Focused engineering portfolio

Daniel Reynolds

Mechanical design · product development · FEA · machinery · heavy equipment
Springfield Lakes, QLD · Greater Brisbane | Daniel@reyn.com.au | Australian citizen

Mechanical & Product Engineering

I turn incomplete physical problems into controlled designs, credible checks and practical manufacturing outcomes.

The work below covers heavy equipment and packaged systems, existing-equipment verification, machinery development and structures. Mechatronics adds sensing, control and software knowledge to this practical mechanical foundation.

Relevant foundation

A career spanning fitting and machining, mechanical design, product development, research and consultancy since 2001. Diploma of Engineering Technology; Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), majoring in Mechatronic & Robotic Engineering, with First Class Honours.

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Heavy equipment and packaged systems

Ownership from customer arrangement through production support

01 · EQUIPMENT

AllightSykes — through the complete production chain

I converted customer orders into approval arrangements, coordinated pumps, motors, structures, piping, controls, access and transport constraints, then produced manufacturing information and followed the job through build, change and final documentation.

WesTrac Caterpillar — heavy-vehicle integration

Dealer-provided-option work included a hydraulically retractable access system and interfaces for the Caterpillar 797F haul truck, plus platforms, handrails and fabrication documentation. Packaging had to account for safe operation, service access and installation within the vehicle envelope.

Mining and industrial vehicles

Earlier work included underground vehicles, pumps, explosives-charging equipment, mobile plant, conveyors and integrated safety systems. Heavy mobile equipment is an established part of my experience.

Engineering verification and forensic review

The equipment already existed. My role was to decide whether it could be relied upon.

02 · VERIFICATION

My role was to assess equipment already in use: reconstruct its geometry, establish credible load cases, carry out FEA and document changes for independent engineering review. These were assessments of existing designs.

Engineering study showing the jacking stand, factor-of-safety analysis and von Mises stress analysis
Public portfolio crop. Customer title blocks, signatures and certification details are withheld. Select the sheet to inspect it at full size.

Barker Trailers jacking stand — assessment and certification support

"We have used it without trouble” is useful history, but it does not expose reserve margin, local yielding, fatigue exposure or the uncommon offset or dynamic condition that changes the answer.

I examined the stand, reconstructed its geometry and boundary conditions, established load cases, carried out FEA and documented improvement and safe-use requirements. The controlled engineering record supported independent review and certification.

Existing transport trolley — finding the load case that changes the answer

For a separate confidential in-service trolley, I modelled the actual frame and contacts, checked normal handling and tipped conditions, and investigated how offset or dynamic loading changed the local stress path. The finding became a practical stiffener modification rather than an impressive-looking plot with no workshop action.

Existing equipmentLoad casesFEACorrective action
What this demonstrates

Engineering judgement means choosing credible load cases, understanding model limits and turning the findings into practical actions.

ObservedExisting equipment, workshop use and the real geometry—not an idealised new design.
TestedNormal, offset, tipped and dynamic conditions with explicit boundary assumptions.
DeliveredControlled records, practical modifications and evidence supporting independent review.
Confidentiality: complete trolley evidence and signed records are retained privately and are not published without permission.
Blank-sheet machinery development

From a rough operating need to a manufacturable equipment range

03 · MACHINERY

For an agricultural-equipment client, I developed a substantial range of silo and grain-handling machinery rather than modifying inherited designs. Across the wider engagement, work included sweep augers for large flat-bottom silos, underground transfer equipment, transitions, inclined loading systems, drives and supporting structures.

The equipment pictured here is a different but related scope: a pistachio load-in system using an inclined paddle-type conveyor. The paddle arrangement was product-driven because conventional auger flights can pinch or shear a high-value nut crop.

Ideas progressed into configurable assemblies and workshop-ready drawings. Reusable design knowledge then supported later quotations, job variants and manufacture without pretending that every application was identical.

