Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Practical engineering for people who build things.

I'm Abhijith. For 9+ years I've designed and built heavy fabrication, sheet metal and machines across rail, oil & gas, power and defence. Here I show my work and share free tools and shop-floor know-how, so your parts are faster to make and right first time.

See my work → Free tools
9+ yrsDesign & fabrication
4,500+CAD deliverables
97%First-submission accuracy
6Industries
bracket_01.dxf Cutting
260.00 170.00
MaterialMS 2.0
Cut length1,144 mm
Pierces5
01 / Selected work

Real projects, real metal

From transformer tanks in Dubai to crashworthy train couplers for Indian Railways. Click any photo to enlarge.

3D model of a 31.5 MVA oil-filled transformer tank
Transformer tank under fabricationFabricated transformer tankFabricated pressure vessel
Al Shurooq IndustriesDubai, UAE2025 – 2026

Transformer tanks & heavy fabrication

  • Reverse-engineered customer 2D drawings into full 3D models, fabrication drawings and cutting DXFs for EuroGulf 31.5 MVA oil-filled transformer tanks, taken from concept to mass production.
  • Modelled a 1,100+ part tank in 200 hours in SolidWorks and AutoCAD, with linked drawings and revision control.
  • Cut scrap with better sheet nesting, and cut fabrication time with reusable cutting-program templates.
  • Applied GD&T across machining, laser cutting, air bending and waterjet.
20%Less scrap
30%Faster fabrication
1,100+Parts in one model
Fabricated switchgear enclosures in the workshop
Enclosure reverse-engineered from a sampleSheet metal cabinet
Al Shurooq IndustriesDubai, UAE2025 – 2026

Switchgear enclosures & cabinets

  • Designed switchgear cabinets for dry transformers and distribution in the power and defence sectors.
  • 3D models, 2D drawings and DXFs for CNC, laser and waterjet production.
  • Built to ISO, ASME, ADNOC and ETS specifications for fabrication, blasting and painting.
  • Reverse-engineered enclosures from physical samples, and supported the full estimation cycle from enquiry to sales order.
ETS · ADNOCSpecs followed
3Cutting processes
Electric head coupler displayed at InnoTrans 2022 in Berlin
Coupler assembly on the shop floor3D render of a coupler assemblyTrain fitted with an automatic coupler
Quest Global for WabtecBangalore, India2021 – 2025

Crashworthy locomotive couplers

  • Designed and detailed the crashworthy coupler for the Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trainsets, which helped Wabtec win the Indian Railways tender.
  • Electric head coupler design shown at InnoTrans 2022, Berlin.
  • Delivered 2,500+ CATIA V5 deliverables (5,500+ hours) for automatic couplers, pantographs and E18 braking systems, working with teams in Germany and France.
  • Grew the project team from 3 to 22 engineers. VB.Net macros for Teamcenter BOM migration saved 200+ man-hours.
97%First-submission accuracy
3 → 22Team scaled
200+ hrsSaved by automation
SERGI fire protection system installed on a power transformer
3D layout of a fire protection system next to the installed systemNIFPS cabinet and control panels
GK PowerNagpur, India2018 – 2021

Transformer fire & explosion protection

  • Led erection, testing and commissioning of SERGI fire and explosion prevention systems on EMCO 200 MVA ICT and Siemens 315 MVA transformers at government utilities.
  • Redesigned the NIFPS nitrogen injection fire protection system, revamped the closed manufacturing line and delivered 16 units to Grasim Industries and Daimler India.
  • Replaced imported components with locally made parts, and designed pipe layouts from site surveys.
  • Assembled and troubleshot PLC control panels, and supervised fabrication and erection at site.
25%Saving on SERGI projects
20%Cost cut on NIFPS
16NIFPS units delivered
Smart lock and smart socket prototypes
Caprimec TechnocratsChennai, India2019 – 2020

Smart lock & IoT product design

  • Designed housings and mechanisms for 4 IoT products for five-star hotels: smart door locks, air-quality monitors, smart sockets and a central controller.
  • Plastic, casting, machined and sheet metal parts in CATIA V5, from concept to working prototype.
  • Designed touch-free sanitiser stands and wall dispensers during COVID.
4Products to prototype
Heavy pressure vessel on a multi-axle transporter
Offshore structure being lifted by craneToolbox talk with the site team
L&T Hydrocarbon (via Unnat Engineers)Surat, India2017 – 2018

Heavy pressure vessels & offshore structures

  • ITP-based inspection of heavy pressure vessels: material, weld, hardness, PWHT and NDT.
  • Monitored SMAW, GTAW, MIG, FCAW and SAW welding to the WPS. Hands-on DPT and MPT, plus tracing radiography defects.
  • Hydrotesting of offshore structures, and planning crane lifts and multi-axle transport for oversized equipment.
5Welding processes
ITPInspection
02 / Free tools

Calculators for the shop floor

Quick, free and made by someone who has stood at the press brake. No sign-up, works on your phone.

