Claude can also work on your designs with Caliper3D closed. The caliper3d-mcp tool inside Caliper3D opens, changes, renders and saves .caliper3d files and exports STL, with nothing on screen. Claude starts it when it needs it, so there's no switch, port or token.
Setting it up
- Claude Code: in Settings (⌘,), click Copy Setup for Working on Files, then paste it into Terminal and run it. Claude Code lists it as caliper3d-files.
- Claude Desktop: choose Settings › Developer › Edit Config in Claude Desktop, and add
"caliper3d-files": { "command": "/Applications/Caliper3D.app/Contents/MacOS/caliper3d-mcp" }under"mcpServers", with the path to your copy of Caliper3D. Then restart Claude Desktop.
If you move Caliper3D, set it up again.
How it works
- Opening: Claude opens a design by its path, or an STL as a new design holding the model. It can start new designs, blank or from a template.
- Paths are relative to where Claude started the tool: your project's folder in Claude Code, or your Documents folder in Claude Desktop.
- Saving happens only when Claude saves. It never replaces another file unless you ask it to, and won't close a design with unsaved changes unless told to.
- Exporting writes the STL beside the saved design, such as Bracket.stl next to Bracket.caliper3d, or wherever Claude is told.
- Undo works for the session, one step a change, as in the app.