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Comment by nisegami | Hacker News Reader

This got gears turning in my head. What if we could simulate a woodworking or metalworking shop in VR and people could do virtual projects? I think most people reading this will feel a visceral sense of disgust, but I think this idea is just early.

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I like this idea. The machine shop can be quite intimidating. It could be a fun little experience to get people exposed to heavy equipment in a safe environment.

There's a lot of feel involved with tools. A bandsaw or a drill or a bridgeport gives you a ton of feedback. Something as simple as torquing a fastener will tell you tons about the alignment of the fastener, the surface roughness, thread quality and tolerances, whether there's swarf at the bottom of the hole, whether you're about to tear threads out...

For macro workflows it could be useful, but on the same level as a non-VR Machine Shop Simulator. 2¢

VR isn't even a toy compared to the real thing. You cant feel the process. When milling you're turning the hand cranks to move the table so you will feel chatter and vibration along with the resistance so you can feel the quality of the cut. You also have to compensate for backlash in the lead screw which is another game of feel.

I had this idea too, imaging creating 3d assets using a virtual lathe

Teleworking, or robotics training? Using a workshop on the moon, for instance, to repair broken remote equipment.

Nah, more like just a video game.

> I think most people reading this will feel a visceral sense of disgust

Not disgust at all. More like a sense of pointlesness. You can't sit on a stool made out of virtual wood in a virtual workshop. So what is the point of "making" it?

And if the point is to 3d model objects then why constrain yourself to the skeuomorphism of a virtual woodworking/metal working?

It could be like how people enjoy assembling Gundam models. Sometimes it’s fun just watching something beautiful emerge from many separate components.

People also enjoy the “how stuff is made” type videos. Simulating a manufacturing process in VR could scratch the same itch.

I have no experience in woodworking and metalworking, but I would love for there to be a low-cost way I can start learning or familiarizing routines and techniques. I currently don't even know where to start because I don't have anyone in-person to learn from. I could watch a bunch of YouTube videos, but that sounds less fun than a set of guides or tutorials in VR.

Why not take a class?

> So what is the point of "making" it?

Perhaps the point is greater than building something in minecraft.

lots of people play games about making virtual stuff like gmod, gearblocks, minecraft creative mode etc. i'd probably play a woodworking sim to be honest.

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