A working 3D model of an Enigma machine
Get picks like this daily. Today's launch numbers, the top launches, AI and tech news, and a daily opportunity pick, straight to your inbox.
Want to reach these readers? Sponsor an issue.
I watched the excellent Veritasium video [1] on the Enigma machine, and watched the full animation by Jared Owen [2], but was still a bit confused on how the inner mechanics of an Enigma machine work. I used Astra to build out the inner components through a combination of reference images, writing out hundreds of extremely detailed prompts, and building my own inspection tools to ensure that every part is sized and positioned in a historically accurate way.It's still a work in progress, but would love any feedback on the experience so far!1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsBZOcqZerk2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybkkiGtJmkM
HN · launched Sep 29, 2026 · 115 upvotes (top 7%) · 0 views
Niche: educational games and learning tools · 207 launches, 24 in the last 7 days ▲ +50% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Hardware & robotics
- B2C
- Not AI
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 207 launches in educational games and learning tools →
Could you build this?
Yes Interactive 3D educational visualizations of mechanical hardware can be generated using Three.js / WebGL and AI coding assistants.
Discussion
3 comments analyzed.
Concerns raised: Poor mobile performance
Feature requests: Ability to back up in sequence, Share source code
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 183 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #30 of 184 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 334 days after the earliest competitor.
- Enigma · hn · 2026-05-27 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.67
- How Enigma worked and was cracked, explained with moving figures · hn · 2026-11-02 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.56
- I made a portals physics engine to prove my point · hn · 2026-11-03 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.51
- Blender Copilot · hn · 2026-09-26 · 6 upvotes · similarity 0.48
- Strange Attractors · hn · 2025-10-31 · 804 upvotes · similarity 0.45
- I designed my own 3D printer motherboard · hn · 2025-12-06 · 127 upvotes · similarity 0.44
- A 2mm micro-bearing ring that spins like a real fidget spinner · hn · 2025-12-02 · 9 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- Minivac 601 Simulator · hn · 2025-11-16 · 21 upvotes · similarity 0.43
The niche, labels, vibe code rating and competitor comparison on this page are analysis by Nicheloom. If you use them, please credit nicheloom.com. How you may use our data.