NEWPlug in your laser — Ruida & GRBL control, live from the browser

Describe it. Photograph it. Machine it.

HelioCad is AI-powered CAD/CAM in your browser. Describe a part — or snap photos of one — and the AI models it, measures its own work, programs your machine, and simulates the whole job before you ever press cycle start.

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Photo → 3D scan2.5D–5-axis AI CAMDirect laser control (Ruida + GRBL)Mold makingAI 2D drawingsFEA simulation
HelioCadUntitled Project
Team PlanUnlimited AIdemo@heliocad.com
ModelAssemblySimulateBETAManufactureLaserDrawingRenderBETA
FILE MODIFY VIEWFitSectionMeasureParamsMass
📁Untitled Project
Document Settings
Named Views
Origin
Bodies
No bodies
+L-Bracket
Sketches
Features
No features yet
Sketch001
Extrude001
Hole Pattern
Fillet001
FRONTRIGHTTOP
160 mm180 mm
Heliocad AI
Describe what you want to make.Try: “Make a 2 inch box”Or select geometry and describe changesPaste or drop images & 3D files
Create a mounting L bracket that is 160mm x 180mm with 13mm holes spaced out
Created an L-bracket: 160 × 180 mm with 4× 13 mm bolt holes spaced evenly. Sketched on XY plane, extruded 8 mm with 2 mm fillets on the interior corner.
+Reply...
Agent HelioAI HELIO 1.5
Saved 2m ago
MATERIALSSELECTIONSHISTORYmm|in
7-day free trial
Cancel anytime
No install — runs in your browser
Works on your phone — install as an app
No lock-in — export anytime
NEW · Capture

The part in your hand, in CAD in minutes

Open HelioCad on your phone. A guided capture walks you around the part shot by shot, the AI rebuilds it as a clean parametric model — not a mesh — and one caliper measurement locks in true scale. Then check it against reality: view any model in AR, right on your bench.

  • Guided multi-photo capture
  • AI rebuild with caliper-seeded dimensions
  • AR viewing + installable mobile app
See how phone scanning works →
HelioCad·Scan to CAD
Phone Scan
Shot 1 of 8Shot 4 of 8Shot 8 of 8
📏 Seed dimension · 160.0 mm
Rebuilding with AI…
Parametric model · 1 body
160 × 180 × 8 mm ✓
View in AR
Add HelioCad to Home Screen
One platform, end to end

Everything you need to design, analyze, and manufacture

From a text prompt to machine-ready G-code — design, simulate, and manufacture without ever switching tools.

Design

Describe it. Watch it build. Watch it check itself.

Type or speak what you need — or drop in photos, drawings, and caliper measurements. HelioCad's AI writes real parametric CAD, renders it in seconds, then measures its own model and fixes any dimension that's off. It reads spec sheets, pulls dimensions from drawings, and researches real parts on the web when it needs facts.

Heliocad AI

Describe what you want to make.

Try: "Make a 2 inch box"

Or select geometry and describe changes

Paste or drop images & 3D files

Rebuild this bracket from my photos — match my caliper measurements.
bracket_photo.jpg📏 160.0 / 180.0 / 8.0 mm
Thinking…

Building an L-bracket — 160 × 180 mm base, 8 mm thick, with four 13 mm holes and 2 mm fillets.

result = (
Workplane("XY")
.rect(160, 180)
.extrude(8)
.faces(">Z").workplane()
.rect(120, 140, forConstruction=True)
.vertices().hole(13)
.edges("|Z").fillet(2)
)
Reply...
HELIO 1.5
No bodies — awaiting code execution
FRONTRIGHTTOP
L-Bracket · 1 body
Measured: 160.02 ✓ 180.00 ✓ Ø13.0 ✓
Simulate

Prove the whole job before you press start

Run your program on a full parametric machine — VMC, 4th-axis, trunnion, gantry, lathe, or mill-turn — with animated kinematics, live DRO, and material removal. Or upload your own machine.

HelioCadAdapter-Plate.heliocad
Simulation
VMC4th-AxisTrunnionGantryLatheMill-TurnUpload your machine
TRUNNION A/C · 5-AXIS SIM
Collision check ✓Travel limits ✓Op 3/3 · Adaptive
Machine DRORUN
X142.31896.450118.204
Y-12.07624.3188.662
Z45.10012.7506.320
A0.000-15.00020.000
C0.000118.500245.000
FEED2400 mm/min
CYCLE TIME
04:1002:37−38%
Kinematics valid
0 collisions · 12,408 moves simulatedMM|IN
Manufacture

G-code your machine will love

From 2.5D pockets to 5-axis simultaneous, with 11 proven controller posts. Stay-down linking, arc fitting, and chip-thinning-aware feeds cut real cycle time — and AI Orchestrate plans stock, setup, and tooling from one sentence.

