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Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

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Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#101
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are places (eg Canada) where engineer is a protected title like lawyer or doctor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_and_licensure_in_en...

Yes but not a single software engineer or other engineer in my field has a professional engineer designation. It's not required to practice in most fields outside of civil/structural engineering.

It really depends on where you live and in some places that distinction does not matter. See for example https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/quebec-order-of-e...

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going through this. It's demoralizing. I want to spend weeks coding something cool. The idea of asking an AI to do it in 30 minutes is like... what's even the point. I know I can, so why bother. I'd rather go get a beer. It's like getting all the cheat codes and then the game isn't fun anymore.

Be more ambitious, there are projects that take months even with frontier agents

I get the most satisfaction out of building small solutions that work really well. Problems that are beyond the scope of an individual to solve are not really as motivating. At that point you are just one of a group who slings code at the problem and hopes some of it sticks.

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#105

wannabe? there isn't a guild, or a test, its a choice.

Being pedantic, in many countries, engineering disciplines are regulated and you can’t officially call yourself an engineer until you’ve complied with some requirements etc.

So there’s kind of a guild in many places.

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be more ambitious, there are projects that take months even with frontier agents

I get the most satisfaction out of building small solutions that work really well. Problems that are beyond the scope of an individual to solve are not really as motivating. At that point you are just one of a group who slings code at the problem and hopes some of it sticks.

If you place enough bricks you will behold a castle

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#107
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was actually looking to join hackclub, how should I approach it?

If you go to https://hackclub.com/programs , there are a bunch of things you can join right now! Another commenter mentioned it - but you should also join the Hack Club Slack at https://slack.hackclub.com

I took a look around hackclub, how should I approach starting an affiliated club?

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#108
post #72

What is it?

It acts like a gearbox, allowing you to sacrifice rotational speed for higher torque output. What makes this gearbox type special is their low backlash, multiple points of contact, and high efficiency. It is also unique for not having any teeth and just working due to its specific cycloidal geometry.

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#109
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hold up, are you the type of person wanting to fire software teams because we can just ask the Product Owner to vibe code the new features?

> Hold up, are you the type of person wanting to fire software teams because we can just ask the Product Owner to vibe code the new features? No, and I don't even know how you can even read this from my post.

> nobody would even bat an eye because you can just vibe code this without effort.

To me, this is implying that software engineering in 2026 is less impressive than 10 years ago because "you can just vibe code this without effort". Having used AI a fair bit for both business and pleasure I can assure you that you can't always "just vibe code" something useful. Discrediting software engineering because a power tool was popularized in the field is... eh. I don't agree with that.

It sounded like you thought that with AI anyone, even children, can solve literally any problem with ease and therefore it's not very impressive (...and "perhaps we don't need 20+ software engineers building that app if 5 can do it with AI").

Re: Show HN: I'm a 15 Year Old Wannabe Engineer, This Is a Cycloidal Gearbox I Built

#110
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I think the bar is just too high nowdays. The projects I built as teenager spending weeks, it's just would take half hour of vibecoding now.

I'm going through this. It's demoralizing. I want to spend weeks coding something cool. The idea of asking an AI to do it in 30 minutes is like... what's even the point. I know I can, so why bother. I'd rather go get a beer. It's like getting all the cheat codes and then the game isn't fun anymore.

Instead of spending weeks building a new wall in your house, you spend a week building a new house. With AI mundane problems are solved easily and effectively, giving you time to go bigger.
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