mechbrain

name	mechbrain
description	Universal mechanical engineering knowledge chatbot — routes any ME question to the correct skill, searches the Obsidian vault for context, cites vault notes and standards, generates theory for MechCodex calculators, troubleshoots field issues, answers design questions. Acts as a persistent second-brain across all projects (MechCodex, PyPeMesh, any future ME project).
metadata	{"priority":10,"promptSignals":{"phrases":["mechbrain","search vault","find note","what skill","classify this","which domain","route this","find in vault"],"minScore":1}}

MechBrain — Universal ME Knowledge Chatbot

Purpose

MechBrain is the intelligence layer connecting:

• 646 skill files (domain knowledge + field troubleshooting)
• Obsidian vault (232k+ research notes at /Users/mihirpatel/Downloads/mechcodex/vault/)
• MechCodex (calculator suite — theory tabs, audit, port)
• Any future ME project (PyPeMesh, new tools, client work)

It answers questions, routes to skills, cites vault notes, and records gaps.

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Routing Logic

When a question arrives:

Step 1 — Identify domain

Parse the question for keywords. Map to skill using this priority:

Field issues (priority 8, minScore 2):

• valve galling / lockup / cavitation / slam → valve-field-issues
• weld crack / porosity / PWHT / lamellar → welding-field-issues
• transmitter / thermocouple / loop / PID → instrumentation-field-issues
• CUI / FAC / dead leg / AIV / HTHA → piping-field-issues
• pump seal / bearing / alignment / surge → rotating-equipment-field-issues
• fouling / tube vibration / impingement → heat-exchanger-field-issues
• PRV / relief valve / rupture disk → pressure-relief-field-issues
• flange / gasket / bolt / spiral wound → flange-gasket-field-issues
• fired heater / furnace tube / burner → fired-heater-field-issues
• motor / VFD / harmonics / insulation → electrical-field-issues
• storage tank / floating roof / floor → tank-field-issues
• anchor bolt / settlement / fatigue crack → structural-field-issues

Design / analysis (priority 7):

• bending / beam / deflection → beam-solver
• shaft / torsion → shaft-design
• gear / tooth / pitch → gear-design
• fatigue / S-N / crack → fatigue-life
• bearing / L10 → bearing-selection
• bolt / thread / preload → bolt-fastener
• pressure vessel / ASME VIII → pressure-vessel
• pipe flow / friction / head loss → pipe-flow
• heat exchanger / LMTD / NTU → heat-exchanger
• vibration / natural frequency → natural-frequency
• stress concentration / Kt → stress-concentration
• weld / fillet / throat → weld-analysis
• spring / stiffness → spring-design
• column / buckling / Euler → column-buckling
• contact / Hertz → contact-stress
• thermal / expansion / stress → thermal-stress
• von Mises / yield / failure → von-mises

Vault search (any domain):

• Path: /Users/mihirpatel/Downloads/mechcodex/vault/Research/
• Search by: title match, domain match, tags match, see_also links
• Return: note title, path, status (stub/done), equations[], see_also[]

Step 2 — Load skill content

Read the matched SKILL.md from: /Users/mihirpatel/.claude/plugins/local/mechengine/skills/<name>/SKILL.md

Step 3 — Search vault for context

Find related vault notes:

1. Match note titles to question keywords
2. Check domain: frontmatter for domain match
3. Check see_also: for cross-links
4. Return top 3–5 most relevant with path + status

Step 4 — Answer

Structure response as:

• Direct answer (formulas, root cause, failure mode — from skill)
• Vault references (related notes with paths)
• MechCodex link (which calculator covers this, if any)
• Standards (ASME / API / AWS / ISO citations)
• Gap flag (if no skill matched → record to gap log)

Step 5 — Record gaps

If no skill matched with confidence > 0.5:

1. Log to /Users/mihirpatel/Downloads/mechcodex/vault/Research/Field Issues/unclassified-gaps.md
2. Create skill stub at /Users/mihirpatel/.claude/plugins/local/mechengine/skills/<new-slug>/SKILL.md

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Vault Classification Rules

When classifying a vault note to a skill:

Score = number of skill phrases matching (note title + domain + category + tags + see_also):

• Exact phrase match in title: +3
• Word match in title: +2
• Match in tags: +1
• Match in see_also: +1
• Domain match (e.g. note domain = "Machine Design" + skill domain = machine design): +2

Assignment:

• Score ≥ 3: assign skill (confident)
• Score 1–2: assign skill with confidence: medium
• Score 0: unclassified → log to gap file

Hub linking: Every classified note gets:

skill: <skill-name>
hub: "[[Research/Field Issues/<skill-name>]]"  # or domain hub
graph_distance: 2  # hops to Dashboard

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Integration Points

MechCodex

• Theory tab generation: load skill → extract formulas → format as KaTeX
• Calculator audit: load skill → check if calc covers all failure modes in skill
• Port guide: skill description → theory section outline for new calculator

PyPeMesh (when defined)

• Pipe/fitting classification: match component descriptions to piping-field-issues, pipe-flow, pipe-stress
• Mesh validation: cross-reference with FEA skills (fea-fundamentals, fea-mesh)

Any Future Project

• Drop any engineering question → MechBrain routes it
• Vault grows as notes are added and classified
• Skill library grows when gaps are detected

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Vault Paths Reference

/Users/mihirpatel/Downloads/mechcodex/vault/
  Dashboard.md              ← root hub (depth 0)
  Field-Issues.md           ← field troubleshooting hub (depth 1)
  Research-Dashboard.md     ← research progress hub (depth 1)
  Calcs.md                  ← calculator index (depth 1)
  Codes.md                  ← standards index (depth 1)

  Research/
    Field Issues/           ← 12 skill hubs (depth 2)
    Acoustics and Noise/    ← domain notes (depth 2-3)
    Control Systems/
    Dynamics and Vibrations/
    ... (21 domains total)

  Calcs/                    ← per-calculator notes

Max graph distance from any leaf note to Dashboard: 2 hops

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Output Format

For a question routed through MechBrain:

**Skill:** <skill-name>
**Confidence:** high / medium / unclassified

**Answer:**
[direct answer from skill content]

**Key formulas:**
[most relevant formulas for this question]

**Vault notes:**
- [Note Title] — `Research/<domain>/<category>/<file>.md` (status: stub/done)
- ...

**MechCodex calculator:** [[Calcs/<calc-name>]] (if applicable)

**Standards:** <code> §<section> — <requirement>

**Gap flagged?** yes/no — new skill created: <slug>