iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I think I'll always love this form of CAD. Code (#clojure of course) the assembly parts using fairly simple primitives and boolean ops. Have an export at the bottom and just re-run the file when you change things. See a live update of the model as you work!

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Here's a nice little #clojure project I'm pleased with. I have some modelling primitives that I can compile to #openscad (not a new thing). Now I've added a compiler that emits TCL which I can use with OpenCASCADE's 'DRAWEXE' binary to create a step file using the same definition

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

great to know, Thank's for the tip Felipe :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Any recs? I've used droplets in the past, is Digital Ocean still a good choice?

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If I want to make a simple blog/website for myself, where should I go to do that these days? What are the hosting platforms people are using?

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I also made it loop :) The whole thing 'tracks' along a closed spline

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Added some more #axidraw #penplotter pieces to my little gallery wall. Once again using #clojure to hack together some fun generations. These are all using flowfields and 'wandering' paths with various parameter tweaks. And some nice new inks :)

Picture of some axidraw plotter art. Centered are two abstract flowing pieces in a purple ink and a blue ink

Picture of some axidraw plotter art. Centered are 4 abstract flowing lines pieces. Green ink in top left, orange ink top right, hot pink ink bottom left, and a blue ink bottom right

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Another little #clojure thing. In Japan I really enjoyed the small utility trucks and wanted to do some #penplots of them. I did what existing tools already do (but this code is mine!): find the img lightness, sample along curve(s), increase amplitude of a wave along each curve according to light

3 homemade postcards, each a monochrome pen plot of a different utility truck. Top left postcard uses a red ink, bottom is green, and top right is a blue ink.

3 Photos of different small utility trucks. Each truck was used in the creation of pen plots

Screenshot of a code editor with 2 panes. Left pane has a commented Clojure code block and the right is showing a rendered SVG which is the result of running the code

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Oh, this seems very fun :) I would love to participate! I'll be submitting a proposal for sure!

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

This is how I plan to cross off each day in my #hobonichi. Use #Clojure to make some vector art and draw it in with a #penplotter To save some time, I plan to make some generator code to make similar yet unique outputs for a given day. We will see how it goes :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Some plotter sketches I enjoyed making. As always, using #clojure and an #axidraw

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Analog media journaling has been pretty fun. Here is Hades and Hades 2

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Here's a fun chain of open source tools I used to make a diagram: #clojure -> #openscad -> #freecad -> #inkscape -> real ink

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

In an effort to be more mindful about media I consume, I've started writing a media journal for fun. I tried editing one into a digital version and it came out alright :) Not sure what I'll do with such entries, but they're satisfying to make that's for sure #review #journal #sketch #inkscape

Photo of a hand written journal entry of a review of the book 'Artemis' by Andy Weir. A sketch of a welding torch is on the right of the image

A digitally typeset journal entry of a review of the book 'Artemis' by Andy Weir. A digitally traced sketch of a welding torch is on the right of the image

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Oh I'd be happy to! What's your preferred platform to talk? Off the cuff, I just want to say thanks, Membrane is really quite fun to use. defui / defeffect clicked in my head nicely :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Here's a WIP of a more useful note about gears and how straight spur gears typically use an involute tooth profile. Fun to code it up!

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Using #clojure and membrane, I made a little tool that makes interactive notes/calc tools for my design and engineering needs. Should be useful to build up a small library of simple calculators :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

So, I’m running a shop now and will have access to a nice CNC router! While I have *real work* to do with it, I can’t help but think of fun projects of my own. And I wonder how I can combine my #clojure knowledge with design and engineering.

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

I made a video for the first time in a bit: youtu.be/oHBfI8NgpT0 It's always satisfying to make them :) Mostly talking about the vision I hope to build towards as I keep writing programs, but there's a brief #clojure repl in there too

youtu.be

The Software I want to Make

YouTube video by Adam James

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Ah, good suggestion, thanks :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

It's powered by @borkdude.bsky.social's sci (naturally). A sci context with a few svg functions and the app's state (just the point values in a map wrapped in an atom). I want to make a little art tool that I can use on my phone, and this isn't good enough for that yet, but it's a promising start.

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Lesson so far is that the semantics of build123d, and similarly cadquery, are different enough from Clojure's typical style that I question if it's worth the trouble. I don't like to give up though, so I have a goal project and will see if a useful set of Clojure fns pop out as a small wrapper lib

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Using github.com/clj-python/l..., and #build123d, I have attempted yet again to use #clojure for CAD. Here's a successful 'sweep' operation, exported to STEP (viewed in #freecad @freecad.bsky.social). Also have an SVG export that you can open up and view directly in emacs.

