I explore AI and new technologies firsthand and build useful programs along the way. I also document insights and experience from engineering and research.
We connected the open-source reference manager Zotero and Microsoft Word to Codex through MCP. Using real documents, we added citations, revised text while preserving citation links, and changed citation styles through natural-language requests.
As AI technology advances ever faster, we enjoy many benefits, but also feel growing anxiety that it could eventually replace every human role. At the current pace of progress, even a viable solution seems a distant prospect.
I connected Blender MCP to Codex to bring Blender modeling into my VS Code workflow. This post covers installation, configuration, and inspecting and revising a scene, using an MTS 810 fracture toughness test setup as an example.
Connecting FreeCAD through MCP makes it possible to turn plain-language descriptions into actual CAD models. A hands-on look at a plate with a hole and a honeycomb core, illustrated with captures of the saved models.
Starting with Bernoulli's principle and the Magnus effect, original computed streamline diagrams connect potential flow, the Kutta condition, and the Joukowski transformation to stall and the vortices of real wings.
Metal foil strain gauges, bridge circuits and DAQ measurements, mounting-position quizzes, principal strain and stress calculations, and fatigue history analysis.
An overview of tensile-test principles and equipment, stress-strain data analysis, and practical points to watch during testing.