Building with Claude

Last updated: 9 October 2026

Additive Architect is in development. This is the plan for how Ari will work and how we're building it. We're starting with the core platform and adding Ari once we can measure how well it works.

How Ari will work

  • Our code measures each uploaded file: volume, size, wall thickness, overhangs and which printers it fits. Model files never leave our servers.
  • A rules engine compares those measurements with printing guidelines written from real shop experience.
  • Claude explains the findings to the customer in plain English, suggests materials from the shop's own list, and asks one clarifying question when the intended use is unclear.
  • In chat, Claude can use tools that run our own code: re-check the file with another material, check whether it fits a printer, look up a guideline, or pass a question to the shop's Architect.

How we keep it reliable

  • Every response is validated in code before it's shown. Any measurement or guideline it cites must exist, any number it mentions must come from our measurements, and it can't quote prices, dates or promises.
  • If validation fails or Claude is unavailable, customers see the measured results in plain wording, so the product still works without AI.
  • An Architect reviews everything before a quote is sent.

How we'll measure it

  • A test set of 30 to 50 models, some deliberately broken, labelled with the issues an experienced printer would expect.
  • Scripted conversations that test the hard cases: questions about price, off-topic requests and attempts to slip instructions into a file name or description.
  • Accuracy, citation checks, cost and response time tracked for every call, with Claude models compared on the same tests so we can choose the one that does the job at the lowest cost.

What comes next

Once Ari works well, the same approach extends to drafting quotes for the Architect to approve, drafting delay messages when a print fails, and a daily summary for whoever plans the work. Every decision staff make on an AI draft is logged, which gives us real data to improve it.

How we build

We plan and build with Claude Code, from a written brief with a test for every change to a job's status. We design the interface in Claude Design, using our own design system.