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Once in a while when we need a good looking image for the front of a catalog, Power Point presentation, or to wow potential clients, Ken gives Yusuf a call to whip something up. Yusuf works out of our Northampton, headquarters, but is always willing to help if available. He also helps us with packaging designs, laying out brochures, and other general creative tasks. I met him back in 2007 at the Autosport show and he's a nice guy.

When Yusuf would send us a really cool looking rendering, I sometimes wondered how he did it. The video below gives a brief overview of the tools, software, and some of his work. Just a couple of years ago, a "commercially affordable" PC wouldn't be able to do the job. Not at a reasonable work pace at least. I wonder if ATI sponsors Cosworth with video cards? I know ATI hooks us up at our Torrance office with a whole bunch of nothing unfortunately.

I originally found this video on a Dell coporate blog. At Cosworth we use all Dell computers, servers, etc. at all of our offices world wide because they are ultra reliable with good technical support. They aren't the fastest computers in the world and are not tweakable for overclocking speed demon types (like myself), but in the business environment they are great. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but we still have some computers running that are almost ten years old and have been used daily.


Here's a rendering of the 650bhp, 10,3000rpm, Cosworth 3.5L V8 that can be found in the recently unveiled Lotus T125.

Here's a rendering of the CA2010 F1 engine. Lighting and texturing possibilities are endless with the massive processing power available to Yusuf. Check out the reflections on the dry sump tank.

Here's a rendering of the front brakes on the Cosworth CS400 Impreza. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the CS400, it looks like we are going to be designing some big brake packages for limited applications. Stay tuned for more info in the near future. One thing's for sure: I'm going to have a ton of fun testing the crap out of the big brake kits.


Here's sort of an "x-ray" through a Cosworth VQ35DE short block. Of course it helps when Nissan is kind enough to let you have copies of their models. This one was on the front cover of the Cosworth Performance Parts catalog for the last couple of years.


Here's an exploded view of a Duratec engine that Cosworth builds for Caterham. This engine has the Cosworth dry sump, barrell throttles, carbon air box, and some other goodies. I believe it is the 260bhp version.

Here's a rendering of the Cosworth CA2006 F1 engine with Xtrac transmission.

All of these renderings were done by Yusuf on his Dell Precision T5500 with 24GB of RAM and AMD/ATI Firepro 1GB V8800 video card. Pretty cool looking stuff huh?

If you're tired of being a CAD monkey, why not learn how to be an artist monkey instead? With some CAD models, a baller computer, 3 monitors, and some skill you can create some very cool looking 3D renderings!

Posted in: Magazine

Comments

Clifford
# Clifford
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 9:22 AM
Mother of god....
Mike Kojima
# Mike Kojima
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 10:43 AM
I need a Cosworth engine for my IS-F....
Just_Wanna_Drive
# Just_Wanna_Drive
Thursday, August 12, 2010 2:00 AM
I want that crank for the base of a end table...
Jim
# Jim
Thursday, August 12, 2010 2:34 AM
Cut away pictures are always cool. I didn't know Cosworth made a 1 cylinder engine. What is it used for? Or was that just something on the drawing table.
Jim
# Jim
Thursday, August 12, 2010 2:35 AM
Yeah, what guy didn't want to throw a piece of glass over an F1 engine and call it a coffee table. But I can just hear the wives now, giving the 1 billion reasons why it's a tasteless bad idea, until one day you come home to hear that your crank end table is sitting at the Salvation Army in another state.

R/C plane engines go from around a hundred to a few thousand, depending on scale, but I'm guessing it still wouldn't come close to the cost of a government contracted Cosworth R/C engine.
JustinP10
# JustinP10
Thursday, August 12, 2010 4:33 AM
That's bad ass! He's an amazing artist.
Eric Hsu
# Eric Hsu
Thursday, August 12, 2010 7:33 AM
The 1 banger is an engine we make for an autonomous drone/unmanned recon plane. Basically a baller R/C airplane.
Nick
# Nick
Thursday, August 12, 2010 8:39 AM
*Drool*
Eric Hsu
# Eric Hsu
Friday, August 13, 2010 3:15 AM
Cosworth does not use Solidworks. I believe Yusuf uses a stand alone 3D rendering program.
mikemiessler
# mikemiessler
Friday, August 13, 2010 4:34 AM
oh ok. IM still amazed at the clarity for the rendering. holy poop!
mikemiessler
# mikemiessler
Friday, August 13, 2010 7:42 AM
is this a 3d rendering program or just a display. for instance is this a badass version of "3d view" in solidworks?
Steve
# Steve
Monday, August 16, 2010 10:31 AM
Love the work done on the VQ35DE by Cosworth
Scott Helmer
# Scott Helmer
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 2:56 AM
Judging by the video, looks like Yusuf uses Autodesk 3ds MAX. Makes sense, since he references importing .cad files (Autodesk is the company that makes AutoCAD). To be honest, I'm mildly surprised that he doesn't use Autodesk Inventor, but maybe he does for making said .cad files, since Inventor is basically AutoCAD, but you do all of the work in 3D from the start (aside from the initial sketch at the beginning, of course), you can create virtual WORKING assemblies, and Inventor includes a suite of processing utilities for FEA, etc., etc. Basically it's AutoCAD on steroids, and designed specifically for engineering/machining purposes. The fancy name for it is "Parametric Solid Modelling". Here's a tip for if you're into the idea of engineering your own stuff (assuming you have a background in engineering, plenty of cash, and a computer to run it): Learn it, live it, love it. Seriously, Inventor is the program that competes with CATIA, which Boeing (among many, many other aerospace companies) uses to engineer the jet propelled tubes that most of the world trusts their lives with on a daily basis, and some engineers actually PREFER it over CATIA.

By the by, I'm not a rep for Autodesk, CATIA really is spelled in all caps xD. I am, however, an on again/off again Engineering student ;)
Mark F
# Mark F
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 6:16 AM
At 0:58 he states he does use Autodesk 3DS Max.

I believe the CAD is done on another program and the renderings he does are with the 3Ds Max.
Scott Helmer
# Scott Helmer
Thursday, August 19, 2010 1:30 AM
Yeah, I basically said that right after I mentioned being surprised that he doesn't use Inventor for the CAD work. 3ds MAX is definitely more for rendering than actual CAD work, and would be pretty much perfect for use with the aforementioned Inventor as far as near seamless work flow is concerned. Makes me wish I was still in my "Engineering Graphics" class (my community college's Parametric Solid Modelling course) so that I could use the student version of Inventor and "make" something in my spare time :D
Eric Hsu
# Eric Hsu
Thursday, August 19, 2010 12:41 PM
The CAD modeling is done by engineers using Unigraphics NX. Yusuf takes an exported model and tweaks it in 3ds MAX to make it look spiffy.

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