- The group is building SKDB, an open-source hardware design and manufacturing knowledge base that currently handles part packaging, mating, bounding-box collision detection, screws, LEGO bricks, dependency representation, and CAD integration; installation is still “way too complex” for the simple code it contains.  
- A debate arose over how to store user credentials: ybit argues that persistent usernames and salted/hashed passwords are needed so people can log what tools and materials they possess, enabling distributed fabrication (“automating the process of having something made that you can’t make yourself”), while kanzure favors lightweight or OpenID-style solutions and questions why user accounts are required at all.  
- genehacker emphasized a critical materials-science distinction: screws produced by machining have far lower fatigue resistance than rolled-thread screws and should not be used in high-vibration or safety-critical applications; the SKDB metadata for screws (and for thread-making processes) should explicitly warn users.  
- kanzure posted links to several technical resources: a free e-book on integrating CAD/CAM/NC systems (knowfree.net), the pcb2gcode project for PCB milling, the stdeb tool for turning Python packages into Debian packages, and a public copy of Spatial’s ACIS kernel documentation that he is mirroring for reverse-engineering SolidWorks’ architecture.  
- Hardware-infrastructure talk included bkero offering a VM on a dual-quad Xeon with 16 GB RAM and 2×1 TB RAID-1, and any56576200 describing a shelf of ten Windows XP boxes being expanded with more RAM and drives; automation via PXEboot, Kickstart, and Puppet was recommended.  
- A brief security aside noted that 30 one-watt handheld green lasers (or a single 30 W laser) can temporarily blind optical spy satellites if aimed accurately, highlighting low-cost “evil genius” potential.