Tag: mechanical design

Posted on

3D Scanning for Industrial Projects in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley

Engineering the Hunter: Precision Meets Industry

Few regions in Australia represent heavy industry quite like Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
From the coal mines at Bengalla and Mount Thorley, to the power stations at Bayswater and Eraring, to the Port of Newcastle’s massive shiploaders and conveyors, this region has powered Australia for generations.

But with age, complexity, and constant upgrades come challenges:

  • Outdated drawings
  • Tight shutdown schedules
  • Complex brownfield modifications
  • Difficult site access

That’s where 3D scanning and LiDAR modelling are transforming how industrial projects are designed, verified, and delivered — ensuring every bolt, beam, and bracket fits perfectly the first time.

At Hamilton By Design, we bring together field experience, digital precision, and local knowledge to help the Hunter’s industries design, maintain, and modernise with confidence.

3D scanning Newcastle, 3D scanning Hunter Valley, LiDAR modelling, mechanical design, coal handling, power stations, Port of Newcastle, Tomago Aluminium, Hamilton By Design

What Is 3D Scanning — and Why It Matters in Industry

3D laser scanning, also known as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), captures millions of data points across an industrial site to create a precise digital representation — known as a point cloud.

This point cloud forms the foundation of a digital twin of your plant or asset — an exact, measurable 3D environment that engineers can design within using SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or Navisworks.

The result?
Every measurement is accurate, every clash is detected before fabrication, and every installation happens exactly as planned.

Why Newcastle and the Hunter Valley Need Scanning More Than Ever

The Hunter is an engineering powerhouse — but much of its infrastructure was built decades ago.
Many coal handling plants, power stations, and smelters are now in a constant cycle of refurbishment, retrofit, and compliance upgrade.

The challenges are familiar:

  • Old 2D drawings don’t reflect today’s reality.
  • Assets have been modified repeatedly over decades.
  • Shutdown windows are shrinking.
  • Every error adds cost and delays production.

By scanning before you design, you remove uncertainty.
You don’t guess clearances — you know them.
You don’t estimate tie-in points — you model them.
You don’t hope it fits — you prove it digitally.

That’s the power of 3D scanning in today’s industrial environment.

3D Scanning, Industrial Projects, Newcastle Hunter Valley

Where Scanning Adds Value Across the Hunter’s Industries

⚙️ Power Generation

The Bayswater, Eraring, and Vales Point Power Stations are engineering icons.
Upgrades to cooling systems, ducts, platforms, and access structures require millimetre accuracy.
3D scanning ensures:

  • Every retrofit aligns with existing steelwork and pipework.
  • Structural interferences are caught before fabrication.
  • Shutdown work can be completed on time — without rework.

Whether it’s a fan casing replacement or a duct reroute, laser scanning removes the guesswork from aging assets.

⛏️ Coal Handling and CHPP Facilities

The Hunter Valley’s CHPP network — Mount Thorley Warkworth, Ravensworth, Bengalla, Hunter Valley Operations — all depend on reliable mechanical systems.
These plants evolve continuously: diverter chutes, screen replacements, conveyors, and wash plant modifications.

Scanning delivers:

  • Accurate as-built geometry for plant upgrades.
  • Clash detection between new and existing equipment.
  • Shutdown planning certainty — no unexpected fit-up issues.
  • Integration of SolidWorks models directly into point clouds for visual verification.

For CHPP managers and maintenance engineers, 3D scanning is now as essential as the plant itself.

Mining Industries | Hamilton By Design

⚓ Port of Newcastle and Coal Export Terminals

Newcastle’s port is the lifeline of the Hunter’s economy.
Facilities such as Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS), Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG), and Carrington Terminal handle massive volumes of coal every hour.

The complexity of these sites — shiploaders, conveyors, gantries, and stacker-reclaimers — demands accuracy during maintenance and upgrade works.
3D scanning supports:

  • Shiploader upgrades and boom extensions.
  • Conveyor and transfer tower alignment checks.
  • Wharf structure condition monitoring.
  • Integration with mechanical and electrical systems.

By scanning before modification, downtime is reduced, safety improves, and project teams gain total confidence in every fit-up.

🏭 Aluminium and Heavy Manufacturing

At Tomago Aluminium Smelter, precision is everything.
The scale of the site — from potlines to switchyards — makes manual measurement impractical and unsafe.

