This page maps every user-facing flow as a decision tree with explicit error states, cross-flow links, and backend mappings. Seven flows cover the whole customer-and-operator surface: upload-mode design, AI-mode design, catalogue purchase, gallery browse and purchase, returns, admin manufacturing and reorder, and the pre-order flow that runs during the early launch phase. Each flow specifies what can go wrong at every step, what the user sees, and where the system routes them. The flows are not isolated — upload mode and AI mode converge at the same processing screen; every purchase entry converges at the Cart so the checkout is consistent regardless of entry; gallery purchase reuses the same checkout as catalogue and design-review purchase; and the AI-mode resume path crosses tabs from Account back to Create so a half-finished AI design is never lost.
A customer chooses upload mode on the Mode Selector and uploads a 3D file from their device. The application validates the format (only GLB, GLTF, STL, and OBJ are supported) and the size (fifty megabytes or less). When either check fails, the inline error stays on the upload screen and the user picks a different file. After validation, the file uploads to object storage through a pre-signed URL. Failed uploads retry automatically up to three times with exponential backoff; an exhausted retry shows a clear "check your connection and try again" message. A successful upload creates a Design record and queues the twelve-stage pipeline job.
The Processing screen opens a Server-Sent Events connection and streams stage-by-stage progress: Import, Repair, Voxelise, Align, Blockify, Validate, Fasteners, Assembly, Bill of Materials, Instructions, Export, Package. Each stage is labelled in human-readable terms. A fatal failure in any stage shows a stage-specific recovery message with three actions — try again, upload a different file, or go home.
Once the pipeline completes, the user lands on Design Review. The 3D viewer loads with four view modes (Assembly, Source, Blocks, Fasteners). If WebGL fails or the canvas does not initialise, the screen falls back to a Bill of Materials text summary and the user can still proceed to order. A re-optimise control lets the user request a different solver outcome (fast, balanced, best), which re-queues the pipeline.
The "Add to Cart — [price]" call-to-action sits sticky at the bottom of the viewport. Tapping it calculates the price and adds the item to the cart. The cart shows items, value-added tax, shipping, and total, and the checkout call-to-action redirects to the Stripe-hosted payment page. After payment, the Order Confirmation screen shows the order number, an estimated delivery date, and a direct link to the Assembly Viewer. Behind the scenes, the order submits to the third-party logistics partner. If submission fails, the system retries silently every fifteen minutes for up to twenty-four hours; an admin alert fires after three consecutive failures. The customer sees a normal confirmation either way and is notified when tracking becomes available.
The diagram traces the upload-mode happy path with the two validation gates that protect it. From the Create tab the customer enters the Mode Selector and lands on the upload screen, where format and size each have a yes-or-no gate; either failure loops the user back to the upload screen with an inline error rather than progressing into wasted pipeline work. Once both gates clear, the file uploads, runs through the twelve-stage pipeline, and surfaces on Design Review. From there the flow is linear into the Cart, Stripe checkout, Order Confirmation, and finally the Assembly Viewer reached through the QR code on the delivered kit.
The user opens the Mode Selector and the credit-sufficiency gate on the AI-mode card displays the total cost — around thirteen credits for the full pipeline — and a warning if the balance is lower. The user proceeds with informed consent; they are not blocked. The AI Prompt screen accepts a text description with prompt examples and an optional reference image. The credit cost breakdown is visible: one credit for the initial generation, free iterations, five credits for 3D generation, and seven credits for the pipeline conversion.
A single credit funds the first generation. The AI provider chain produces a frontal preview image, with automatic fallback to alternate providers if the primary fails. If every provider is exhausted, the user sees "AI generation is temporarily unavailable" and credits are not deducted. The user iterates on the frontal view for free — any number of refinements with new prompts or reference images — until they approve it. The Projection Workflow then collects the remaining seven views: left, right, back, top, bottom, three-quarter left, and three-quarter right. The user can iterate or approve each angle individually, and an "Auto-generate remaining" action appears above the fold after the first approval so the user can complete the set with one tap. All approved projections persist server-side; the user can return later through "Resume" on My Designs.
After all eight projections are approved, the 3D Model Generation screen presents outcome-based quality choices (recommended, fast, detailed) without exposing provider names. Five credits fund the generation. A failed attempt retries once automatically; after that, the user can try a different option, save and exit, or start over — credits are refunded for the failed step. The 3D Preview screen lets the user rotate and inspect the generated model. Accepting it sends the model into the twelve-stage pipeline starting at Import, joining the upload-mode flow at the processing screen. From there the path is identical: Processing, Design Review, Cart, Stripe checkout, Order Confirmation.
