1 )Aston Martin 2022 F1 Car CAD Model

Being an engineering student at Northeastern University has given me the opportunity to learn from some of the best professors in the world. In my freshman year I was introduced to a variety of engineering design platforms such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks.

SolidWorks was by far the software that fascinated me the most. The level of detailing and accuracy achievable on the software is truly remarkable and exciting. During the course of my freshman year, I designed various concepts for my cornerstone class projects. Previous designs include Thor's Hammer, Captain America's Shield, and a basic Fidget Spinner.

In summer 22 however, I wanted to explore SolidWorks on a far greater scale. My interest in excelling on the Software coupled with my enthusiasm for Formula 1, inspired me to pursue a personal project of CADing a Formula 1 car on SolidWorks. Since my favorite F1 driver of all time, Sebastian Vettal,drives for Aston Martin, I decided to pursue the Aston Martin Design for 2022.

Skills Used

Resourcefulness in finding the right images
Developing a strategy to approach the design process
Several SolidWorks functions like splines, plane referencing, revolved extrusions, mirroring, surface lofting, etc
-FEA analysis on the front wing and halo of the car

Challenges:

My first major challenge came at the very start when trying to find high quality images of the front, right, and top views of the car
Another challenge came about when trying to initially mirror the right side pods and upper body to the left. Due to some inconsistent sketch defining, it did not work initially
Another challenge was with plane and face referencing. Being new to solid works, I realized the importance of getting comfortable with referencing, especially when designing the flaps of the front wing
Throughout the project, a major challenge was getting comfortable with using splines, something that took some time to get a hang of.

Focused left view of the car, focusing on the front left wheel (custom designed), nose cone, side pods, HALO, and front wing of the car

Right view of the car, highlighting all details including vents, HALO, bottom and top structures, and the back wing.

Final Outcome

By the end of this design project, I learned a great deal about approaching a design process. I learned the importance of never moving forward with a sketch before completing the sketch's dimensioning. This is critical to avoid major roadblocks down the road. I also learned the importance of using separate planes for different part development, this helps other parts stay stable if you want to isolate a sketch or make changes. There is always a risk when overcrowding a plane.

The final result was a great outcome thankfully. The design had great details and images were utilized well to ensure no part/ element was missed