You see that hot looking Camaro up above? That’s a thousand features of SolidWorks surfacing coolness you’re about to create. There’s an even cooler aspect to this as well. Matthew Perez, a Certified SolidWorks Expert (CSWE) and designer of injection molded parts, created this tutorial for you to learn all he has learned about modeling a car with SolidWorks. Oh, and he’s providing it to you absolutely free. Here’s the story and the download. Get your surface slappers ready.

Modeling a Car in SolidWorks

Matthew first brought up his Camaro modeling project on the SolidWorks Forums. It’s a great read with a lot of interaction with people on various aspects of the model. I followed up with Matthew to find out more about his background, why he chose to model the Camaro and make it free to everyone.

I am/was an engineering student but haven’t finished school yet for various reasons. For the past 10 years (during school and the past 5 years full time) I’ve worked as a designer/fabricator for Virginia tech transportation institute. I really enjoy the design side of things over the engineering side so ive really pushed myself in that direction. I’ve been using SolidWorks for about 2 years or so now. Before that (and still), I used UGS and Inventor, as well as a few other programs.

I was introduced to parametric modeling software when we received Inventor in 2007. Before that I had played with Autocad off and on for school but really never did much with it. SolidWorks is great and it really gave me the platform to pursue surface modeling. Shortly after using SolidWorks I began preparing for the certifications. I’m completely self taught and do not have any formal CAD training. I received my Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP) certification for Surfacing, Mold tools and Sheet Metal, then went on to get the Certified SolidWorks Expert (CSWE) certification shortly after.

Modeling a car had always been something I wanted to do but didn’t know where to start (as I’m sure most users). I tried a few cars before I gave the Camaro a shot. The choice for the car really came about because someone posted their attempt on another forum with a few questions. I really just wanted to give it a try and went from there. Since there were really no free tutorials out there for cars in SolidWorks I wanted to document my attempt at the car which is what I’ve provided.

It’s less of a “do this, do that” document and more about explaining my thought process through the model. It’s also unedited, rough and written during my first attempt at the car. I really enjoy CAD work and helping others learn. I feel this transfer of knowledge should be free to those who want to learn so as of now everything I do is available to anyone who wants it (not the files, but the knowledge ;-).

Here are some renderings of the model Matthew worked up real quick in PhotoView 360. Just imagine it, you could do the same.

The SolidWorks Camaro Tutorial

The step-by-step .pdf is a whopping 296 pages of Matthew’s insight about modeling a Camaro in SolidWorks. Don’t worry, there are a lot of images which show you what he does. The only thing you’ll start with, besides the step-by-step, are the blueprints (via the-blueprints.com) which help you layout the profiles and guides for the surfaces.

This car wasn’t the easiest to model because of some of the lines, but I had fun doing it and wanted to pass it along to maybe show others how I approached it. – Matthew Perez

Camaro-files.zip (5.44MB)

Taking on the challenge? Tell us your thoughts, ask questions, throw out some tips and by all means, let Matthew know how much you appreciate the work he’s put into this.

A big thanks to Charles Culp for tipping us off about this!