A Single Parametric Tower Design, Scalable From 20 m to 30 m.

One SolidWorks weldment system, equation-driven, configurable across the full height range — engineered for DNV / ABS / IMO maritime compliance.

Client snapshot

• Industry: Maritime infrastructure manufacturing.
• Region: Germany.
• Engagement: Lead mechanical designer for the parametric tower system, with FEA validation coordinated through a specialist third party I sourced and managed for the client.
• Confidentiality: Under NDA. Client name, end-customer identity, and specific deployment locations omitted.

The problem

The client manufactures maritime observation towers for installation in coastal and harbor environments. Different sites required different tower heights — typically anywhere between 20 m and 30 m — and the existing approach was to engineer each height variant as a separate design. Every new contract triggered a full re-modeling cycle, new fabrication drawings, and a new round of structural validation, even though the towers were structurally similar in principle.

The client wanted a single design system that could produce a fabrication-ready package for any height in the 20–30 m range without re-engineering the tower from scratch each time.

Constraints

• Heights varying continuously between 20 m and 30 m, not just two fixed sizes
• Maritime environment — corrosion exposure, wind loading, and exposed coastal installation conditions
• DNV / ABS / IMO compliance required for the structural design package
• Sheet metal and weldment fabrication realities of the client’s manufacturing line — standard plate thicknesses, weld preparation, and assembly handling
• Foundation interface had to remain consistent across height variants so site preparation logistics did not change per project
• Tight project timelines aligned to the client’s installation schedules

My approach

• Acted as lead mechanical designer for the full tower system
• Equation-driven parametric weldment design so leg sections, bracing, platform levels, and bolt patterns regenerate from a small set of master parameters (primary parameter being target tower height)
• Top-down assembly methodology to keep SolidWorks performance stable as the assembly scaled across height variants
• Standardized fabrication details — weld preps, plate thicknesses, gusset geometry — so the client’s fab line did not need to adapt to each new height
• Foundation interface frozen as a fixed interface plate across all variants, so installation crews work to one foundation design regardless of tower height
• Coordinated FEA validation through a specialist third-party engineer I sourced for the client, organizing the data exchange and ensuring the geometry handed off for analysis matched the fabrication package
• Compliance-aware drawings prepared to DNV / ABS / IMO documentation expectations, with consistent datum schemes and weld callouts across the package

What I delivered

• Native SolidWorks parametric weldment assembly with equation-driven configuration logic (height-driven)
• Complete fabrication drawings for any height variant in the 20–30 m range
• Weldment cut lists with parametrically-driven part counts and lengths
• Foundation interface drawings standardized across all height variants
• BOMs, weld symbols, and surface treatment callouts on every drawing package
• Coordinated handoff package to the third-party FEA engineer, including geometry, load assumptions, and material specifications
• STEP / IGES exports for client and end-customer handoff

Outcome

• One design system replaces what was previously a per-project re-engineering cycle. Generating a fabrication package for a new height variant became a parameter update rather than a full re-model.
• Standardized foundation interface removed installation variability across deployment sites — same foundation drawing regardless of tower height.
• Coordinated FEA validation delivered through a specialist third party I sourced and project-managed, giving the client a complete structural package without expanding their internal engineering team.
• DNV / ABS / IMO-compliant documentation package ready for end-customer submission.

Visuals

Visualization is illustrative. Confidential client geometry and end-customer identifiers omitted under NDA.