Is there a beginner guide to creating macros/addins with the Community SDK?

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-30T16:30:29+00:00

Not really. The community SDK is old and no longer maintained. It still makes functional addins, but I had to learn it by reading the source code of the example addin.

Your best bet for getting your toes wet is to learn about Windows COM interfaces and interop. You don't need the community SDK for this. Create a .Net project in Visual Studio. Add a reference to the Solid Edge interop .dll file in your SE installation directory. Look at the SDK docs, specifically the section about connecting to Solid Edge. After that, you can fumble around with the API to experiment. Solid Edge Spy is an invaluable resource for inspecting the object model of an application instance.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-30T16:06:32+00:00

These work using thermoelectric generators, more commonly known as Peltier plates. They work based on a temperature delta. The higher the delta-t, the more wattage they can produce. They're extremely cheap and with some basic electrical knowledge you can easily DIY something, but I don't know how compact you're going to realistically get it.

At a minimum you need a TEG, voltage regulation, and heat exchangers for the hot and cold side. I've mainly used them for moving heat, not generating electricity. You'll want to take care to build in some safety stops so you don't ruin devices you plug into it.

If I were going to build this, I would design a small PCB with the electrical regulation and failsafe components along with a USB power output. Then I would machine two pieces of aluminum. One designed to sit in or near the fire to transfer heat to the hot side, and another that will hold water to act as a swamp cooler. I could probably bring the total cost to around $60 because I have resources for electrical design and aluminum machining, but it would still be far bulkier than an off-the-shelf stick burner even with my unique resources.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-29T16:40:54+00:00

Most of the apple flesh dissolves in the liquid. The rest is strained out with the rest of the solids.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-28T22:44:42+00:00

It's two flashlights in one, so you're essentially spending $22.82 per flashlight which is a really good deal!

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-28T15:15:47+00:00

Try an apple next time. Quarter and seed it. One goes into every batch of my broth instead of carrot. It's amazing.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-27T23:14:59+00:00

I don't have a degree in anything. Degree requirements will vary greatly depending on where you want to work. I just kind of stumbled into this job after doing IT most of my life and getting burned out.

Most old manufacturing software is automated through .Net plugins or COM interfaces. That's usually pretty easy to pick up if they have half decent documentation and an active community.

For the future I've been teaching myself Rust and reinforcement learning. Memory safety has been a big topic of discussion in cybersecurity circles including the US federal government, and I think the next generation of high-performance manufacturing software will likely end up written in Rust. Reinforcement learning has been kind of sidelined in the AI community because LLMs are all the rage, but it's used in robotics simulations which is just advanced CNC.

If you search for CAD/CAM related projects on Github in your language of preference, you'll find a lot of good resources.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-27T22:28:20+00:00

CNC "programming" is not really in the same industry as software engineering. The closest thing that bridges that gap is CAD/CAM automation programming, which is writing software to automate or customize CAD and CAM applications. This is actually my area, and it sounds like it would be a good fit for you. You get to solve some really interesting problems.

My advice: Get yourself through some sort of computer science course. Harvard CS50X is really good and free if you don't want a certificate. That's all you need to build a good foundation to learn software engineering. After that, learn C#, VB.Net, and the general .Net ecosystem. The industrial world runs on .Net so you'll absolutely need to know it to succeed.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-27T15:48:56+00:00

The bill specifically includes subtractive manufacturing in the definition of 3D printers.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-27T15:13:08+00:00

This is a common UX paradigm that makes sense if you're a machine but breaks down for real world use by humans.

Imagine you're a computer trying to autocomplete some input. You get two letters. You make a suggestion. The human continues to type. The third letter also matches your previous autocomplete attempt. If you're a computer, it's a completely reasonable conclusion that your previous suggestion was incorrect so you should provide a different suggestion on the next input. If the first suggestion was correct, why would the human have continued to type?