Laser scanning captures geometry accurately across large areas, enabling:

  • Retrofit planning without full shutdowns.
  • Clearance checks for cranes, ducts, and potline infrastructure.
  • Digital twins for long-term maintenance and asset management.

Beyond Tomago, manufacturers in Waratah, Beresfield, and Thornton use scanning to validate jigs, fixtures, and workshop layouts — ensuring local fabrication accuracy that matches site requirements.

🔋 Emerging Energy and Infrastructure

As the Hunter region transitions toward renewable and low-emission industries, scanning plays a critical role in planning new infrastructure around existing sites.
This includes:

  • Hydrogen and gas pipeline tie-ins.
  • Solar and battery installations near existing grid connections.
  • Conversion of existing power plant structures for new technology.

Accurate point-cloud data ensures new energy meets old infrastructure safely and efficiently.

From Field to Fabrication: The Hamilton By Design Process

At Hamilton By Design, our 3D scanning workflow is built around practical, industrial needs:

  1. Site Scan & Data Capture
    Using high-precision LiDAR scanners, we safely capture full site geometry in hours, not weeks.
    Scans are performed during operation or short shutdowns, without interrupting production.
  2. Point Cloud Registration & Processing
    Multiple scans are aligned to create a unified, accurate model of your facility.
    The result is a true “digital twin” of your asset, complete with millimetre accuracy.
  3. SolidWorks Modelling & Integration
    Our design team converts scan data into fully functional 3D models — chutes, pipework, platforms, or structural frames — ready for fabrication.
  4. Clash Detection & Design Validation
    Every new design is tested within the digital twin, ensuring it fits the first time.
  5. Fabrication Drawings & e-Drawings
    Detailed 2D and 3D deliverables are provided for fabricators, site crews, and certifiers — ensuring seamless communication between design and construction.

Why Local Expertise Matters

Many engineering firms offer scanning — but few understand what it takes to work on a live plant in the Hunter Valley.

Hamilton By Design combines trade experience, mechanical design, and regional understanding.
We’ve worked with the same assets, fabricators, and contractors who keep the region’s power, port, and manufacturing industries running.

We design for real fabrication conditions — using Australian Standards, local materials, and practical build methods.
That means fewer redesigns, faster turnarounds, and safer installations.

Safety and Access: Scanning Without Shutdowns

Traditional site measurement often means working at heights, in confined spaces, or around operating equipment.
3D scanning eliminates those risks.

Our scanners capture data safely from the ground — even in restricted or hazardous areas.
This not only improves safety but also allows projects to continue without halting production.

For large plants like Eraring or PWCS, scanning entire structures during live operation is now standard practice — enabling ongoing maintenance and long-term asset integrity planning.

Case Example: Port Upgrade Without Rework

A local contractor approached Hamilton By Design for a conveyor and tower modification project at the Port of Newcastle.
Existing drawings were decades old, and the structure had been modified repeatedly.

We performed a 3D scan of the tower and adjacent conveyors, capturing the as-built geometry in one day.
The resulting model revealed several misalignments between the planned chute and existing supports.
By correcting these in SolidWorks before fabrication, the contractor avoided at least 48 hours of site rework and kept the shutdown on schedule.

That’s measurable ROI — precision that pays for itself.

The ROI of 3D Scanning in Heavy Industry

A single hour of lost production at a CHPP or power station can cost $20,000 to $50,000.
A single day’s delay can exceed $500,000 in lost revenue and labour costs.

3D scanning reduces that risk by eliminating rework and ensuring every component fits right the first time.
Typical return on investment (ROI):

  • Scanning cost: <1% of total project value.
  • Rework savings: 3–10% of total cost.
  • Downtime reduction: 1–3 days saved per shutdown.

When accuracy drives reliability, 3D scanning isn’t an expense — it’s insurance.

Supporting the Hunter’s Future

Newcastle and the Hunter Valley are evolving — from coal and power to renewables, advanced manufacturing, and logistics.
But one thing hasn’t changed: the region’s foundation in engineering, precision, and hard work.

Hamilton By Design supports that legacy with the next generation of technology — scanning, digital modelling, and mechanical design that keep the region’s assets efficient, safe, and ready for the future.

We’re not an offshore CAD vendor.
We’re local engineers who’ve worked in the field, understand your equipment, and speak the same language as your crews.

Let’s Build the Future of Hunter Industry – Accurately

Every project starts with one question: “Do we have accurate site data?”

