Alexander Macintosh
Mechatronics Engineer at Bard Engineering Group Pty Ltd- Claim this Profile
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English Native or bilingual proficiency
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French Elementary proficiency
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Dutch Elementary proficiency
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Bio
Credentials
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edX Verified Certificate for Realtime Bluetooth Networks
edX
Experience
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Bard Engineering Group Pty Ltd
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Australia
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Mining
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1 - 100 Employee
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Mechatronics Engineer
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Nov 2021 - Present
Developing and commissioning electronic control and monitoring systems for fluid power (hydraulic) equipment used in fluid dispensing applications. Developing and commissioning electronic control and monitoring systems for fluid power (hydraulic) equipment used in fluid dispensing applications.
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Director/Embedded Systems Engineer
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Sep 2015 - Present
I design and manufacture high-value/low-volume electronics for businesses and universities. Services include electronics design, firmware development, printed circuit board design, enclosure design, and small-run manufacturing. Main focus areas are telemetry and data logging, as well as devices for controlling processes and machines. Projects are carried out in close consultation with customers, from concept to design and often all the way through to manufacturing, installation and testing. Please see below for examples of my work. Show less
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CMP Engineers
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Australia
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Mining
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1 - 100 Employee
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Contract Mechanical Engineer
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Apr 2018 - May 2019
Employed through Macintronics Pty Ltd (formerly StrohMac) as a professional engineer carrying out the following tasks: - Design of welded structures subject to high levels of fatigue - Extensive use of AutoDesk Simulation and ANSYS FEA packages - Mechanical design and drafting using Solidworks - Design and testing of a waveguide using GHz transceivers to gather data from sensors located down a long shaft - Design of instrumentation and intrinsically safe circuits for providing real-time gas monitoring in an underground mine - Implementation of a gear life prediction algorithm in Python, based on actual motor torque and speed measurements. This is used for maintenance planning of dragline hoist transmissions. Show less
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The University of Queensland
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Higher Education
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700 & Above Employee
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Research Assistant
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Jul 2016 - Nov 2016
I was employed by the Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) where I carried out the following tasks:- Design, construction, installation, commissioning and maintenance of instrumentation and control equipment for experimental setups.- Interfacing pH sensors, temperature sensors, gas counters, pumps and stirrers with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) for data logging and control purposes.- Design of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to accommodate motor control relays and allow easy interfacing with the National Instruments PLC- Development of a RS232 interface and implementation on a microcontroller to enable automation of lab equipment- Developing process control algorithms for novel wastewater treatment processes and implementing these in LabVIEW on CompactRIO PLCs Show less
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Research Assistant
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Jan 2016 - Jul 2016
The purpose of this work was to investigate the feasibility of deploying small (100 gram) disposable gliders from high altitude using weather balloons to travel long distances and gather atmospheric measurements. The findings were used to determine if it was a fruitful area of research for a PhD project. Tasks I carried out were as follows:- Surveyed the literature on the aerodynamics, modelling and control of micro aircraft, as well as existing aircraft designed for a similar purpose.- Used the results of the literature survey to identify appropriate low Reynolds number airfoil profiles. This was followed by designing several candidate aircraft and investigate their glide performance versus altitude using the XFLR5 glider modelling software.- Programmed a MATLAB model of the aircraft dynamics to predict the flight path hence estimate the distance travelled. Confirmed these results using simple hand calculations.- Made use of XFLR5 to carry out a preliminary study of the trade-off between performance and passive stability. During this process, I gained considerable insight into the effects of key design parameters on performance and dynamics of gliders.- Investigated the electronics and control aspects, in particular the pros and cons of passive versus active stability, guidance, radio communication, actuator selection and estimating the power consumption to size a solar power supply. This was done in conjunction with the mechanical and aerodynamic design such that the limits of mass, wing area and desired glide performance were taken into account.- Modelled candidate aircraft designs using AutoDesk Inventor and constructed prototypes to investigate their glide performance. Show less
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Teaching Assistant
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Mar 2016 - Jun 2016
I was employed as a teaching assistant (tutor) for the fourth year engineering course METR4810 "Mechatronic System Design Project 2".My primary task was to answer questions and provide technical assistance during tutorial sessions while students worked on the design and construction of teleoperated robots to complete the course challenge. I was required to provide advice on a wide range of areas including mechanical and electronic design, embedded programming and project management.
