compare_materials

Compare material properties like strength, flexibility, and heat resistance to select the best filament for your 3D printing project.

Instructions

Compare 2-3 material types side by side across all properties: strength, flexibility, heat resistance, food safety, print difficulty, and more. Useful for deciding which material to use for a project.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`materials`	Yes	Array of 2-3 material type names to compare (e.g., ["PLA", "PETG", "ABS"])

Implementation Reference

src/tools/compare-materials.ts:30-103 (handler)

The handler function retrieves material profiles from the database and constructs a markdown table comparing their properties.

async ({ materials }) => {
  const profiles: MaterialProfileRow[] = [];
  for (const name of materials) {
    let profile = getMaterialProfile(db, name);
    if (!profile) {
      profile = getMaterialProfile(db, name.toUpperCase());
    }
    if (!profile) {
      return {
        isError: true,
        content: [
          {
            type: 'text' as const,
            text: `Material "${name}" not found. Cannot compare. Available materials: ${getAvailableMaterialNames(db).join(', ')}`,
          },
        ],
      };
    }
    profiles.push(profile);
  }

  const names = profiles.map((p) => p.material_name);
  const header = `# Material Comparison: ${names.join(' vs ')}\n`;

  const properties: { label: string; getter: (p: MaterialProfileRow) => string }[] = [
    { label: 'Print Temp', getter: (p) => `${p.print_temp_min}-${p.print_temp_max}°C` },
    { label: 'Bed Temp', getter: (p) => `${p.bed_temp_min}-${p.bed_temp_max}°C` },
    { label: 'Strength', getter: (p) => p.strength },
    { label: 'Flexibility', getter: (p) => p.flexibility },
    { label: 'UV Resistance', getter: (p) => p.uv_resistance },
    { label: 'Food Safe', getter: (p) => p.food_safe },
    { label: 'Moisture Sensitivity', getter: (p) => p.moisture_sensitivity },
    { label: 'Difficulty', getter: (p) => p.difficulty },
    { label: 'Enclosure Needed', getter: (p) => p.enclosure_needed ? 'Yes' : 'No' },
    { label: 'Nozzle', getter: (p) => p.nozzle_notes ?? 'Standard' },
  ];

  // Build table
  const colWidth = 25;
  const labelWidth = 22;
  const separator = '-'.repeat(labelWidth + colWidth * names.length + names.length + 1);

  let table = `| ${'Property'.padEnd(labelWidth)}|`;
  for (const name of names) {
    table += ` ${name.padEnd(colWidth - 1)}|`;
  }
  table += '\n' + separator + '\n';

  for (const prop of properties) {
    let row = `| ${prop.label.padEnd(labelWidth)}|`;
    for (const profile of profiles) {
      const val = prop.getter(profile);
      row += ` ${val.substring(0, colWidth - 2).padEnd(colWidth - 1)}|`;
    }
    table += row + '\n';
  }

  // When to use summary
  const whenToUse = profiles
    .map(
      (p) => `- **${p.material_name}**: ${p.typical_uses} (${p.pros})`,
    )
    .join('\n');

  const text = [
    header,
    table,
    '',
    '## When to use each',
    whenToUse,
  ].join('\n');

  return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text }] };
},

src/tools/compare-materials.ts:20-28 (schema)

The input schema validates that an array of 2-3 material names is provided.

inputSchema: {
  materials: z
    .array(z.string())
    .min(2)
    .max(3)
    .describe(
      'Array of 2-3 material type names to compare (e.g., ["PLA", "PETG", "ABS"])',
    ),
},

src/tools/compare-materials.ts:10-105 (registration)

The tool registration function for "compare_materials" on the McpServer instance.

export function registerCompareMaterials(
  server: McpServer,
  db: Database.Database,
): void {
  server.registerTool(
    'compare_materials',
    {
      title: 'Compare Materials',
      description:
        'Compare 2-3 material types side by side across all properties: strength, flexibility, heat resistance, food safety, print difficulty, and more. Useful for deciding which material to use for a project.',
      inputSchema: {
        materials: z
          .array(z.string())
          .min(2)
          .max(3)
          .describe(
            'Array of 2-3 material type names to compare (e.g., ["PLA", "PETG", "ABS"])',
          ),
      },
    },
    async ({ materials }) => {
      const profiles: MaterialProfileRow[] = [];
      for (const name of materials) {
        let profile = getMaterialProfile(db, name);
        if (!profile) {
          profile = getMaterialProfile(db, name.toUpperCase());
        }
        if (!profile) {
          return {
            isError: true,
            content: [
              {
                type: 'text' as const,
                text: `Material "${name}" not found. Cannot compare. Available materials: ${getAvailableMaterialNames(db).join(', ')}`,
              },
            ],
          };
        }
        profiles.push(profile);
      }

      const names = profiles.map((p) => p.material_name);
      const header = `# Material Comparison: ${names.join(' vs ')}\n`;

      const properties: { label: string; getter: (p: MaterialProfileRow) => string }[] = [
        { label: 'Print Temp', getter: (p) => `${p.print_temp_min}-${p.print_temp_max}°C` },
        { label: 'Bed Temp', getter: (p) => `${p.bed_temp_min}-${p.bed_temp_max}°C` },
        { label: 'Strength', getter: (p) => p.strength },
        { label: 'Flexibility', getter: (p) => p.flexibility },
        { label: 'UV Resistance', getter: (p) => p.uv_resistance },
        { label: 'Food Safe', getter: (p) => p.food_safe },
        { label: 'Moisture Sensitivity', getter: (p) => p.moisture_sensitivity },
        { label: 'Difficulty', getter: (p) => p.difficulty },
        { label: 'Enclosure Needed', getter: (p) => p.enclosure_needed ? 'Yes' : 'No' },
        { label: 'Nozzle', getter: (p) => p.nozzle_notes ?? 'Standard' },
      ];

      // Build table
      const colWidth = 25;
      const labelWidth = 22;
      const separator = '-'.repeat(labelWidth + colWidth * names.length + names.length + 1);

      let table = `| ${'Property'.padEnd(labelWidth)}|`;
      for (const name of names) {
        table += ` ${name.padEnd(colWidth - 1)}|`;
      }
      table += '\n' + separator + '\n';

      for (const prop of properties) {
        let row = `| ${prop.label.padEnd(labelWidth)}|`;
        for (const profile of profiles) {
          const val = prop.getter(profile);
          row += ` ${val.substring(0, colWidth - 2).padEnd(colWidth - 1)}|`;
        }
        table += row + '\n';
      }

      // When to use summary
      const whenToUse = profiles
        .map(
          (p) => `- **${p.material_name}**: ${p.typical_uses} (${p.pros})`,
        )
        .join('\n');

      const text = [
        header,
        table,
        '',
        '## When to use each',
        whenToUse,
      ].join('\n');

      return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text }] };
    },
  );
}

3dprint-oracle