Asking AI to design a plastic part nobody sells

I didn't draw this part at all. I told an AI what I needed, attached a few photos, and got back a 3D file ready to print.

A small plastic part nobody sells

My friend's car just lost the plastic end cap of its hood prop rod. It's a small part that nobody sells, and without it, it's a real nuisance.

How would I normally do it?

Normally I'd measure it with calipers. For more complex surfaces I'd get the scanner out and rebuild the shape in modelling software.

This time I tried something else. No design software at all, just the everyday AI tools people already use to edit photos, write documents and draft emails: ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. This time it was Claude.

Describe it, attach photos, wait

I told the AI what I needed and what it was for, and attached a few photos with the measurements. The prompt, translated: "Rebuild the plastic part of a car's hood prop rod, using the reference measurements in the photos. Return a 3D file I can view right here and 3D print."

About five minutes later I had a 3D file. I could rotate it, change its colour and view it right in the browser, and most importantly, it was ready to print.

The first version was a bit big

The first version was actually a little too big, so I asked it to go about 1 mm smaller. No redrawing, no settings to dig through, just one sentence.

Done.

Can AI replace design?

Not yet. I don't think AI can fully replace design work at this point. But for small everyday things, when you don't yet have the skills for professional design software, AI is a very good option and well worth considering.

What do you think I should ask AI to redesign next? Thanks for reading this far.