness unchanged.” Then inspect the model again. The intended side walls are now 12 mm each, while the end walls remain 10 mm. If another feature moves, correct it before continuing. This small change checks whether you can keep control of the part as the design evolves.

Export the solid and keep the editable project

Choose File → Export, select STEP and a local destination, then name the file and confirm. STEP preserves solid geometry; mesh formats approximate curved surfaces with triangles. Keep the scale at 1.0 when no unit conversion is needed, and check the source and destination units when moving between applications.[6]

Open the STEP file in the receiving CAD application and check its overall size and through-opening. Keep the Zoo project too: the export is the handover object, while the project retains the working design. The useful finish is a small part whose dimensions you have inspected and can deliberately revise.

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