The Impact of 3D Scanners for Heavy Equipment Manufacturers

A 100-year-old industry leader finds a modern solution in 3D scanning.

Written by Creaform Team

In heavy equipment, "close enough" doesn’t cut it.

When your machines work in extreme conditions, even the smallest quality slip can lead to downtime, repair bills, or a lost customer.

Bradken knew the risks and took them seriously.

With over a century of engineering under its belt, Bradken supplies wear solutions for the global mining market.

Their equipment powers some of the toughest operations on the planet; and it has to perform, every single time.

As their parts became bigger and more complex, traditional inspection tools started to fail them.

Fixed-arm scanners were slow. Manual checks were inconsistent.

And keeping massive castings completely still? Nearly impossible.

“We realized our own tools were slowing us down,” said Vijay Gandhi from Bradken.

Every inspection was a time sink. Accuracy was never guaranteed.

Something had to change.

Taking quality control to a whole new level with 3D scanning

During a demo of Creaform’s HandySCAN 3D, Bradken’s engineers saw something remarkable:

The scanner kept capturing accurate data even while the part was moving.

That was the moment they knew: this wasn’t just better. It was a game changer.

The HandySCAN 3D wasn’t just faster. It was flexible.

No more dragging heavy parts to inspection stations.

No more stopping production to check a dimension.

Now, the scanner goes where the work is — office, shop floor, or field.

Setting new standards in quality control and quality management

Bradken didn’t just speed up inspections, they completely rethought their quality control process.

Now they scan once and store forever.

Issues can be investigated months later, from anywhere.

Support becomes visual. Collaboration becomes seamless.

What started as a fix became a foundational tool.

Bradken now relies on multiple HandySCAN 3D scanners across their teams;not just for inspection, but for validation, improvement, and customer support.

Innovation became part of the workflow.