Building a Sander API with The Product API: A Complete Guide

Introduction to Sanders

Sanders are essential power tools for woodworking, metalworking, and finishing projects. From orbital sanders for smooth finishes to belt sanders for aggressive material removal, finding the right sander with the right specifications is crucial for any project. Whether you're a contractor needing a random orbital sander, a DIY enthusiast looking for a palm sander, or a developer building a tool marketplace, having structured sander product data is essential.

Imagine being able to search for sanders and instantly get detailed information about each tool - from sander type and power source to pad size and speed settings. This is exactly what a specialized Sander Product API can provide.

What Makes a Sander API Special?

A Sander Product API goes beyond basic product listings. It understands the unique characteristics that matter to tool buyers:

• Sander Type: Orbital, belt, random orbital, detail, palm, sheet, and disc sanders
• Power Source: Corded or cordless operation
• Pad Size: The size of the sanding pad for different applications
• Speed Control: Variable speed settings for different materials and finishes

With this structured data, you can build powerful features like filtering by sander type, comparing pad sizes, or recommending sanders based on project requirements.

Try It Out: Search for Sanders

Use the search bar below to search for sanders. Try queries like "DeWalt random orbital sander", "Bosch palm sander", or "Makita belt sander". The results will include detailed specifications automatically extracted from product information across the web.

How It Works: Technical Implementation

Now that you've seen the API in action, let's dive into how it's implemented. This specialized Sander API is built on top of The Product API which is an AI-based product search API that works with any product and any type of query. It responds with structured JSON and supports custom structured responses, allowing you to build specialized APIs for any product category.

The Product API's powerful custom_data_schema feature allows you to define additional structured fields specific to your product category, enabling you to create category-specific APIs like this Sander API. For more details on how the API works, see the full documentation.

Understanding APIs for Product Data

An API (Application Programming Interface) enables different software applications to communicate. For product data:

• Input: You send a search query (e.g., "sander DeWalt random orbital")
• Processing: The API searches across multiple sources and uses AI to extract relevant information
• Output: You receive structured product data in JSON format

The flexibility of a product API means you can customize it for specific categories by defining additional data fields through JSON Schema.

Creating a Sander-Specific JSON Schema to pass as custom_data_schema of search request

Here's the JSON Schema we use for sander products:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "sander_type": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["orbital", "belt", "random_orbital", "detail", "palm", "sheet", "disc"],
      "description": "Type of sander"
    },
    "power_source": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["corded", "cordless"],
      "description": "Power source type"
    },
    "pad_size": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Sanding pad size in inches (e.g., '5 inch', '6 inch')"
    },
    "variable_speed": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Whether the sander has variable speed settings"
    }
  },
  "required": ["sander_type", "power_source"]
}
Show more (24 lines)

Using the Category Prefix

When searching for sanders, we prefix the search query with "sander" to help the AI understand the context and return more relevant results.

Example Search Queries:

• sander DeWalt random orbital
• sander Bosch palm
• sander Makita belt
• sander cordless orbital

The prefix "sander" ensures the API understands you're looking specifically for sanders and not other products.

Complete Example: Making a Request

Here's how to make a request to The Product API with a sander-specific schema. For complete API reference including authentication, endpoints, and all parameters, see the documentation:

const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/api?search=sander%20DeWalt%20random%20orbital&with_image=true', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    custom_data_schema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        sander_type: {
          type: "string",
          enum: ["orbital", "belt", "random_orbital", "detail", "palm", "sheet", "disc"],
          description: "Type of sander"
        },
        power_source: {
          type: "string",
          enum: ["corded", "cordless"],
          description: "Power source type"
        },
        pad_size: {
          type: "string",
          description: "Sanding pad size in inches"
        },
        variable_speed: {
          type: "boolean",
          description: "Whether the sander has variable speed settings"
        }
      },
      required: ["sander_type", "power_source"]
    }
  })
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.products);
Show more (36 lines)

Expected Response

The API will return products with standard fields plus your custom custom_data field:

{
  "status": "success",
  "products": [
    {
      "name": "DeWalt DWE6423 Random Orbital Sander",
      "description": "The DeWalt DWE6423 is a powerful random orbital sander...",
      "brand": "DeWalt",
      "image": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
      "custom_data": {
        "sander_type": "random_orbital",
        "power_source": "corded",
        "pad_size": "5 inch",
        "variable_speed": true
      }
    }
  ]
}
Show more (17 lines)

Conclusion

By combining the flexible Product API with a sander-specific JSON Schema, you can create a powerful, specialized API for sander products. The key is:

1. Define your schema based on what sander data matters to your application
2. Use category prefixes in search queries for better context
3. Leverage the custom_data field to build rich, category-specific features

The same approach works for any product category - you just need to define the right schema for your needs!

Ready to get started? Create your own product API on The Product API and start building your own category-specific APIs today!

---

Ready to build your own category-specific API? Check out our other API preset guides for drills, power saws, hammers, and more!