Open Arsenal

Designing systems that don’t need plastic.

Adaptive Materials Engine (AME) is an open-source engineering intelligence system designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate unnecessary plastic dependency in physical products and mechanical systems. It works by analyzing real-world components, breaking them down into functional engineering requirements, and identifying safer, more sustainable, and locally available material alternatives. When direct substitution is not feasible, AME shifts into redesign mode, restructuring the component so that non-plastic materials can be used without sacrificing performance, durability, or manufacturability.

At its core, AME combines material science reasoning with economic and environmental constraints. Every recommendation must satisfy a strict cost ceiling (no more than a 15% increase over baseline plastic cost), while also meeting mechanical performance requirements such as strength, fatigue resistance, thermal stability, and wear tolerance. This ensures that sustainability is not theoretical, but practical and deployable in real engineering workflows where cost and performance constraints are unavoidable.

A key component of AME is its Local Material Intelligence Network, which prioritizes geographically nearby sources of materials to reduce transport costs and emissions. The system maps regional availability across scrap yards, recycling centers, surplus suppliers, and industrial material networks, favoring reclaimed and recycled inputs whenever possible. This local-first approach ensures that material recommendations are not only sustainable but also economically and logistically realistic.

When substitution alone is not sufficient, AME activates its Redesign Auto-Generator, which re-engineers parts to accommodate alternative materials. This may include structural reinforcement changes, manufacturing method transitions (such as shifting from injection molding to CNC or casting), or assembly redesigns that improve modularity and repairability. This allows the system to go beyond replacement and actively reshape how products are designed.

Finally, AME incorporates a Circular Economy Feedback Loop and Carbon Accounting Engine that continuously evaluate environmental impact and real-world performance. The system learns from usage outcomes, material failures, and cost deviations to improve future recommendations. Combined with policy-aware integration and a design pattern library for non-plastic engineering, AME evolves into a continuously improving system for sustainable, circular, and adaptive material design.