Show HN: A working 3D model of an Enigma machine

Show HN: A working 3D model of an Enigma machine enigma.design

Explore 3D Enigma models, follow their electrical circuits and rotor mechanisms, and learn how the machines were used.

95 points•primitivesuave•1 day ago•40 comments•

#enigma #x2f #machine #enigma machine #3d #working 3d #3d model #working 3d model

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=JsBZOcqZerk

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybkkiGtJmkM

40 comments

virtualcolossusabout 14 hours ago

Good job, I like the many cutaways to show exactly what's going on inside.

You may be interested in my simulation of Enigma (https://enigma.virtualcolossus.co.uk) which I wrote back in 2021 (pre-AI!). One of several I've done.

Try it on an Android phone to look around it in VR or on PC/Mac for easier use. You can even send messages to other users over the internet using the radio & Morse key.

primitivesuaveabout 5 hours ago

Yours is amazing work, and certainly a higher degree of fidelity than I was able to achieve with AI assistance. The initial motivation behind this was largely driven by curiosity around the rotor motion (the ratchet and pawl assembly), and then into how the wiring actually works. For my brain, I needed to press the keys a hundred times and watch the current flow before it started making sense.

I'm curious about how you worked out the inner dimensions and part placements so accurately. Thank you for providing this marvelous free resource!

espinielliabout 6 hours ago

Maybe of interest https://observablehq.com/@tmcw/enigma-machine

heurekamalaabout 11 hours ago

Cool work. There are some of this educational gems here. Is there a site which combines these treasures (like in a virtual museum?)

primitivesuaveabout 4 hours ago

Thank you! Very honored to be considered an educational gem :)

dmcrespoabout 9 hours ago

Really cool project! The only thing I noticed is that the performance feels a bit slow at times, and it could use a little more fluidity, especially when interacting with the model.

Other than that, everything feels really well done. Building something like this in JavaScript/HTML, especially with a 3D model this detailed, must be quite challenging from an optimization standpoint.

Great work!

primitivesuaveabout 4 hours ago

Thank you!! I was also hitting performance issues, especially on mobile - I think the latest version has gotten it a bit closer to a smoother experience, but there is still a lot of low-hanging fruit on making this more fluid (especially the step transitions).

anonydsfsfs1 day ago

I love the presentation! Would you mind sharing the source code?

primitivesuaveabout 23 hours ago

Thank you for the kind words! As mentioned in the other comment below, I'll open-source it very soon and update the site with a GitHub link.

soltanovabout 23 hours ago

+1. source code will be useful for educational purposes.

primitivesuaveabout 23 hours ago

I will open-source it very soon! I was a bit nervous about putting it out there before I'm sure that the machines are absolutely accurate, especially the more niche ones where I had to make some inferences about the wiring. Will add the GitHub link to the site when I've had a chance to review everything for accuracy, and will probably end up moving some of my "educated guesses" off the main branch.

tonymetabout 23 hours ago

typical freeloading entitlement. It's his project, and he can share whatever he likes.

Read the full thread on Hacker News →

40 comments

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