# Key Points from IRC Discussion

• Participants discussed technical challenges in open hardware design, particularly regarding CAD software (HeeksCAD) and the need for proper technical schematics that machinists could use without specialized software, including ideas for constraint checking that would represent physical properties like pressure ratings as vectors or tensors.

• The group explored collaborative workspace concepts like a "fab lab" where members could share equipment such as lathes, chemical labs, and electronics workbenches while splitting rent costs.

• Several Arduino-based electronics projects were discussed, including shift register implementations for LED control and an efficient LCD+button interface design that "only uses one pin (an analog input) by adding up resistors with power of two."

• Kanzure shared resources on synthetic biology (88proof.com/synthetic_biology/blog/) and hardware development tools like the Teensy USB development board (pjrc.com/teensy/).

• DrTread mentioned his academic connection to George Whitesides, prompting Kanzure to share a collection of Whitesides' papers on microfluidic circuits (http://heybryan.org/books/papers/whitesides/).

• The conversation touched on modeling tools for engineering, particularly MTT (Mathematical Modelling Tool), which uses bond graphs to show flows of energy/materials between components using algebra and classification of physical quantities.

• DrTread shared creative technology project ideas, including a desk with a frosted glass top to display weather information, GPS position logging for art, and pressure-sensitive dining chairs that trigger table lights based on how diners are balanced.