With Hamilton By Design, the answer is always yes.

We deliver:
✅ 3D laser scanning and LiDAR modelling
✅ Point-cloud to SolidWorks integration
✅ Reverse engineering and FEA validation
✅ Fabrication drawings tailored for local workshops
✅ On-site consultation with practical engineering insight

Whether you’re upgrading a conveyor at Bayswater, fabricating platforms for Tomago, or retrofitting process piping at Kooragang, we ensure your next project fits perfectly — before steel is cut.

👉 Get your industrial site scanned and modelled before your next shutdown.
Visit www.hamiltonbydesign.com.au or contact us to request a capability statement today.

Mechanical Engineering | Structural Engineering

Mechanical Drafting | Structural Drafting

3D CAD Modelling | 3D Scanning

Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, 3D Scanning

Posted on

Designing for Developing Hazards: Lessons from the Derrimut Crane Collapse

Designing for Developing Hazards

Crane accidents are among the most visible reminders of the risks inherent in construction. The collapse of a crane at a data centre site in Derrimut, Melbourne, brought attention once again to the vulnerability of temporary lifting structures. While formal investigations are still underway, and no conclusions should be drawn prematurely, the event provides a valuable opportunity for reflection within the engineering community.

This article considers the collapse not as an isolated failure but as a case study in hazard identification. In particular, it highlights how mechanical engineers must adapt from a static, design-phase view of risk to a dynamic, real-time approach to hazard monitoring. Wind, soil stability, and load conditions are well-known hazards. But with modern tools — including LiDAR scanning for obstacle detection — engineers can move toward a future where developing hazards are continuously tracked, anticipated, and controlled.

From Hazard Identification to Live Hazard Monitoring

Hazard identification has traditionally been a design-phase process: engineers anticipate risks, apply safety factors, and create conservative margins. This remains essential. Yet the Derrimut collapse illustrates the limits of a static model in a dynamic environment.

Cranes are exposed to evolving hazards:

  • Wind gusts that change minute by minute.

  • Soil stability that shifts with rainfall, excavation, or groundwater.

  • Obstacles such as power lines or nearby structures, which can create cascading risks if struck.

  • Load dynamics, including swinging or sudden movement.

What is needed is a transition from hazard identification to hazard monitoring: a continuous loop where design assumptions are validated against real-time data, and where developing risks are detected before they become failures.

Wind Hazards: Predicting the Unpredictable

Wind is a leading cause of crane collapses. Engineers know the mathematics: pressure rises with the square of velocity. A 50 km/h gust exerts twice the force of a 35 km/h breeze.

Most cranes today are fitted with anemometers and alarms, but these are often basic: a single reading at a single point, with alarms sounding when preset thresholds are exceeded. This approach can miss:

  • Local gust variability along a long jib.

  • Interaction with crane orientation (wind hitting the broadside is more critical than aligned wind).

  • Forecasted conditions that could deteriorate within minutes.

Next-generation wind monitoring could include:

  • Multi-point sensor arrays on cranes.

  • Integration with Bureau of Meteorology gust forecasts.

  • AI models predicting when risk thresholds will be exceeded, not just reporting when they are crossed.

  • Automatic crane repositioning to minimise wind exposure.

This transforms alarms from reactive to predictive — the difference between warning after a hazard is present and anticipating before it materialises.

Soil Hazards: Stability Under Load

Ground conditions are another silent but critical hazard. Outriggers may impose hundreds of kilonewtons on pads, meaning even small soil weaknesses can lead to tilting or overturning.

Engineering practice already includes soil investigations: boreholes, CPT, SPT, and FEA models. But these tests capture conditions before installation, not necessarily during operation. Soil strength can change due to rainfall, groundwater shifts, or nearby excavation.

Live soil monitoring can be achieved with:

  • Load cells under mats to track ground reactions.

  • Settlement gauges to detect tilt.

  • Piezometers for pore pressure during rain events.

  • Integrated warnings when ground resistance trends downward.

This approach acknowledges soil as a living hazard that changes daily.

LiDAR and Obstacle Detection: Power Lines and Proximity Hazards

One striking feature of the Derrimut collapse was the crane’s boom striking power lines. Contact with utilities is a recurrent hazard in crane operations worldwide. While operators are trained to maintain exclusion zones, in practice visibility, fatigue, or unexpected boom movement can still lead to contact.

LiDAR scanning offers a solution.

