Hi guys,

I am new to the world of kit cars and design but a have had some uniqueish designs floating in my head and now i would like to design it, digitally first then build it so if there is anybody good with solidworks or autocad near Reading let me know or even a company that can help me would do too.

i dont know it is the right section to put this topic so just let me know if i have as i am new to this

mant thanks

luke parker

ideally you want the designs done in solidworks so you can look at stresses ect.

if no one with solid works comes along i could help you out. the work that i do is normally only 2d such as houses, store plans and elevations ect. let me know.

What sort of results are you looking for?

Dan

[Edited on 3/4/11 by dan_g8]

Learning any 3D cad program can be a reall pain in the backside. To begin with you really need to be able to think/design in 3D.

If you have a design in your head then this is a really good starting point.


Have you tried drawing your designs the old fasioned way on paper etc first? Work out the basics of what you actually want to draw and hash out the details.

"Sketching" in a 3D program is a nightmare, you need to know exactly what you want to draw (more or less) before you start.

If you do have some hanhd sketches of parts etc, I suggest getting Solidworks (or sketchup if you want something for free) and give it a go... Someone here will be able to give you some pointers, or there are loads of handy tips on youtube :-)

Good luck to you

far better is to just make a clay model about the size of an R/C car rather than faff around with cad programs. There are guys on here who have used the models to then take point measurements to transfer the body shape onto the computer for designing moulding tooling. It's no different to production car design either, that's how it's been done for decades and for very good reasons too.

[Edited on 3/4/11 by Mr Whippy]

I hate to burst your bubble but trying to design a car with little/no knowledge of kit cars, design or CAD is a massive massive undertaking.

Even trying to type out a basic guide on how to get started here is a pretty big job.

Start by understanding in detail what is already out there on the market (finished designs) also try to get a working knowledge of CAD, from this you can then try to retro engineer parts and then maybe design some improvements and upgrade parts.

If you try to start with a blank sheet you will get absolutely knowhere, except frustrated.

As an example I have been using CAD for 10 years, working as a designer for nearly my whole career and have worked in international motorsport and currently F1.... myself and two similarly experienced colleagues are trying to design a car for the 750mc RGB championship from scratch and we are bogged down already..... its hard work, bloody hard work. There is a reason why car makers take 5 years and 1000's of people to design a car....

FWIW, if the consideration arises, do NOT use Google Sketchup. It's fine for drawing houses but absolutely sucks at real 3D chassis work.

Lukeep,
Donīt let anybody tell you you canīt, but check a few threads that involved designing from zero to gauge the level of commitment you will need.
Even building to an existing design is a major undertaking.
Welcome to the madhouse.
AA

Read this thread.

http://locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=54042

quote:

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FWIW, if the consideration arises, do NOT use Google Sketchup. It's fine for drawing houses but absolutely sucks at real 3D chassis work.

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hi guys i love the info given so far

ill say now i am sketchup literate its great for designing my mums kitchen and doing a few garage conversions but sucks at car design. I have enrolled in farnbrough colleage in september for a advanced cad course and mig, tig, arc and gas welding course as a mature student it feels weard saying that at 25.

i know i am a novice at this but i think i am ready for this i have the body manufacture process sorted based on the bailey blade on youtube but with some diffrences in the process and electrics and engine i just need help with the chassis and suspention and its design then creating the body digitally so i can take segments and cut them out on MDF with foam between then sculpt it like the bailey blade but then body filler over the foam get it perfect then take a plug moulding from that and hey presto i have a negitave ready for gel coat and fiberglass.

What do you guys think?

cheers and many thanks

Luke parker

extra infoi have found a chassis style that would fit the job its called the vortex f1 i saw the chassis in their promo video on youtube though i would need to drop the rails next to the cockpit down or get rid of them altogeather for my design to work propultion wise would be either a jag x-type transverse v6 or a rover 75 transverse v6.

Thanks for the link scudderfish

Lukeep, there's quite a stink being raised about that f1 - MEV are claiming its just a reclad early MEV rocket! (and it looks it!)

MEV have this to say about it:

This car is based on a MEV Sonic7 that I supplied to them last year. I did not authorise this use. It was a pre production kit and was not stress or crash tested. It was designed for a 1.8 115bhp engine. It has not been driven as the wheels catch the body and the brakes are not connected as seen at SEMA.

Vortex are now posting pictures of a badly welded copy of the MEV Sonic7 chassis. We have never supplied a chassis without powder coat for the Sonic7. This just proves that they are using my design without consent and claerly need to practice welding b4 they put 400 bhp in a chassis designed for 115bhp.


Scary stuff! Hope it's not the case...

James

[Edited on 4/4/11 by cloudy]