CW) Finding the available brands/models of components and assessing their performance value and cost is next. The goal here is to find “candidates” that would perform as needed and fall within budget. Car design software isn’t exactly a simple task – far from it – so you need to find software that matches your experience level. 2D programs like Illustrator are the simplest, and if you’re looking to model in 3D then the likes of Fusion 360 are more beginner-friendly than programs like CATIA or Rhino 3D. Key considerations for this type of design are the restrictions and opportunities created by the regulations and your budget constraints. To illustrate, let’s picture a wheel on a race car. The wheel attaches to a tire and it also attaches to a wheel hub. If I decide to change the wheel from a 4 bolt by 4″ bolt circle to a 5 bolt by 5″ bolt circle, I’ll need to change the wheel hub as well. Now let’s say that wheel is no longer available in the size we need to fit the tire. I’ll need to change the tire as well. Further, what happens if the new wheel hub doesn’t fit the spindle I have? I’ll need to change it too and so on…

The Design of a vehicle is an iterative process where you attempt to meet all objectives you have defined. In practice, you usually won’t meet all of them, but hopefully most. Fusion 360 is great for collaboration as it’s cloud-based, and it has instant data-management tools that help bring teams together and streamline workflows. For the design of the components, stress analyses through finite elements should always be conducted, especially to assess fatigue strength of components. For this, a good knowledge of experienced loads is crucial. The computational simulations should precede the building of prototypes to validate the results obtained. Some components will be design for stiffness rather than strength. One of the biggest car manufacturers that uses Alias in the design process is Aston Martin. This case study explains how Alias allowed the Aston Martin team to consolidate on one standardized, collaborative tool for all its surface creation modeling, therefore streamlining the design process.

Design Process

This is a multi-functional program for CAD, CAM, CAE, and PCB modeling that Autodesk claims is the only-cloud based program with this level of integration. Tests are also run on free practice sessions of a race weekend, but in this case, the amount of time available to test is much reduced. During these sessions, the car must comply entirely with the rules, and this restricts the testing of any radical components. Generally the test of new components and evaluation work is done during the Friday morning session, as in most cases, teams will be concentrating on car set-up and race strategy work during the afternoon session and Saturday morning session.

CW) Depending on the series, there may be components which are required to be “Off-the-shelf” to save money or give parity to racing. Along with the regulations in #2 above, noting which components are not “Negotiable” is useful. If regulations stipulate a type and not a specific brand/model of a component, then there may be an opportunity to optimize your choice of brand/model. This is because its smart, intuitive design makes it more accessible than other programs, but it still offers all the tools you need to make high-quality car designs. Clark explains in a blog how he uses Soldiworks CAD to draw, conceptualize, and model cars and then Solidworks Visualizer to produce renderings that are shared with executives. Not only does Solidworks allow him to produce top quality renderings, but also to visualize them in settings like highways and deserts from a more rounded perspective.Car design is a process that begins with a vision or concept of the vehicle to be created. Much like production vehicle design, DIY car design seeks to define goals and objectives for the design. In passenger vehicles, the objectives are usually around price, acceptable performance and safety and satisfying the transportation needs of the target market. Common Race or Performance Vehicle Objectives The desired CG location will generally depend on neutral steer points (which depends on the choice of tyres), the location of the aerodynamic center of pressure (CP), required load on driven wheels for traction and required load on steering wheels for control. In addition, the CG must be as low as possible, to reduce lateral transfer on the car. This is also the case if you’re looking for mobile apps for designing cars, as only a few programs, like Adobe Illustrator, offer high-quality apps suitable for designing cars on smartphones and tablets. 2D or 3D modeling? Please see our 'Promotional Design Service' for more information with how Livery Design and Promotional Design can be combined specifically to motorsport. We now choose the chassis type. In most racing environments, either a space frame or a carbon fibre unitary construction should be used. Carbon “tubs” as they are called, provide much higher strength and stiffness with a remarkably low weight, but the exorbitant costs inherent to this type of chassis limit their application to the highest echelons of motorsport. The specifications shown here will be pretty similar for either type. Categories based on road cars will often have the original metal unitary construction reinforced with a space frame-like roll cage.

During the detailed design, analytical tools are available to the designer. Useful programs may be made in-house requiring almost zero computational resources. This can be used to determine suspension geometry and stiffness; simples stress analysis and performance simulations. Blender is used by professional car designers at Tata Motors, a leading Indian automotive manufacturing company. Mathilde Ampe, a digital modeler at Tata Motors, explains how integrating Blender into their workflow helped to speed up and simplify the process. The second Dassault Systemes software on our list, CA T IA is a very advanced and powerful software suite covering CAD, CAM, CAE, product lifecycle management, and more. It’s best known in the car design industry for being used by Tesla Motors. A Toyota 2000GT Super GT race car? You must be mad! The Toyota 2000GT is one of the most iconic and beautiful models Toyota has ever created. Its classic 60s lines and curvaceous body have seen it age elegantly, and the rarity of models has made them a much sought-after car, with buyers willing to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to get their hands on one. Rhino 3D is one of the few car design automotive software that offers a native mac app, and has a wide range of powerful modeling tools that make it suitable for modeling cars.Alias offers a wide variety of features that makes it a favorite of car designers. You can use subdivisional modeling tailored to product design to bring your concepts to life, and then fine-tune your surfaces to a professional level using the Class-A surfacing tools. There is also services available for the 'Commercial' and 'Transportation' aspects of motorsport. MDM Designs can create livery designs for Race Transporters, Vans and more. Visual Proposals Figure 2. G-G diagram comparing performance envelopes for a Toyota Celica and a Porsche 928S. The curves represent the combined (longitudinal and lateral) acceleration capability of the cars. (www.temporal.com.au)