  • Rotating equipment, gearboxes, bearings and electric-motor drives
  • Large moving envelopes, service access, guarding and installation constraints
  • Detailed CAD, manufacturing drawings and workshop liaison
  • Refinement from fabrication, assembly and field feedback

Designing the fabrication method into the CAD

The 30-degree transition was not only a shape to document. I divided it into laser-cut plates with tab-and-slot features that allowed the parts to locate one another during fit-up, then worked with a third-party laser-cutting business to supply accurately profiled components.

This reduced manual set-out, large dedicated jigs, temporary fixturing and the amount of workshop time needed to recover the intended geometry. It was a practical way to bring repeatable fit-up, a smoother transition and a resolved finish to a lower-volume agricultural product without the production resources of a much larger manufacturer.

Engineering drawing showing the fabricated transition box, exploded laser-cut plate arrangement and internal auger assembly
Assembly and fabrication evidence for the 30-degree transition. Tab-and-slot details helped establish the geometry during workshop fit-up; customer title blocks and identifying details are omitted from this public crop.
Starting pointOperating requirements and domain knowledge rather than inherited intellectual property.
Engineering scopeMechanisms, drives, structure, guarding, access, interfaces and workshop documentation.
Commercial valueReusable design knowledge supporting later variants, quotations and repeat manufacture.
Structures, access and installation

Making geometry, manufacture and installation agree

04 · STRUCTURES

FRP spiral access system — installation designed into the product

A non-standard fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) spiral staircase was developed around the central vessel of a New South Wales drinking-water reservoir. Normally submerged, it provided access for divers. I developed the helix as a flat mathematical set-out, then mapped it around the cylindrical wall; when additional clearance was requested for future epoxy maintenance, the equation-driven geometry was revised without rebuilding the stair cleat by cleat.

The cleat layout was the critical risk. Chaining linear dimensions around an as-built wall would convert a small diameter variation into cumulative helix drift. I developed a geometric set-out algorithm using fixed angular datums, allowing local spacing to adapt while preserving the stair path. The client then pointed to another supplier's installation where every cleat plate had been ground off—a failure prevented here in the drawing.

Lightweight modular components could be lifted by hand and rope through the dry riser, avoiding roof removal and a high-reach crane. Installation took one week; the client described it as an excellent project and believed it had award potential.

First-of-kind FRP gas-harvesting covers — Queensland wastewater plant

For a Queensland wastewater-treatment plant, I developed a first-of-its-kind system for the application using fully FRP trusses and cover panels over the settling tanks to enable process-gas capture and harvesting.

The size and repetition made coordinated interfaces critical. Truss geometry, cover support, access, lifting points, temporary stability, tolerances and installation sequence all had to be resolved in the model before fabrication and crane installation.

Evidence boundary: public-level images only. Customer dimensions, signatures and commercially sensitive records remain private.
Mechanical depth extended through sensing and control

Mechatronics adds another way to solve the physical problem

05 · MECHATRONICS

The mechatronics work did not replace my mechanical career. It expanded it into instrumentation, embedded control, machine vision, data and autonomous-system integration.

Smart Ramp research

Mechanical modelling, Python parameter sweeps, a four-metre instrumented platform, load-cell modules, acquisition and measured validation.

Autonomous underwater vehicle

Pressure hull, propulsion, buoyancy, sensors, embedded C, communications, integration and staged wet testing.

3D scanning system

Geared mechanisms, ranging sensors, MicroPython, BLE, desktop control software and spatial reconstruction.

Use the Software & Intelligent Systems button above for the detailed modelling, embedded, computer-vision and machine-learning evidence.
Mechanical design, machinery and product development

Let's discuss the engineering work.

I am interested in mechanical design and product engineering roles where practical experience, collaborative problem-solving and mechatronics knowledge can contribute to machinery and equipment development.

Email
Daniel@reyn.com.au

LinkedIn
daniel-reynolds-49963284

Portfolio
reyn.com.au/56/portfolio

Earlier REYN project archive
reyn.com.au
Earlier project examples from REYN Consultancy.

Springfield Lakes, QLD · Greater Brisbane · Australian citizen

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