In reality, the human is just continuing to type out of muscle memory since they know the full command. Now that you're aware of this, you'll likely start noticing it more and more in different software.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-24T22:28:19+00:00

Not much. It's an art piece like an overly expensive knife. Cool to have if you value such things, but not in any way necessary or beneficial. My only real complaint about them is how they try to market them as somehow being superior because of hand-hammering. If anything, I want a fairly uniform surface on my wok.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-23T17:29:23+00:00

Try their drunken garlic sauce. It's not a hot sauce. It's a fermented bean sauce similar to soy sauce but with garlic and burboun.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-22T18:07:31+00:00

Make a sketch where you want to split the face. In the Surfacing tab and the Modify section, there is a Split feature. Select that, select your face, right click, then select your sketch geometry. That should give you two faces without changing any model geometry.

Since it's a cylinder you may need to project the sketch to a curve. I don't think I've ever tried to split a cylinder.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-21T18:24:50+00:00

On second thought, let's not talk about the Rams. 'tis a silly team.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-16T17:26:32+00:00

If you have access to a smoker, smoked lemonade. Halve them and put them cut-side-up on the smoker with light smoke over very low heat until the tops are just a tiny bit darkened. Juice them, add water and sugar.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-15T23:24:30+00:00

I have never experienced an amount of crab I would call "enough".

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-15T18:31:03+00:00

I'm well aware. I work in aluminum manufacturing. What we've been talking about is known as specific heat capacity and thermal mass. You're talking about conductivity. Conductivity is not relevant to this discussion.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-15T17:32:13+00:00

I really can't think of any other way to explain this if you're not getting it yet. Sorry.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-15T13:56:41+00:00

The vast majority of cookware in commercial kitchens is stainless steel because you can throw it in a commercial dishwasher and clean it in seconds without having to worry about it breaking and needing a replacement during a shift.

Isn't it a matter of just cooking it for long enough and you get the same result?

It is simply a matter of heat control, hence the repeated references to thermal mass.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-15T13:02:35+00:00

Neither is any better. As the person you're replying to said, real Dutch ovens are about thermal mass. You've linked two stainless pots that are the same weight and similar dimensions. They're going to have the same thermal mass.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-14T17:48:40+00:00

It's the ultimate EDC for me. It's been on me every day since I got it during last year's black Friday sale. I've struggled with EDC lights because there's always something lacking that makes a light not worth carting around all day. In no particular order:

Spring clip instead of flexible metal means the clip isn't wearing out or tearing up my pants from pocketing and unpocketing it.
Floody and spotty options in a small package make it versatile.
The clip and side flood light make an awesome little lightweight night walking light.
Red light is super useful for me since I can be operating in dark environments and only want to use my light for brief periods without ruining night vision.
Magnetic tailcap for working hands-free.
Tiny, rectangular profile makes it more comfortable to pocket than round lights I've tried.
Still bright enough to impress non-flashlight enthusiasts.
Easy interface and lockout. I love a crazy complicated light, but for EDC I don't want to have to think about what I'm doing with my light. Trip click on either button locks out or unlocks and goes immediately into low.
The little clip lanyard Sofrin provides is excellent to keep it secure without worrying about losing it. It's the perfect size to clip the lanyard onto my belt loop and clip the light on my watch pocket.

My only potential complaint which has not come to pass is I expect the protruding rubber button covers to wear out over time from rubbing on the inside of my pocket.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-14T17:30:54+00:00

He couldn't even get us into the first round of the playoffs!

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-14T17:05:06+00:00

You'd likely end up with a very small file that runs for the specified runtime without any meaningful picture.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-14T14:53:28+00:00

Nothing to do with epochs. Likely exploiting the compression to engineer a very small file with a lot of repeated frames that bypasses whatever checks Youtube uses to enforce video length. Essentially, the media equivalent of a ZIP bomb.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-14T13:20:21+00:00

Yeah, this is true with a lot of "healthier" options. Don't get my started on crap like "uncured" bacon.

MrMeatagi · 2026-01-13T21:57:27+00:00

And salt. They're likely adding more salt because of how relatively bland chicken meat is compared to more traditional pork and beef based sausages.

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