Markforged founder Greg Mark’s new startup, Backflip AI, solely simply got here out of stealth and is already making waves within the design and manufacturing trade with its AI-powered CAD instruments. The corporate’s newest innovation is a SOLIDWORKS plugin and standalone app that transforms the method of changing 3D scan knowledge into absolutely parametric CAD fashions.
In an unique interview, Mark mentioned the corporate’s imaginative and prescient, the brand new plugin’s capabilities, and the broader implications for CAD customers throughout industries. Mark’s demo showcased how engineers and producers can seamlessly convert scanned components into absolutely editable CAD recordsdata, eliminating the standard bottlenecks in reverse engineering.
Turbocharging CAD with AI
Backflip’s core philosophy is CAD agnosticism—empowering customers to retain their current CAD workflows whereas considerably enhancing effectivity. “We love CAD. Maintain your CAD,” mentioned Greg Mark. “We don’t need to pressure anybody to vary what they’re already good at. If you happen to’ve spent hundreds of hours mastering SOLIDWORKS, NX, or another CAD system, we wish you to remain there. Our purpose is to not make you turn—it’s to turbocharge your current workflow. The plugin means that you can work inside your CAD atmosphere and seamlessly convert scanned knowledge into one thing absolutely editable with out leaping between instruments.”
The AI-driven plugin permits customers to transform STL recordsdata and scanned meshes into editable parametric fashions with out switching software program. The corporate goals to increase help to a number of CAD platforms, making certain seamless integration throughout the trade. The demo highlighted this flexibility, exhibiting how customers might work inside their most well-liked CAD environments.
How It Works
The SOLIDWORKS plugin operates as a aspect panel the place customers can add STL recordsdata. Backflip’s cloud-based GPU processing then generates 4 totally different parametric variations of the half, permitting customers to pick out probably the most correct mannequin. The plugin then mechanically rebuilds the mannequin inside SOLIDWORKS, making a full characteristic tree as if it had been manually designed.
“This isn’t some black-box magic,” defined Mark. “SOLIDWORKS sees it as a totally native mannequin, full with sketches, extrusions, and patterns. What meaning is, so far as your CAD software program is anxious, you constructed this half your self. It was extremely tough to get this proper, however we knew it needed to be carried out correctly. We would like AI-assisted design to be absolutely interoperable with skilled CAD workflows. This isn’t only a midway resolution—it’s a real extension of the designer’s capabilities.”
Not like current AI instruments, like ChatGPT and DALL-E, wherein superior software program that has by no means really encountered the bodily world fabricates textual content, photos, and films, the fashions created by Backflip really feel as if they had been made by a human. That’s, the AI can deal with normal CAD operations resembling extrudes, revolves, chamfers, and fillets, constructing an entire characteristic tree.
Addressing Manufacturing Challenges
One of many key purposes of Backflip’s expertise is in manufacturing upkeep and restore. When a machine half breaks, it typically halts manufacturing strains, costing firms hundreds of thousands in downtime. Historically, engineers should manually reverse-engineer a component, a time-consuming course of. With Backflip, a easy 3D scan could be immediately transformed right into a manufacturable CAD mannequin, considerably lowering downtime.
Mark highlighted the significance of this strategy for industries like automotive and aerospace, the place ageing tools typically lacks digital design recordsdata. “3D printing as an trade has a counterintuitive workflow,” he mentioned. “If you happen to’re machining a component and the outlet comes out too small, you don’t redraw your complete half—you simply modify the device offset. However in 3D printing, individuals even have to return into CAD and modify the geometry itself. With Backflip, you usher in an STL, and it immediately turns into parametric. You possibly can tweak it, make changes, and ship it again to the printer or the manufacturing unit ground with out having to redraw all the things from scratch. That’s enormous for firms coping with fixed iteration and manufacturing changes.”
Increasing Past SOLIDWORKS
Whereas SOLIDWORKS was chosen because the preliminary platform as a result of its widespread adoption, Backflip has plans to develop. Future plugins will help CAD software program like Siemens NX, PTC Creo, and Autodesk Fusion 360, amongst different cloud-based CAD platforms. For customers outdoors these ecosystems, a standalone internet app will supply step file conversions for broader compatibility.
“The explanation we began with SOLIDWORKS is easy—it has a large person base, and it’s a device we all know effectively,” Mark mentioned. “However our imaginative and prescient extends past any single CAD system. We would like Backflip to be accessible to each engineer, whatever the software program they use. That’s why our subsequent steps contain rolling out integrations for different main CAD applications. On the similar time, we’ll additionally supply a standalone app for customers who simply must shortly convert STL recordsdata to parametric CAD and not using a plugin.”
A singular side of Backflip’s device is its instructional part. The plugin doesn’t simply create a component—it exhibits customers the way it was constructed, step-by-step. “It’s like having a turbocharged CAD assistant,” mentioned Mark. “For knowledgeable engineers, it accelerates workflows. For brand new customers, it supplies an on-ramp into skilled CAD software program. One of many largest obstacles to CAD adoption is the sheer complexity of ranging from scratch. However in case you can scan a component and instantly see the way it was reconstructed—extrudes, cuts, patterns—it turns into a lot simpler to switch and be taught from. We’re not simply automating design; we’re instructing individuals how you can assume like CAD engineers.”
The demo strengthened this by visually strolling via every design step, highlighting how the AI intelligently detects design intent and reconstructs components in a approach that aligns with finest CAD practices. This performance not solely streamlines engineering work but additionally serves as a studying device for these new to CAD modeling.
The Way forward for AI in CAD
The corporate continues to be finalizing pricing however plans to supply a freemium mannequin much like Onshape. A free tier will permit public mannequin sharing, whereas professional and enterprise variations will supply personal designs and extra options. With AI inference operating on cloud GPUs, pricing will think about usage-based prices.
“We’ll have a free model the place fashions are public, after which fairly priced professional and enterprise choices for companies that want privateness and extra options,” Mark defined. “We’re not within the enterprise of constructing CAD much less accessible. Our purpose is to present individuals extra energy to design and iterate quicker, with out placing up pointless value obstacles.”
Mark in contrast Backflip’s present stage to early iterations of generative AI, stating, “We’re at GPT-2 stage now. By the tip of the yr, we count on to hit GPT-4-level accuracy. Proper now, it handles about 10% of components rather well. Inside months, that’ll be 95%. That’s why we’re protecting beta testing tight—we need to refine it earlier than opening the floodgates.”
For now, Backflip is targeted on rolling out its beta program, gathering person suggestions, and refining the expertise earlier than a broader launch. customers can join early entry on Backflip’s web site.
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