HelioCadL-Bracket.heliocad
Team PlanUnlimited AIdemo@heliocad.com
ModelSheet MetalHIDDENAssemblySimulateBETAManufactureDrawingRenderBETACustomize
SETUPStock|OPERATIONSFacePocketContourDrillAdaptive|TOOLS3-Axis Mill
Setup1
Stock: 200×180×10
WCS: G54
Origin: Top-Left
Tools
6mm Flat
3mm Ball
4mm Drill
10mm Flat
Operations
No operations
Face001
Contour001
Drill001 (×4)
FRONTRIGHTTOP
stock
G-code Preview
Click Generate to postOutput appears here
Generating toolpaths…
(HelioCad CAM v1.0)
(Stock 200x180x10 6061)
(T1 6mm Flat End Mill)
G21 G90 G94
T1 M6
S12000 M3
G0 X0 Y0 Z5
G1 Z-2 F300
G1 X160 F800
G1 Y10
G1 X0
G0 Z25
M30
−38% cycle time
Export G-code
Saved
Stay-down ✓Arc-fit G2/G3Helix entry3 ops · 1,234 lines · Est. 12m 30sMM|IN
Manufacture

Run your laser straight from the browser

Jog, frame, hold-to-fire, and run over USB — GRBL and Ruida DSP alike — with live playback of the head on the bed, plus an overhead camera or a printable 1:1 placement jig for exact positioning.

HelioCadLaser · Machine Control
● Connected — USB○ Disconnected
CAM · BED PROJECTION
400 × 300 mm
⏱ 04:12⏱ 02:05
Job complete ✓
Ruida 6445G · USBConnect USB
X26.600.0048.20mm
Y38.500.0062.00mm
FrameRunPause
JOB PROGRESSPass 2 of 2Pass 1 of 2
Ruida DSP · direct USB
GRBL & Ruida over Web Serial · Chrome & Edge
Document

Drawings that draft themselves

The AI turns your 3D model into an ISO or ANSI technical drawing — views, dimensions, GD&T — then revises it in conversation. Export DXF or PDF.

HelioCadAI Drafter · ISO A3
Team PlanUnlimited AIdemo@heliocad.com
ModelSheet MetalHIDDENAssemblySimulateBETAManufactureDrawingRenderBETACustomize
VIEWS✦ AI Draft DrawingSectionDetailProjectedAuxiliary|ANNOTATEDimAuto DimGD&TNote1:2 |A3 |↓ PDF↓ DXF
3D model — click ✦ AI Draft Drawing to project drawing views
FRONT
AA60.0030.00⌀5.00
TOP
40.0040.00⌀0.1AB
RIGHT
10.00A0.05A
SECTION A-A
TITLEL-Bracket
DRAWN BYbill@heliocad.com
DATE2026-04-30
SCALE1:2
SHEETA3 · Rev A
AI drafted
Move section A-A through the bores
PDF exportedL-Bracket-Rev-A.pdf
Saved
A3 · 1:2 · 4 views · 100%PDF|DXF

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And still counting

Six more workspaces, same browser tab.

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From prompt to part

Describe it. Refine it. Cut it.

One pipeline from a sentence — or a photo — to a finished part: parametric model, real constraints, simulated and machine-ready output. No tool-switching, no file round-trips.

HelioCad·Prompt → Part → G-code
Live pipeline
01 · DESCRIBE
L-bracket, 160×180 mm, 4× Ø13 bolt holes
Agent · generating parametric model…
02 · REFINE160 mm✓ Fully constrained
03 · MAKE
G21 G90
G0 X0 Y0 Z5
G1 Z-2 F300
G1 X160 F800
M30
G-code · .rd · STEP
01Under a minute

Describe

Type it, speak it, or snap photos of the part in your hand. HelioCad's AI writes real parametric CAD and renders an editable model — features and sketches, not a frozen mesh.

02Minutes, not hours

Refine

Lock it down with dimensions and constraints — the AI measures its own model and fixes deviations — then run FEA to confirm it holds.

03One click

Make

Generate optimized milling, turning, or laser toolpaths — or let AI Orchestrate plan the whole job — prove it in full machine simulation, then export G-code or run the laser job right from the browser.

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Simple, transparent pricing

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Maker

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For professional machinists and small job shops.

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$99/user /mo

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For production shops and multi-user teams.

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