This was my final project for the CNC class I took to become certified to use the school's 3-axis CNC mill. It was a full-semester class for credit. I chose to design a wheel center for use on the FSAE race car, though the design was never used.
I started by making an accurate drawing of the bolt pattern the wheel center would need to accommodate in order to fasten to the race car's hubs and the other two pieces of the 3-piece rims we were using. I scaled it down and printed out a few dozen to sketch on, knowing they would work--both structurally and aesthetically--on their intended application. I modeled my favorite sketch in SolidWorks, moved it over to I-DEAS to program the G-code for the CNC, then cut it in the CNC from billet aluminum at 1/2 scale.
SolidWorks model of the chosen design
Technical drawing at 1/2 scale for machining
Freshly machined, 1/2 scale wheel center
Sketches on scaled printouts
