variodot
variodot on Hacker News
Hey! ShopSpec has a standalone optimizer too separate from the parametric design. Check it out and let me know any feedback -
https://shopspec.io/cutlist
I'm building ShopSpec (
https://shopspec.io/) for this kind of workflow. I'm a woodworker and use it for my own home and shop builds.
It's a woodworking domain engine and parametric furniture builder focused on projects like bookshelves, cabinetry, and shop furniture. It works out the parts, joints, cut list, etc.
There is an MCP component in beta (https://shopspec.io/agents) that allows an agent to explore designs while the engine still does the math. To take a design to CAD, a project can be exported as DXF or as a Ruby script that rebuilds it in SketchUp Pro.
It's narrower than Shapr3D, but it might fit the projects you describe.
I agree on DataGrip and use its MCP weekly.
ShopSpec is now also capable of handling metric measurements; this is configurable in the Shop Profile section.
I previously added dxf and ruby export as part of validation efforts with capability to import into SketchUp Pro and other CAD. This is available in the Reference Rail by clicking `All Exports` or scrolling down to the design interchange section in the rail.
You can also visualize the measurements between shelves by clicking 'Show Sizes' on the 3d scene options and having a bay selected. Let me know if that helps.
I have not opened up that can of worms yet, but have been thinking more about tapers and other non-rectilinear forms. Longer-term I very much want to support a "fill this space" mode for built-ins.
Glad ShopSpec helped get you over the hump and appreciate the feedback. I am building a tool that I find useful for myself and previously encountered a similar pattern to what you mention.
Not related, but similar. You'll see a reply from me in the thread you linked.
I've added ShopSpec to a couple Ask HN threads in the past too.
It is not currently implemented but planned for the future based on all of the feedback here.
https://shopspec.io/ShopSpec is a deterministic parametric furniture generator (bookshelves, cabinets, shop carts, leg-and-rail frames, multi-carcass composites) that encodes real woodworking intelligence and outputs shop-ready artifacts.
Most recently, introduced the concept of value engineering by sweeping across dimensions to batch evaluate candidates that ranks based on sheet purchases. Also have in beta an MCP connector to let agents explore the deterministic engine.
I'm building a number of items for home and shop and ShopSpec has been instrumental to plan, visualize, and execute on these new ideas/projects.
Have been building something non-CAD too in the space which is also aligned with carpentry. This looks really neat and can't believe how similar the functionality is. Would be great to chat!
https://shopspec.io/app
IBM i was k8s before k8s, with fewer yaml files and better backwards compat
Some of my first exposure to enterprise IT was via the AS/400 and served as a fantastic basis for the cloud stack and agents of today.
I would love to hear more about your oddly-shaped non-rectangular room.
For now rectilinear has made things simpler; but on this kick now with 3d-printed jigs also derived from the spec. I already have a dog-hole system worked out and in-place with this idea. Could be interesting to extend to curves - becomes approachable/repeatable.
I am working on ShopSpec (
https://shopspec.io/), a tool for designing bookshelves and cabinets. Enter the dimensions and it generates the parts, cuts, sheet layout, and build steps.
I built it because I wanted to spend less time drawing boxes in CAD and more time building them. Still early and I'd love feedback from other woodworkers.
I'm threading this now and have paired AI-assisted development with woodworking knowledge. Partially chose to work on this because I wanted to build in a domain that the models might have a tougher time understanding.
Parallels and interests overlap everywhere between programming and woodworking; decisions about tooling, tolerances, sequencing, and what can be easily fixed later.
The models get rectangles pretty well and has been fun exploring a parametric casework planner for my own shop.
For me, it was during an on-going incident in a failing IoT OTA service which was growing in priority; taking two items I was unfamiliar with and bolting together new OTA mechanism via alternative SMS provider. I'd never developed in .NET ecosystem before and happened to gain access to another team's Twilio account in a prior week, so took a shot, planned interfaces to extract and implemented alternative Twilio implementation + feature flag
Normal software instincts plus access to a different service flushed the buildup of OTA's and lives on as a fallback mechanism. Amazed me going from idea to execution faster than I could have ever dreamed of even on-boarding myself to the area or environment.
Diving deeper into woodworking and knocking out a few cabinetry/storage projects with the work-in-progress up at at
https://shopspec.io
I’ve had a similar experience building a geometry/woodworking-flavored web app with Three.js and SVG rendering. It’s been kind of wild how quickly the SOTA models let me approach a new space in spatial development and rendering 3d (or SA optimization approaches, for that matter). That said, there are still easy "3d app" mistakes it makes like z-axis flipping or misreading coordinate conventions. But these models make similar mistakes with CSS and page awareness. Both require good verification loops to be effective.