Zookeeper (Zoo Text-to-CAD)

What is Zookeeper (Zoo Text-to-CAD)?

Zookeeper is a freemium AI assistant inside Zoo Design Studio that turns a written description of a part into an editable CAD model you can export as STL. It replaced Zoo's earlier Text-to-CAD tool, and the old Text-to-CAD page now redirects to it. You type what you need in plain English, ideally with sizes, for example a 60 mm wall plate with four screw holes, and it builds a solid model. It can also work from an image or a sketch, and you can keep asking for changes such as rounded edges, extra holes or thicker walls.

Behind the scenes it writes KCL, Zoo's own CAD code, so every dimension stays editable instead of being baked into a mesh. When the part looks right you export it as STL for your slicer, or as STEP, OBJ, glTF/GLB or PLY. In the desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux, an optional plugin can also send the STL straight to PrusaSlicer or UltiMaker Cura.

It suits makers who want exact functional parts like brackets, mounts, spacers and enclosures rather than figurines. Expect a full CAD workspace with a feature tree and code editor around the chat. You need a free account before the app opens, the free plan includes 20 minutes of Zookeeper time a month, and results can be wrong, so check the sizes before you print.

What you can make

• Brackets, mounts and mounting plates
• Spacers and other simple mechanical parts
• Electronics enclosures
• Editable parametric CAD models for further tweaking

How to use Zookeeper

1. Open zoo.dev/zookeeper and click Try in Browser, or install the desktop app
2. Sign in with GitHub, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Discord or an email link; a free account is created on first sign-in
3. Describe the part in the Zookeeper chat, including sizes in mm
4. Ask for changes until it looks right, then use File > Export and pick STL
5. Slice the STL, confirm the slicer reads it in millimeters and check the dimensions before printing