The diagram shows how the AI mode adds five stages of preparation before it joins the shared pipeline. The Mode Selector exposes the credit cost up front, the AI Prompt screen accepts text and a reference image, the frontal generation runs once for a single credit, and the user iterates freely on that frontal view until they approve it. The projection workflow then collects the remaining seven views with an auto-generate accelerator. The quality selection avoids provider names. 3D generation produces the model, the 3D preview lets the user inspect it, and from that point onwards the flow merges into the same twelve-stage pipeline as the upload mode, sharing Design Review, Cart, Stripe checkout, and Order Confirmation.
The customer enters the catalogue from Home or the Create tab. The grid shows the use-case categories the platform enables — garden border, raised bed, privacy screen, heat-pump cover, wheelie-bin shelter, and similar. Tapping a card opens Product Detail with a 3D preview and parametric size sliders (width, depth, height) that recalculate price and block count in real time. The "Add to Cart — [price]" call-to-action is sticky. After the cart, Stripe checkout and Order Confirmation behave the same as in the design flows.
Gallery Browse surfaces community designs through curated tabs (Trending, Newest, Most Purchased, Staff Picks) and a multi-modal search bar (text, voice, image). The user opens a Gallery Design Detail, which pairs a 3D viewer with designer attribution and social actions. The "Add to Cart — [price]" call-to-action sits at the top of the viewport, sticky on scroll. Tapping it adds the design to the cart and reuses the same checkout. From Design Detail the user can also follow the designer, comment, save to a collection, or open the Designer Profile. The publish path runs in reverse: a user at Design Review can tap "Publish to Gallery" to enter the publish form (title, description, tags, category, preview, moderation notice). The design enters the moderation queue. If the design is rejected the user sees the rejection screen with an appeal link and an "Edit & Resubmit" action.
Returns start on Order Detail within the fifteen-day return window. The Return Request screen accepts item-selection checkboxes, a reason dropdown (change of mind, defective, wrong items, damaged), and an optional details text area; a return-window countdown reminds the user of the remaining time. Submitting generates a returns label and starts the six-step Return Status timeline: Requested, Label Sent, Shipped, Received, Inspected and Graded, Refund Processed. The third-party logistics partner grades the return on a four-level scale (A, B, C, D), which drives the refund decision. The customer can dispute the grading; the admin reviews and either upholds or revises.
When inventory falls below a reorder point on the Manufacturing screen, an alert appears. The admin opens the Purchase Order form pre-populated from the alert, confirms the supplier, items, and quantity, and submits. The Purchase Order Detail screen tracks the lifecycle through Draft, Submitted, Confirmed, In Production, Quality Assurance, Shipped, and Received. Payment milestones are tracked on the same screen and surface on the payment calendar.
During the early launch phase the design-review and product-detail screens offer a "Pre-order This Kit — [price]" call-to-action with a visible "Pre-order: card verified, not charged until ready" badge — visually different from a standard purchase call-to-action. The user enters their card details through Stripe; the system verifies the card via a SetupIntent but does not capture funds. Pre-order Confirmation reiterates the not-charged status with the estimated ship date. Pre-order Management cards in the Account tab show each pre-order with its estimated ship date, the "Card Verified — Not Charged" status, and a cancellation control. If a saved card approaches expiry, the customer sees a notification with a seven-day countdown and an "Update Payment Method" call-to-action. When manufacturing completes, the system creates a PaymentIntent against the verified card to capture funds and converts the pre-order into a real order.
The diagram shows how the pre-order flow stays in a holding pattern until two gates clear. After the Pre-order call-to-action the Stripe SetupIntent verifies the card without capturing funds, the Pre-order Confirmation reiterates the no-charge state, and the design lands on the Pre-order Management surface where it can sit for weeks. Two checks run periodically: the card-expiry check, which routes the user to Update Payment Method and then back to Management with the new card, and the manufacturing-readiness check, which loops back to Management while the kit is not yet ready. Only when manufacturing readiness is reached does the flow exit the loop into a Stripe PaymentIntent that captures funds and converts the pre-order into a real order with a standard Order Confirmation.
The flows do not stand alone. Upload-mode and AI-mode converge at the same Processing screen. Every purchase flow converges at the Cart so the checkout is consistent regardless of entry. Gallery designs can be purchased directly, creating a Gallery-to-Cart cross-flow that bypasses the Create tab. Admin returns processing links to customer Order Detail through shared order identifiers. The Design Review screen exits into the Gallery publish workflow when the user chooses to publish their design.
A clean upload-mode happy path takes around two to four minutes for a fast solver and three to six minutes for the highest-quality solver. The AI-mode happy path takes around fifteen to thirty minutes given the projection workflow and the additional generation time. Error recoveries add anywhere from thirty seconds (upload retry) to a few minutes (pipeline re-queue). Payment failures add another thirty to one hundred and twenty seconds for card re-entry or Strong Customer Authentication retry.