I turned a sketch into a 3D-print pegboard for my kid with an AI agent
We have pegboards and plywood all over our apartment, and I had an idea to make a tiny pegboard for my kid, Oli. So I naturally cut the wood, drilled in the holes, sat down at the computer to open Fusion 360 and spend an hour or two drawing the pieces by hand. Then I looked at the rough sketch Oli and I had made together, took a photo of it, pasted it into Codex, and gave it just two dimensions: the holes are 40mm apart and the pegs are 8mm wide. To my surprise, 5 minutes later my 3D printer was heating up and printing the first set. I ran it a few times to tune the dimensions for ideal fit,…
In plain words
A maker used an AI agent to convert a hand-drawn sketch of a pegboard into a 3D-printable design. By photographing a rough drawing and providing basic dimensions to an AI tool, they generated a working 3D model in minutes instead of manually designing it in CAD software. The project includes tuned dimensions for proper peg fit and is shared as an open repository for others to print, customize, or modify.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
We have pegboards and plywood all over our apartment, and I had an idea to make a tiny pegboard for my kid, Oli. So I naturally cut the wood, drilled in the holes, sat down at the computer to open Fusion 360 and spend an hour or two drawing the pieces by hand. Then I looked at the rough sketch Oli and I had made together, took a photo of it, pasted it into Codex, and gave it just two dimensions: the holes are 40mm apart and the pegs are 8mm wide. To my surprise, 5 minutes later my 3D printer was heating up and printing the first set. I ran it a few times to tune the dimensions for ideal fit, but I am posting the final result as a repository in case anyone else wants to print one, tweak it, or have fun with it too. I am already printing another one to hang on our front door instead of a wreath, so people visiting us have something fun and intriguing to play with while they knock. This is also going onto my list of weird uses of AI from the last few months.
Does the same job
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Hey HN, I want to share a personal project: I made a tiny pen-plotted book for my wife. I did everything myself—drawings (with some help from Midjourney), plotting, cutting, and binding. I even used a 3D printer to make a helper tool. It's absolutely over-engineered, but I enjoyed it a lot. Multi-disciplinary projects, especially those with a physical output, are a lot of fun for me. The post covers the process in detail, but if you're interested in anything specific, let me know. Cheers!
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