Make parts from CAD: STEP file to quotes and orders

The Make API takes a folder of CAD files to real quotes in four calls. Maglev reads each part’s geometry, decides how it should be made and sends it to a shop that makes it:

Process	Shops asked	Quote
CNC machining	Make Parts Now, plus Justway, PCBWay, SendCutSend, Protolabs, Craftcloud, RivCut, Weerg and others through the Agentic Fabrication Network	Live prices and dates, one offer per shop
Sheet metal	RMFG, plus SendCutSend, Justway, PCBWay, Protolabs and others through the Agentic Fabrication Network	Live prices and dates, one offer per shop
Injection molding	SSG MFG	Budgetary estimate including tooling
Wire harness	MiniProto	Live price

Which shops answer depends on the part; a shop that can’t make it simply doesn’t return an offer. Agents that speak MCP get the same four steps as tools at https://trymaglev.com/mcp (see MCP server). This page uses plain HTTP.

1. Get a key

Log in or sign up at trymaglev.com/dashboard, open API keys in the sidebar, and choose Create secret key. Name the key; it is shown once, with a Copy button, and the dashboard checks it against GET /api/v1/me right away. Keep it in your environment or a secret manager:

export MAGLEV_KEY=mgl_…

Keys from Connect agent (saved in ~/.maglev/token) work the same way. Check a key with:

curl https://trymaglev.com/api/v1/me -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAGLEV_KEY"

2. Upload each file

Send a STEP file (.step, .stp) or a wire harness spec (.json), up to 20 MB each. Files are kept for 7 days.

curl https://trymaglev.com/api/v1/files \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAGLEV_KEY" \
  -F "file=@base_bracket.step"

{
 "file_id": "f_8c41…",
 "name": "base_bracket.step",
 "bbox_mm": [80, 40, 40],
 "suggested_process": "sheet_metal",
 "route_reason": "bent sheet: 2 mm thick, R2 inside bend radius"
}

The route comes from the part’s own geometry, not its file name. See how routing works.

3. Check that each part can be made

curl https://trymaglev.com/api/v1/check \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAGLEV_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file_ids": ["f_8c41…", "f_2be0…"]}'

Each file comes back with its process, shop, routed_because and any issues. A blocker issue must be fixed before quoting. ready_to_quote is true when every file is clear.

4. Get quotes from every shop

curl https://trymaglev.com/api/v1/quotes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAGLEV_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: robot-joint-qty10" \
  -d '{"file_ids": ["f_8c41…", "f_2be0…"], "quantity": 10, "sort": "price"}'

Every shop that makes each part’s process is asked in parallel, and every offer comes back, sorted by your sort (price or lead_time). A four-part request usually answers in 10 to 20 seconds.

{
 "request_id": "rq_dd60…",
 "parts": [
  { "file": "joint_housing.step", "process": "cnc_machining",
    "offers": [
     { "quote_id": "mq_…", "shop": { "name": "Justway", "country": "CN", "via": "AFN" }, "price_type": "firm", "total_usd": 226.35, "arrives_by": "2026-11-20" },
     { "quote_id": "mq_…", "shop": { "name": "PCBWay", "country": "CN", "via": "AFN" }, "price_type": "firm", "total_usd": 257.08, "arrives_by": "2026-11-23" },
     { "quote_id": "mq_…", "shop": { "name": "Make Parts Now", "country": "US" }, "price_type": "firm", "total_usd": 543.07, "ships_by": "2026-11-19" }
    ] },
  { "file": "base_bracket.step", "process": "sheet_metal",
    "offers": [
     { "quote_id": "mq_…", "shop": { "name": "SendCutSend", "country": "US", "via": "AFN" }, "price_type": "firm", "total_usd": 40.5, "arrives_by": "2026-11-16" },
     { "quote_id": "mq_…", "shop": { "name": "RMFG", "country": "US" }, "price_type": "firm", "total_usd": 77, "ships_by": "2026-11-15" }
    ] }
 ]
}

These are real prices from the robot-joint example on November 9, 2026 (shortened; that run returned 12 CNC offers and 7 sheet-metal offers). Show the person every offer; Maglev doesn’t pick a winner. Molding totals include the one-time mold cost, listed in one_time_costs. Field details are in the reference.

5. Order, with a person’s approval

Ordering takes two calls, so nothing is ever bought without a person seeing the exact total. First, ask for the final total. Nothing is charged:

curl https://trymaglev.com/api/v1/orders \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAGLEV_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"quote_id": "mq_8e95…"}'

{ "status": "needs_approval", "charged": false, "final_total_usd": 77, "ask_human": "Charge $77 to Maglev's card on file at RMFG for 10 × base_bracket.step?" }

Show ask_human to a person. When they approve, send the same total back with a note saying who approved it:

curl https://trymaglev.com/api/v1/orders \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAGLEV_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"quote_id": "mq_8e95…", "approved_total_usd": 77, "approval_note": "Approved by Ada in chat, 2026-11-09"}'

If the total changed, the call returns needs_approval again with the new total. Ordering the same quote twice returns the first order. What happens next depends on the shop:

Shop	After approval
RMFG	Paid with Maglev’s card on file. Returns `ordered` with an order link
Make Parts Now	Returns `checkout_created` with a checkout link for the ship-to address and payment
MiniProto	Returns `checkout_created` with the saved design to pay for
SSG MFG	Sends the request for quote. Returns `rfq_sent`; their team replies with a firm quote

How routing works

Maglev reads the surfaces in the STEP file:

Sheet metal: bends (two cylinders on one axis whose radii differ by a sheet thickness) and the same thickness everywhere.
Injection molding: drafted walls, meaning tapered side faces on a part with no bends.
CNC machining: any other solid, such as blocks with pockets, bores and holes.

Harness specs (.json) go to wire harness. If the geometry can’t decide, the file name is used. To choose yourself, pass processes to check or quotes:

{ "file_ids": ["f_8c41…"], "processes": { "f_8c41…": "cnc_machining" } }

Track everything

GET /api/v1/requests lists your requests, newest first, each part with every offer and its order status. The same history is on your dashboard, where each part’s offers are laid out in a comparison table.

Teams

On the dashboard, Members → Invite people adds teammates to your workspace by email. Everyone in a workspace sees the same requests, offers, orders and usage. API keys stay personal: each person creates their own, and a revoked key affects only its owner. The full list of endpoints and fields is in the Make API reference.

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How-to

Open data

API reference

Make parts from CAD: STEP file to quotes and orders

1. Get a key

2. Upload each file

3. Check that each part can be made

4. Get quotes from every shop

5. Order, with a person’s approval

How routing works

Track everything

Teams

​1. Get a key

​2. Upload each file

​3. Check that each part can be made

​4. Get quotes from every shop

​5. Order, with a person’s approval

​How routing works

​Track everything

​Teams

1. Get a key

2. Upload each file

3. Check that each part can be made

4. Get quotes from every shop

5. Order, with a person’s approval

How routing works

Track everything

Teams