Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it.<p>Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it but I'm not there yet. Babylon JS is amazing though.<p>EDIT:<p>I'll throw down some random notes because I've never really talked about this:<p>- I've learned a LOT over the three years since I made these videos - about cars, life, boats, love, fabrication, quaternions and myself.<p>- I made these videos in a backstreet garage in Budapest. A personal situation arose and I left Hungary and tried to get going again back in the UK.<p>- I built a new garage/studio in the UK and kitted it all out in preparation.<p>- Then lockdown struck and I had to get involved in a real-world business that I co-owned. The people who did my video production couldn't travel, and when they could, the UK had become so difficult that they had no desire to stay. So I had to find a new team which wasn't easy.<p>- I also had to rebuild my own life and that took a lot of time and effort. I didn't have the energy to go back into videos - it's something that I did at a certain time of my life, and I knew that I needed to be stronger to revisit it or I would risk my own happiness.<p>- I feel a combination of emotions - I am immensely proud of what we achieved with this, and I'm embarrassed by my failure to finish it. That said, I don't think I've ever been more excited by this project.<p>Edit 2: Go and watch Tim Hunkin's Secret Life of... series @ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@timhunkin1">https://www.youtube.com/@timhunkin1</a> You'll be glad you did!
For $20.<p>> Will this course teach me to fix my car?<p>> I am asked this a lot. If you just want to fix one thing on a car then you don't need to understand automotive engineering or how things work. You can find videos on YouTube that will show you almost any repair, and you just follow those videos. But if you want to be able to diagnose and fix any car, any engine without spending hours Googling then you want a deep understanding of car mechanics.
Somewhat related, there's a series of German videos made for kids that show how a car is manufactured. It's mostly the bodywork and assembly, not engine stuff, but it's still a good overview. If you're interested in this stuff, it could be worth watching, even if you don't understand German.<p>Autobau Part 1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNX--ROvtU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNX--ROvtU</a><p>Autobau Part 2: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-PhI5Rlyc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-PhI5Rlyc</a><p>Autobau Part 3: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqY03HUmlU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqY03HUmlU</a><p>Autobau Part 4: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cpM6jbqNA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cpM6jbqNA</a>
Good stuff, but to do all this "at home" requires ample garage space and a solid investment in tools and equipment. It also helps to have non-busy roads in the vicinity, in order to do "test flights" after the fixes. It is certainly helpful as a guide to understand the basic automotive systems and not get scammed at repair shops, but for most people to start wrenching on their car confidently, not so much.
Startup idea:<p>- Crawl the nhtsa.gov technical bulletins (manufacturer communications [pdfs])<p>- Make them searchable (good enough)<p>- Some AI (optional)<p>---<p>What for?<p>For example, the mechanic or used car buyer searches for:<p>`Oil leak S5 2019`<p>Response:
<a href="https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10155709-9999.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10155709-9999.pdf</a>
I'm curious if anybody would be interested in this sort of cliff's notes breakdown of any other mechanical engineering topic? My dad's a retired mechanical engineer and many of my cousins are also mechanical engineers. I'm media savvy. Should I prompt them to doing something like this? Auto engineering seems much more broadly appealing than, say, fluid dynamics in ventilation systems. Maybe more youtube-channel-level appealing than pay-for-lifetime-access appealing?
Is there an equivalent but focus on maintenance? Going from windshield wiper changes, to oil/fuid changes to advanced (brake pad inspection, changes).
Looks like just an advert but there is what looks like sample content (or at least sample quality) on his YouTube channel here:<p><a href="https://youtube.com/@howacarworks">https://youtube.com/@howacarworks</a><p>Enthusiastic feedback in some of the video comments.
I paid for these and found it really interesting and well made.<p>However, there have not been any new videos for a while, and there are some glaring bits that need covering (gearbox? suspension?).
OMG, I had no idea Tim Hunkin was churning out YouTube videos these days! I was exactly the right age to appreciate the Secret Life of Machines, and it looks like I have several hours of quality stuff to watch there.
Oh wow, this looks really good! Just preordered as I have been meaning to learn more and I like your style from the video. No rush though in finishing it all.<p>Some questions if I may ask:
Is it possible to order the How A Car Works pdf in print?<p>Also did you actually write all of it? It looks like an old fashioned instruction manual. You know one of the good ones that explain concepts well. I only read a few pages and love the style.<p>I'm glad this popped up on hn!
sick. i've been wanting to learn about engines. seems like a better use of my time than learning how to code better with the impending ai job displacement!