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Senior Mechanical Engineer
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Jan 2015 - Sep 2015
- Carried out preliminary design and stability analysis of a rail-mounted scissor lift in accordance with AS2550. - Carried out the site inspection and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of a pipe-laying trailer to determine its load capacity in accordance with Australian standards and design rules. Compiled a technical report to communicate results with the client. - Structural design and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of a salt hauling trailer in accordance with AS4324 and AS3990. - Technical investigation of a tipper truck failure to identify and report on the root causes. This involved extensive FEA work. Show less
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NLR
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India
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Advertising Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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MSc Intern
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Oct 2013 - Jul 2014
Designed a feedback/feed-forward control system to enable a small-scale helicopter to track planned trajectories during emergency auto-rotation. The aim was to execute a safe landing autonomously. Tasks completed were as follows: - Conducted an extensive literature review on gain scheduling and its use in automatic flight control of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. - Programmed a high fidelity model of helicopter dynamics during auto-rotation. Used this model to compute linearised models for control design and investigate the robustness of the closed-loop to a variety of disturbances. - Designed and simulated a complementary filter scheme for estimating the velocity of the helicopter as used by the robust controller to track its trajectory during auto-rotation. - Gained expertise in the modelling of aircraft flight dynamics and the design of robust controllers that can autonomously track planned paths through space. Show less
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Mechanical Design Engineer
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Mar 2009 - Jul 2012
- Carried out detailed design of the structures and mechanical components of large mining equipment in accordance with AS4324, AS1403, AS3990 and AS1170. Mostly working on Low Loaders. - Estimated loads and load case combinations in accordance with AS4324 and AS1170. - Carried out Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of shafts, pins, hydraulic cylinders, brackets, bolted assemblies, castings and welded steel structures. Prepared spreadsheets and reports to document the hand calculations to check results obtained and the machine design methods used. - Carried out design tasks associated with hydraulic (fluid power) and control systems - piping/hose layout and sizing, computing flow and power requirements, algorithm development, supervision of programmers during algorithm implementation - Carried out detailed design, supervision of installation, testing and commissioning of the SW385 low loader electrical system - wire sizing, harness layout, Deutsch connector selection, junction box layout, control enclosure layout, CAN Bus layout. - Provided design and commissioning assistance with the electrical systems on a Cane Sugar Locomotive and Salt Harvesters - Managed component suppliers to ensure their products matched the requirements as per technical specifications - Supervised all low loader manufacturing operations and performed pre-delivery testing and commissioning - Carried out site testing, commissioning and handover at Rio Tinto Mesa A mine located near Pannawonica, WA Show less
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GHD
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United Kingdom
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Retail
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500 - 600 Employee
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Conveyor Design Engineer
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Nov 2006 - Mar 2009
- Mechanical and control system design for coal and hard rock conveyors - Carried out estimation of conveyor power requirements and applied loads in accordance with established mechanical engineering methods and Australian standards - Carried out stress analysis, mechanical design and selection of conveyor components - pulleys, idlers, bearings, shafts, gearboxes, couplings, motor-gearbox support frames. - Developed technical specifications and data sheets for conveyors, mechanical components, wound-rotor induction motors, load-sharing resistors. - Dealt with conveyor component vendors to supply of products in accordance with technical specifications and data sheets. - Developed methods to simulate the electro-mechanical dynamics of conveyor drives to identify potential motor mismatch problems and devise solutions. Communicated results concisely through memoranda and technical reports. - Spent eight months on site to supervise construction, testing and commissioning of open pit coal conveyors at BMA Crinum East Coal Mine, Emerald, Queensland. Show less
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Education
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2012 - 2014
Technische Universiteit Delft
Master of Science (M.Sc.), Control Engineering -
2002 - 2006
The University of Queensland
Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.), Mechanical Engineering
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