Live

Sheet metal flat length

Blank size from flange dimensions, with bend allowance and bend deduction for every bend.

Open calculator → Live

Steel weight

Plate, bar, pipe, tube, angle and channel in MS, SS, aluminium, copper and brass.

Open calculator →
Soon

Press brake tonnage

Bending force and the right V-die for your material and thickness.

Coming soon
Soon

Laser cutting time & cost

Cut length, pierces and thickness turned into time and a rough job cost.

Coming soon
03 / Expertise

What I know well

Nine years between the CAD screen, the shop floor and the site, in India and the UAE.

01

Sheet metal & heavy fabrication

Tanks, enclosures, cabinets and structures designed for laser, waterjet, air bending and welding, with nesting and DXFs ready for the shop.

SolidWorksAutoCADDXF & nestingDFM / DFA
02

Product & mechanism design

Couplers, locks and housings: castings, machined parts, plastics and surfaces, from concept to production drawings.

CATIA V5UG-NXReverse engineeringSurfacing
03

Engineering analysis

Getting the fit, form and function right before metal is cut, and checking it again on site.

GD&TTolerance stack-upFEA interpretationMotion analysis
04

CAD automation & PLM

Macros that take repetitive, error-prone work off the engineer's desk, and clean data across PLM systems.

VB.Net / VBATeamcenterSmarteamExcel automation
04 / Beyond the day job

Things I build for fun

CAD automation, home-built machines and design projects. I also share tutorials on YouTube.

SolidWorks API · VBA

One-click DXF export for the laser

A macro that opens every sheet metal part in an assembly and exports its flat pattern to DXF. Each file is named with material, thickness and quantity, so the laser operator never has to open a drawing. There's a tutorial on my YouTube channel.

Bracket-L – MS – 2.0mm – 12 Nos.dxf
Side-Panel – SS304 – 1.5mm – 4 Nos.dxf
Base-Plate – MS – 5.0mm – 2 Nos.dxf
Cover – GI – 1.2mm – 6 Nos.dxf
Home-built CNC gas cutting machine
Home-built CNC gas cutting machine
Detailed 3D model of a classic van
Classic van, full surface model
3D model of a yacht
Yacht assembly
3D model of a chopper motorcycle
Chopper bike concept
▶ YouTube tutorials GrabCAD models Skill-Lync projects (26+)
05 / Notes

Shop-floor notes

Short, practical write-ups. First ones are on the way.

Coming soon

Find your real K-factor with one test bend

Stop guessing 0.44. One strip, one bend, one measurement.

Coming soon

DXF checklist before sending to the laser

Open contours, duplicate lines, bend lines, text: what to clean every time.

Coming soon

Design sheet metal with fewer bends

Simple changes that cut press brake time and rework.

06 / Experience

Hi, I'm Abhijith.

A mechanical engineer from Nagpur who likes to see drawings turn into steel. I started on the shop floor checking welds, and now I lead design from first concept to mass production.

AUG 2025 – SEP 2026

Senior Design Engineer

Al Shurooq Industries LLC · Dubai, UAE

Design and cost estimation for heavy fabrication in power generation, oil & gas and defence.

AUG 2021 – JUL 2025

Senior Design Engineer

Quest Global (Wabtec Corporation) · Bangalore

Locomotive couplers, pantographs and braking systems for 6+ global business units.

2018 – 19 & 2020 – 21

Design & Project Engineer

GK Power · Nagpur

Transformer fire protection systems, from tender to commissioning.

MAY 2019 – JUN 2020

Product Design Engineer

Caprimec Technocrats · Chennai

IoT smart locks and hospitality products, concept to prototype.

AUG 2017 – APR 2018

Quality Engineer

L&T Hydrocarbon (via Unnat Engineers) · Surat

Weld and NDT inspection on pressure vessels and offshore structures.

Education

  • B.E. Mechanical Engineering
  • Distinction · CGPA 8.27
  • RTMNU, Nagpur · 2017

Certifications

  • CATIA V5 Associate, Part Design (Dassault Systèmes)
  • Primavera P6 Project Planning
  • Sheet Metal Fabrication & Mould Design (Skill-Lync)
  • Advanced Sheet Metal Design in NX
  • Automotive Surfacing (Skill-Lync)
  • AutoCAD (MSME Tool Room)

Recognition

  • 4× Quest Global "On the Fly" Award
  • Culture Champion 2022, Quest Global

Let's build something.

A design question, an idea for a new tool, or a project to talk about? Send me a message.

abhijithalolickal@gmail.com LinkedIn YouTube