  • How it works: LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) emits laser pulses to map surroundings in 3D with centimetre accuracy. Mounted on a crane, it can create a live digital map of nearby obstacles.

  • Application in cranes:

    • Detecting and mapping power lines, buildings, or scaffolding in the lift path.

    • Setting proximity alarms when a boom, hook, or load approaches a defined clearance.

    • Combining with wind data to predict if gusts could push the load into restricted zones.

In aviation, LiDAR and radar-based systems are standard for obstacle detection. In construction, adoption is patchy. Yet the technology exists, is cost-effective, and could dramatically reduce risks of contact with hazards like live power lines.

LiDAR’s strength lies not only in static mapping but in detecting movement — for example, when a suspended load begins to swing toward a power line due to a gust. This is a quintessential developing hazard, one that static design could never fully capture.

Integrated Hazard Dashboards

Wind, soil, and LiDAR obstacle detection all provide valuable data. But their true power lies in integration. Imagine a crane operator’s cabin equipped with a single dashboard displaying:

  • Wind speeds and gust forecasts, colour-coded for risk.

  • Soil reaction forces under each outrigger, with alerts if settlement is trending.

  • LiDAR mapping of nearby structures and power lines, with real-time clearance zones.

  • Predictive risk models showing probability of instability or contact over the next 30 minutes.

This integration mirrors aviation’s cockpit: multiple inputs fused into actionable guidance. For cranes, such systems could shift the operator’s role from reactive decision-maker to proactive risk manager.

AI as a Predictive Partner

Artificial Intelligence has a natural role in hazard monitoring:

  • Sensor fusion: combining wind, soil, and LiDAR inputs into coherent risk profiles.

  • Prediction: learning from past crane incidents to forecast when risks are likely to escalate.

  • Decision support: providing operators with clear options (“safe to continue lift for 20 minutes” / “halt operations — clearance margin < 1m”).

The challenge is balance. AI should not replace human oversight, but augment it. Over-reliance could create new vulnerabilities if operators become complacent. The design challenge is to build AI into systems that support human judgment rather than substitute for it.

Ethics and Engineering Responsibility

The Derrimut collapse underscores the ethical responsibility of mechanical engineers. Hazard identification is not just a design requirement; it is a matter of public safety. The profession has a duty to anticipate, detect, and control risks wherever possible.

The tools now exist to monitor developing hazards — wind sensors, soil gauges, LiDAR scanners, and AI dashboards. If lives and infrastructure can be protected through wider adoption of these tools, then the question becomes one of responsibility: should they be optional, or mandatory?

Open Questions for the Future

  1. Would integrated live monitoring have reduced the risks at Derrimut?

  2. Should all cranes be fitted with LiDAR obstacle detection as standard?

  3. Do we already have enough technology, but lack regulation and enforcement?

  4. What role should AI play in balancing predictive insight with operator autonomy?

Conclusion

The Derrimut incident remains under investigation. No conclusions can be drawn about its specific cause until findings are published. Yet as a case study, it illustrates the broader point that hazards in crane operations are dynamic. Wind, soil, obstacles, and loads evolve minute by minute.

Mechanical engineers have the tools — wind sensors, soil monitors, LiDAR scanners, integrated dashboards, and AI — to detect these developing hazards. The challenge is to move from a culture of static design assumptions to one of continuous hazard monitoring.

The ultimate professional question is this: If aviation can integrate multiple systems to monitor and predict hazards, why can’t construction do the same for cranes? And if we can, how soon will we accept the ethical responsibility to make it standard?

References and Further Reading

  • ISO 4301 / AS 1418 — Crane standards covering stability and wind.

  • ISO 12480-1:2003 — Safe use of cranes; includes environmental hazard monitoring.

  • WorkSafe Victoria Guidance Notes — Crane safety management.

  • Holický & Retief (2017) — Probabilistic treatment of wind action in structural design.

  • Nguyen et al. (2020) — Real-time monitoring of crane foundation response under variable soil conditions.

  • Liebherr LICCON — Example of integrated load and geometry monitoring.

  • FAA LLWAS — Aviation’s real-time wind shear alert system, model for construction.

  • Recent research in LiDAR obstacle detection (e.g., IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems) — showing LiDAR’s potential in complex environments.

 

Structural
Drafting | Mechanical
Drafting | 3D
Laser Scanning

Mechanical Engineering

Consulting Engineers

 

Proudly powered by WordPress