Sunday 5 August 2012

Engineering Extremes

Here are some pictures of a 1947 Formula 3 car we took at the M Shed in Bristol (UK).  Bristol is home to many great engineers and engineering projects; Brunel's SS Great Britain and many famous aircraft including the Bristol Brabazon and Concorde.  We really liked the simple and clean engineering on the Formula 3 car, every part had a purpose and it was beautifully constructed.






Tonight NASA will attempt to land their Mars Curiosity Rover after a 9 month journey to the red planet.  The Curiosity Rover and the Formula 3 car are poles apart in time, complexity and ambition but they both share the common theme of great engineering and good design.  We're all wishing the NASA team the best of luck with the landing.  You can follow progress on Nasa TV.




Thursday 21 June 2012

Rendering with Kerkythea

I've just been re-experimenting with Kerkythea 2008 to render some CAD images of the kart.  The power of this program is outstanding when coupled to a reasonable specification PC with 6-8 GB of memory.  Render times are quick and every parameter imaginable can be adjusted.




Materials can be applied to the smallest components to give a photo-realistic finish.  Here's a rendering of a simple electrical connector.  


If you're into digital design check out Kerkythea at:  http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/


Thursday 17 May 2012

At HMW Designs we are passionate about building mechanical devices for fun.  We’re also into digital design and we create downloadable e-plans for our designs that can be printed on a standard A4 printer.  We like to work with metal and we are keen on encouraging people to have a go at welding.  You’d be surprised, with a little practice, welding is not as hard as you might imagine.


Our current design is an electric kart for kids.  It features a steel frame and is a good first welding project, once you’ve got the basics mastered.  The frame is a simple welding task and can be made using a stick (MMA), MIG or TIG welder.

Kids of all ages love to get involved in making fun things, particularly if they get to drive it when it’s finished.  You can download the plans for the kart from www.electric-go-kart.co.uk.  The kart plans are free!

Building the kart opens the door to lots of engineering concepts, it’s a great way to show kids how an electric drive works, it shows them how speed controllers work and also teaches them about steering and braking.  Whilst the kart is a simple vehicle it provides a great stepping stone to more complex vehicle builds.

We'll be posting more on our blog about electric vehicles in general, renewable energy (who's going to be first to charge their kart from PV cells or a wind turbine?) and pointing you at useful online resources for learning about welding.  You can also follow us on:










Monday 7 May 2012

We've just set up an HWM Designs Ltd blog. We'll posting useful info about kart building, welding, design and general creativity.