Maintaining high-quality standards is critical in the heavy equipment industry. Customers rely on manufacturers to deliver products that perform reliably in harsh and demanding operating conditions. The stakes are high. Deviation from quality and overlooked detail can lead to expensive warranty claims and repairs, costly downtimes, and eroded business relationships.

Bradken knows far too well the importance of precision engineering and quality control when developing cutting-edge heavy equipment. Founded more than 100 years ago, this Australian-based business has become a leading wear solutions provider to the global mining and resources market. The company’s high-performance equipment helps its customers overcome their bulk handling challenges and ensure their mobile plants operate at peak efficiency.

To maintain its position in the market, staying at the forefront of innovation was nonnegotiable.

“Bradken has always been an early adopter of new technology, implementing solutions to improve the efficiency and accuracy of our products,” says Vijay Gandhi, product services and solutions lead at Bradken. “We never shy away from rethinking the status quo and our processes to constantly out-edge the competition.”

Outdated 3D measurement techniques hold back progress

Bradken’s commitment to delivering top-tier heavy-duty mining equipment meant the quality control teams needed to rely on inspection techniques that could keep up with customer demands and high standards. 

Traditional 3D measurement tools, like manual checks and fixed-arm scanners, soon limited the company’s quality management capabilities. Inspection processes became increasingly time-consuming and restrictive, especially when dealing with massive, complex castings. Engineers often struggled with keeping parts completely still during inspections, which added an extra layer of inefficiency and increased the risk of 3D measurement errors.

Gandhi puts it plainly: “We knew our existing 3D measurement methods were holding us back,” he says. “The process took too long and required too much effort for what we were trying to achieve.”

Bradken needed a faster, more adaptable 3D measurement solution that could generate accurate, reliable, and repeatable data on all types of parts, regardless of the geometries or where the 3D data were being captured. 

The company turned to 3D scanners. “Finding quick and accurate 3D scanners was essential to provide our engineering and quality assurance teams with efficient and precise data information that could be used to validate and improve our products,” Gandhi says.

Improving quality control with 3D scanning

When Bradken discovered Creaform’s HandySCAN 3D|BLACK Series, Gandhi and his colleagues immediately saw its potential. During the first demonstration, the team was blown away. “We remember being amazed during the first demo of the HandySCAN 3D,” Gandhi says. “As team members moved the casting during 3D scanning, it didn’t even impact the results. It was truly an ‘aha’ moment at that time because fixed arms required keeping the part perfectly still. The 3D scanner eliminated that hassle.”

Unlike the cumbersome tools Bradken was accustomed to, the HandySCAN 3D was portable and intuitive. Engineers could scan large, heavy parts without the burden of moving them to specific inspection areas. This meant that complex castings that previously had been difficult to inspect could now be documented with a level of detail and accuracy that hadn’t been possible before.

The HandySCAN 3D’s flexibility also allowed Bradken to speed up the data-collection process, substantially reducing the time spent on quality checks. The ability to create detailed 3D meshes meant their engineers could validate product dimensions and ensure compliance with design specifications in record time.

The HandySCAN 3D’s scan is replicated with a color map to facilitate post-processing analyses.

Setting new standards in quality control and quality management

The effects of integrating Creaform’s HandySCAN 3D were immediate and far-reaching. Engineers at Bradken were now able to capture detailed scans of complex parts without complicated setups or repeatedly taking 3D measurements of the same part area. In the past, intricate castings had always been a headache to inspect. With the HandySCAN 3D, teams could scan them effortlessly and produce the accurate data needed for their quality control documentation and product improvements.

3D scanning tech didn’t just speed up inspections—it changed the way Bradken approached quality control entirely. “With the introduction of Creaform’s portable 3D scanners, we were now able to scan our massive parts in detail without moving them, archive 3D scans, and reexamine them for product investigation or continuous improvement months and years after,” says Gandhi. This capability was invaluable for Bradken’s team collaboration. Engineers and inspection workers could address issues more swiftly and even assist customers remotely with detailed visual data.

The versatile HandySCAN 3D scanner can be used anywhere, whether in the office or on the shop floor.

Bradken’s investment in the HandySCAN 3D has paid off, minimizing the need for excessive inspection steps and product design iterations—a critical win for productivity. “We now have several HandySCAN 3D scanners,” Gandhi says. “They have become critical tools for us to provide our customers with the heavy equipment and services they expect. It’s a great example of Bradken stepping into new technology territories and enjoying the instant payback.”

Published Feb. 11, 2025, by Creaform.