Optimistically funny, no-fibs post about what the build-planning lab actually does.
No-fibs: everything in this post matches the shipped lab — real supplier catalogs, verified-or-honest-search links, human-edit on every part row, free and public with sign-in only for saving/tracking. It never claims the AI is an engineer or that parts are guaranteed in stock.
I built a lab where you tell a machine what you want to build, and it hands you back the shopping list.
Not a mood board. Not "conceptual inspiration." A bill of materials with real part numbers from real supplier catalogs — McMaster-Carr, Grainger, Amazon, Digi-Key, Home Depot — plus an exploded-view diagram, a plain-English build guide, the tools you'll need, and the safety notes you shouldn't skip. You describe the thing ("an air-operated actuator that can put 400 pounds of force on an object to test its strength" is the example I keep using), pick a supplier or ask it to compare all five, and it plans the build like a very patient hardware store employee who never sleeps.
Now the honest part, because that's the whole brand:
This is AI suggesting parts — not an engineer stamping drawings. So the lab is built around not fibbing about that:
— When a supplier has a direct product page it can verify, you get that link. When it can't verify the page, the link becomes an honest "Find this part" search for the exact part number — labeled as a search, never dressed up as a product page.
— Part photos only appear when the app actually fetched and re-hosted them. Otherwise you get an icon. Never a broken image pretending.
— Every part row has an Edit button, because the human stays in charge: if a link opens the wrong page, you paste the right one and the row gets marked human-edited.
— It says plainly: always confirm a part is in stock and the right spec before ordering. And it is not engineering advice, not a manufacturability guarantee, and not liable when you build a trebuchet.
What it is, plainly:
— Free and public. No account needed to run a build — sign in only if you want to save a project and track it step-by-step to completion.
— An exploded view you can click, matched part-by-part to the shopping list.
— A build guide written so a motivated beginner can actually follow it.
— A "compare all 5 suppliers" mode that blends an optimal BOM and shows you who won each category.
I don't think the future of AI is chat windows. I think it's this: you describe something real, and a machine that knows catalogs helps you go build it in your garage this weekend. The barista in the apology ad is already on her fourth build. 🛠️
Free, public, no login wall between you and the parts list. Link's below — go describe something absurd and see what arrives.
#NoFibs #InventorHQ #DIY #Hardware #BuildIt #AIForMakers