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Jemm

690 karma · joined April 28, 2012

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Jemm··on Ask HN: Should I be polite to my agent or should I treat it like shit?
I don't want to waste tokens on politeness but I'll tell the AI if it is doing a shit job.
Jemm··on My Students Can't Read
Send someone a message with two questions. Almost all people only respond to one of those questions.
Jemm··on Ask HN: CAD for wood working with LLM support?
RapidCAM.app (https://rapidcam.app) has excellent support for AI. The file format specs are published and open source so AI can easily write an ".rcam" file.

RapidCAM.app is a parametric 2.5D CAD/CAM for CNC and laser with support for rotary axis. RapidCAM.app runs in the browser or as desktop apps. There is no login required. The app is free to use. Privacy is respected. rcamhub.com is the sharing site for .rcam files.

Within the App, you can define your project and then use the built in prompt generator. This creates a prompt with all the details AI could need. Once the AI replies with the file, you can paste it back into the app which will then verify the file for you.

Desktop versions of the app have MCP server built in so AI can control the app directly if that is a route you prefer.

I started RapidCAM for my own use as I found that the CNC was sitting idle simply because firing up a full CAD/CAM package took too long. The idea with RapidCAM is that you can quickly sketch out your job from as simple as you need to as advanced as you want going from unconstrained to full parametric/constrained as required.

Jemm··on Jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users in Cambridge Analytica case
Prolong is a legal tactic
Jemm··on FAA debuts its AI-powered tool for managing flight traffic
Well that can't be good.
Jemm··on Show HN: Ax-check.com – Can agents use your product?
Rapidcam.app is a CAD / CAM for CNC and laser. The file format is designed for LLMs and for version control. The app has a in-built prompt generator and solver so you can use your own LLM.
Jemm··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)
https://rapidcam.app CNC and laser CAD/CAM for both quick designs and full 2.5D parametric models. Free and runs entirely client side in the browser with no log in required.

The file format is open source, designed for LLMs and for source control. The app has a visual diff system built in.

I designed RapidCAM for me as none of the available options really met my needs. Happy to see that other people are now using it.

Jemm··on Show HN: ProofOfDonation, replace CAPTCHAs with charity donations
Fuck that shit
Jemm··on Benchmark: CadQuery vs. OpenSCAD for agentic CAD work
I've been making Rapidcam.app. The file schema is open source and json format designed for AI to be able to write directly. The format is also designed for version control. The focus is 2.5D parametric mostly for 3 or 4 axis CNC.
Jemm··on DeepSeek v4.1 Flash Uncensored
You could say the same thing about libraries and education.
Jemm··on The Gemini app is now available for Windows
What is the point of the app if it cannot do anything other than cloud based tasks?
Jemm··on Show HN: I missed the moving blocks, so I built a real Linux disk defragmenter
I had a job going to various store locations and running defragment on point of sale computers. It was incredibly zen.
Jemm··on Will you have spent more of your life with computers than your family?
If I am luchky, yes!
Jemm··on The Legend of the Novell NE2000 [video]
Ah, the glory days of finding interrupts, network cards that literally caught on fire, hunting down that one screamer that took down the whole LAN. I don't know why we glorify nostalgia, it was cool at the time but not great. Especially horrible was the Novell 'priesthood' who refused to share any information for fear of giving up power.
Jemm··on France to ban unsolicited telemarketing calls
'unsolicited', means every contract or click will include accepting calls.

Canada tried this years ago and it has barely made a dent. What we really need is a secure telephone system but our regulators refuse to consider doing so

Jemm··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (August 2026)
RapidCAM.app is still taking up all my time. It is a 2.5D, parametric CAD/CAM program for CNC and laser with flat or 4th axis. Open source, free, run completely in browser.

This is a passion project that I want for my own use but am happy if other's find it useful and very open to feedback and collaboration.

The file system is open and very well defined so that AI can write files. There is an AI Assistant dialog that helps you to write prompts and then takes the AI file and runs the file through a solver and checks.

Jemm··on ScreenWall – Turn old phones into synced widgets for your space
The flight sim community is going to love this project for home cockpits.
Jemm··on Biohacker seeking immortality afflicted with incurable 'stomach eating' disease
I completely support people who want to be guinea pigs for health science.
Jemm··on Show HN: RapidCam – Browser-based, parametric 2D CAD/CAM app for CNC and laser
RapidCam solves the problem I had where I wanted to make parts without having to fully 3D model them first. There are other apps that work in 2d but they tend to be either complicated or not parametric. My initial task was to cut out and pocket cabinet doors and drawer fronts of various sizes. Now I can design the shapes and assign toolpaths for the CNC; then for the next door, I just need to change a few variable values and the design adjusts.

App is open source: GitHub: https://github.com/jennib/rapidcam

Currently no login or signup needed.

Contributions, suggestions, testers are all welcome.

Jemm··on Ask HN: What are tools you have made for yourself since the advent of AI?
- parametric 2d vector based CAD with CAM https://rapidcam.mycnc.app

- gcode sender and generator https://mycnc.app

- CNC simulator https://sim.mycnc.app

- Cabinet design with door/drawer designer https://cabinet.mycnc.app

Jemm··on Show HN: Open-source private home security camera system (end-to-end encryption)
Paint point on most systems is the camera itself. Seems like every Chinese ip camera has some 'ecosystem'. Does you system use any cameras other than Raspberry Pi?
Jemm··on Ferrari Luce
"Designed with Sir Jony Ive"; Yikes!
Jemm··on I love my Bluetooth keyboard
I think the title really should be, "Smartphone keyboards are so bad I carry a physical keyboard with me"
Jemm··on dBase: 1979-2026
I worked in dBase professionally for a long time. Loved the system but the database constantly needing repair was an issue.
Jemm··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026)
I got tired of the paywall surrounding cabinet design so I created https://cabinet.mycnc.app. Just finished validating the door / drawer front gcode generator by milling a kitchen's worth of doors on a hobby grade CNC.

My thinking was that the money I saved doing the cabinets myself would be enough to pay for the Sienci Labs Longmill that I bought for the project.

Jemm··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026)
Would love to see your progress as I am very early on in the same project. I was thinking of using ArduPilot and some custom waypoint generators.
Jemm··on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)
I got tired of the money wall around cabinet design so I am working on https://cabinet.mycnc.app. Some very alpha features still but getting there.

Making cabinets is not that hard but the industry charges insane amounts of money for it. Since I have to make cabinets for two kitchens I invested in a Sienci Labs CNC so when the cabinets are done I'll have saved money and gotten a CNC out of it which I can then sell or use for other things.

Jemm··on Netflix Prices Went Up Again – I Bought a DVD Player Instead
I just stopped watching movies or anything on broadcast television. Problem solved.
Jemm··on Britain today generating 90%+ of electricity from renewables
If by renewables you mean lumber from Canada, then sure.
Jemm··on Online age-verification tools for child safety are surveilling adults
Or we could let parents raise their own damn kids without making our lives worse. Parents can sign up for parental monitoring or better yet spend some time with their kids.
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