innovation.world Product Design & Innovation Resources

Unique free IRC client (Internet Relay Chat) to chat in any IRC room on engineering, innovation product development, or get advice on any topic. Except for bots, you usually find passionate people ready to help. No installation is needed. Select one of the networks, provide your pseudo and enter a room. We have some room suggestions for design and innovation topics, but once entered, use the room tab to search for any other room or topic.

What is IRC: IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a real-time text-based Internet chat. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-on-one communication via private message and chat and data transfer, including file sharing. Developed in the late 1980s by Jarkko Oikarinen, IRC was designed to facilitate group discussions and private conversations over the internet. It operates on a client-server model, where users connect to servers and join channels, or chat rooms, to engage with others. Despite its simple text-based interface, IRC became immensely popular due to its ability to support large numbers of users and its flexibility in creating diverse chat environments. IRC’s open protocol encouraged a community-driven approach, leading to the establishment of various networks and the development of numerous client applications. While modern communication tools have largely overshadowed IRC, it remains a beloved tool among certain communities for its lightweight, no-frills approach to chatting and its enduring sense of nostalgia for the early days of the internet (IRC history).

What is an IRC Client: An IRC client is software that allows users to connect to an IRC network and communicate with other users in real-time. It provides features such as private messaging, file sharing, and chatroom creation. IRC clients are available for various platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices, but also, as the ones below, web-hosted, thus requiring no local installation for the user.

Note #1: the tools below allow one network per IRC client; use the menu on the right or scroll down to access each of the 5 main networks available. Some rooms are suggested for each network, but use #XXX function once log in to display all the rooms (hundreds to thousands).
Note #2: be careful on any unusual request, command, or download proposals! See our tutorial on IRC here: IRC commands. Being polite and humble is the rule.
Tip: be a bit patient at a start of a conversation as many users let the window open and work meanwhile on something else and may not answer instantaneously.

For the first visit in search of engineering support, we recommend connecting to Libera.chat or Freenode below.

Some of the rooms available on the IRCnet network: #engineering, #spaceengineers, #3DPrinting, #programming, #math, #science, #physics, #chemistry

Some of the rooms available on the DALnet network: #html, #3dprinting, #High-tech, #aws, #robotics, #electronics, #math, #physics

The oldest network, but possibly the less unified, as different local server instances may have different rules so as in EU or North America. We connect here via the Dalarnas Univerity (Sweden).
Some of the available rooms on the EFnet network: #engineering, #engineer, #3dprinting, #prototype, #openscad, #csmech, #science, #maths, #science, #autocad, #solidworks

Freenode was initially created to host OpenSource projects in particular. It hosts a lot of channels related to technologies and engineering.
Some of the rooms available on the Freenode network: #engineering, #ee, #systemengineers, #design, #Designers, #opensourcedesign, #AltiumDesigner, #productivity, #openprinting, #3d-printers, #sprint, #3dprinter, #reprap, #arduino, #kicad, ##algorithms, #c, #programming, #hardware, ##mechanics, #MechanicAdvice, ##electronics, ##math, #science, ##neuroscience, ##chemistry, ##biochemistry, #astrophysics,#kicad,#freecad, ##openscad, #openscad, #librecad, #MechanicAdvice, #solidworks
Note: a double “#” usually means it is not the official channel compared to a single “#” … but if there is no official, then just another one on the same topic.

Libera.chat is the youngest network but hosts the most active rooms of this page.
Some of the rooms available on the Libera.chat network: ##stm32, ##science, ##engineering, ##systemengineers, ##multirotors, #design, ##design, #reprap, #octoprint, #python, #C++, ##hardware, #windows, #php, #java, #arduino, ##electronics, ##perl, ##mechanics, ##electronics, ##electronics, #sparkfun, #hackvana, ##math, #algorithms, ##science, ##biology, #logic, ##programming, ##chemistry, ##physics, #kicad, #freecad, #openscad, #mechanicaladvice, #arduino
Note: a double “#” usually means it is not the official channel compared to a single “#” … but if there is no official, then just another one on the same topic.