AI Crystal Structure Viewer Minerals, salts and metal complexes, free
Free. Use your own Anthropic or OpenAI key.
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An example structure
A sample file from the viewer, from the same sources the AI uses: PubChem, the Protein Data Bank, the Crystallography Open Database or a textbook lattice.
Watch how it works
How it works
- 1. Describe it or add a photoType what you want in plain words, with sizes if you know them, or add a photo as a reference. Describe an object or a person.
- 2. The AI builds and checks itThe AI writes an OpenSCAD program for an object, or sets up the character generator for a person. It looks at six rendered views of the result and fixes what is wrong, up to five builds per message.
- 3. Refine and exportThe model opens in the viewer at real size. Ask for changes in the chat, move the sliders, then download it or pick a format from the Export menu.
Why make it with AI here
- Real materials come from experimental entries in the Crystallography Open Database, searchable by mineral name, compound name or formula.
- Metal complexes and organometallics such as ferrocene load from their crystal structures, with every atom in place.
- Idealised lattices are built from the cell and every atom site, a quick way to show students rock salt, diamond or perovskite.
Prompts to try
Click one to open it in the AI panel, then change the sizes to suit.
Getting the crystal out
- Download the CIF from the version list in the AI panel and open it in VESTA, Mercury or another crystallography program.
- For a 3D print or a model, open the Export menu and choose STL, 3MF, GLB or another format.
- Save the view as a PNG for slides and handouts.
Crystals loaded from COD are experimental structures, and the lattices the tool builds are idealised textbook cells. Ball and stick crystals print well when the bonds are thick enough for your printer.
Best export formats: GLB, STL, 3MF, PNG
Open AI Crystal Structure files in the free AI Crystal Structure viewer
Good to know
A crystal can only be loaded if it has an entry in the Crystallography Open Database; idealised lattices are drawn from textbook positions with no measured data. Surfaces, defects and amorphous materials are not modelled.
Cost and privacy
You use your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key. It is stored only in your browser and sent only to that provider, which bills you directly: a model typically costs $0.05 to $0.30 at Standard quality and up to about $1 at Detailed, and Innerscene charges nothing. Your key and prompts are not sent to Innerscene; we record anonymous usage statistics such as the steps used, the model chosen, token counts, a cost estimate and whether a model was made.