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Patterning things on circles can look quite fun #clojure #svg This is roughly based on a Swarovski Crystal Star ornament. My mom has a collection of them and, well, some of them are quite beautiful!

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Writing as a form of thinking is something I hope to use somewhat regularly in my 'year of crafting'. Won't set a writing goal specifically, nor will I post every day, but writing and posting is nice, so I'll do it sometimes :) adam-james.weblog.lol/2025/01/just...

adam-james.weblog.lol

adam-james notes · Justification Costs

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

hacked together a #clojure tool to make little art 'cards'. With improvements, the idea is to be able to use this on my phone and save the SVGs. Hoping to use it when I get bored in lines or whatever, hopefully leading to some more artistic output

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Over the holidays my family decided to exchange experiences rather than gifts. It was an enjoyable idea and we all loved it. 2 of the experiences involved creativity. A crayon print and a pebble picture.

A photo of an abstract floral and vine design print made with a gradient of blue purple and pink crayon wax on cream paper

Brown and grey pebbles arranged on a light blue background to represent a leaf.

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Reposted by adam-james

bobbicodes @bobbicodes.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

A new version of my #Lisp NES #chiptune sequencer is live: codeberg.org/bobbicodes/L... It now uses a more tracker-like pattern system which allows for longer compositions and much easier arrangement.

codeberg.org

LispyTunes

Create NES chiptunes with Lisp

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Here's a screenshot of a WIP web viewer using Signed Distance Fields, also set up to 'compile' from the same model.

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Here's an example of using #clojure to define a data model for CAD geometry and operations. From that model, I can create a STEP file via #FreeCAD and also view/export a meshed solid via #OpenSCAD

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

wow, that's exciting and impressive! Thanks for sharing

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

I do have a Maker lab near me. That's a really good suggestion, thanks! I had wondered if the lab near me offers classes, and considered pitching an 'open source design tools' class, but a presentation might be quicker and an easier sell :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I'm thinking about how I can angle my career towards 'making bespoke CAD tools for makers'. I... don't know exactly how to proceed, does anyone have some general advice? Or, perhaps there are companies or labs that do work related to CAD design and automation that I could poke at?

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

First success using #clojure to create STEP files. Here I'm using #FreeCAD as a python module and using libpython-clj to script a 3D model. It's promising!

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Reposted by adam-james

Daniel Slutsky @daslu.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Tableplot, our #Clojure library for easy layered #grammarofgraphics, has made some progress recently. scicloj.github.io/tableplot/ Among other things, it now has new, detailed documentation for its #plotly API. scicloj.github.io/tableplot/ta...

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Fair question. I've worked in the agriculture industry (greenhouses) before, so I'm thinking about structural, HVAC, and small/medium manufacturing and CAD/solid modelling. I'm fascinated by the idea of 'cranking out full 3D models in C++'. Is that OpenCASCADE based stuff? something else?

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

What makes someone an excellent programmer?

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Are there any examples of programmatic CAD tools used in industry? I'm really curious if there are professional-grade tools along the lines of #openscad

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Reposted by adam-james

Daniel Slutsky @daslu.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Thomas Clark's recent talk at #clojureconj is a fantastic overview of recent developments in the #Clojure stack for #scientific computing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D5d...

youtube.com

"Scientific Clojure, a bird's eye view" by Thomas Clark

YouTube video by ClojureTV

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 06/11/2024

I gave a short talk at #Clojure conj this year showing how I use #badspreadsheet. It's a tool built with a combo of javascript, Clojure, and #HTMX , and just enough naivety to think I can actually build stuff :) Give it a watch here: youtu.be/OOtgJm-RL_I?...

youtu.be

"Exploratory Design Tools for Makers" by Adam Vermeer

YouTube video by ClojureTV

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 28/10/2024

Here's a fun #badspreadsheet demo. Use a set of draggable points to sketch shapes over an image. Simple pieces, a way to view SVG, a way to get the position of every point, and a way to layer cells over one another. Add some #clojure and you've got a powerful tool :)

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adam-james @adam-james.bsky.social · 10/01/2024

Here's code for my #badspreadsheet with #clojure and #htmx driving the bulk of functionality. It's firmly a 'prototype' but this is the year I go from prototype -> real software, and this is step 1. github.com/adam-james-v... Try it, share it, and talk to me about it :)

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