Car Wash Equipment Digitization
Objective: Turn a car wash equipment maker's product line, built for years without complete CAD, into accurate 3D models and fabrication-ready drawings that any qualified shop can build from.
Client: American Car Wash Solutions (ACWS)
Role: Engineering Consultant / Lead Mechanical Designer (Bedatek)
Scope: Field measurement, reverse engineering, 3D CAD, fabrication drawing packages, STEP and DXF deliverables, and design improvements
Tools: SolidWorks, STEP and DXF export, photo and video measurement
Overview: ACWS designs, builds, and installs car wash tunnel equipment, from conveyors and brushes to high-pressure arches, rockers, and hydraulic power packs. Much of that equipment existed only as built hardware and shop know-how, with no complete set of CAD models or drawings.
Bedatek was engaged to digitize the product line: capture each piece in the field, rebuild it in 3D, and deliver a standardized drawing package for every product, giving ACWS one consistent digital record it can use to quote, fabricate, rebuild, and plan new installations.
Traditional Combo Brush from its fabrication package (top) and the top high-pressure oscillator redesign concept (bottom)
The Challenge
Car wash equipment is large, heavy, and often built and refined in the shop over many years. Without drawings, every rebuild, quote, or site layout depends on whoever remembers how a piece was made, and outside fabricators have nothing to build from. ACWS needed accurate, consistent documentation for the full product line: clear enough for its own team and complete enough for any vendor.
Field Capture & Reverse Engineering
Each piece of equipment was documented on site with measured photos and video, using tape-measure references in frame, along with nameplate data for motors, pumps, gearboxes, and bearings. That data was converted into dimensions and rebuilt as SolidWorks models, with purchased components modeled from manufacturer data and every dimension cross-checked against the field references before release.
Standardized Drawing Packages
Every product received the same deliverable set under one consistent part-numbering system (EQP-001, EQP-002, and so on):
Native SolidWorks models of the full assembly and every part
ANSI D fabrication drawing packages: general arrangement with bill of materials, fabrication standards, and detail sheets for every fabricated part and weldment, with weld symbols, hole callouts, and cut lists
STEP files for sharing with vendors and partners
DXF plan and elevation layouts with overall dimensions for AutoCAD site and bid drawings
The drawings follow ASME Y14.5 and Y14.100 drafting practice and AWS D1.1 welding conventions, and are branded with the ACWS title block so they work as ACWS's own production documents.
Equipment Covered
Conveyors and correlators, rollers, top, wrap, and combo brushes, rockers, the turbo blaster and poodle brush, pre-soak and high-pressure arches, underbody wash, tire shine, wheel spinner, hydraulic power packs and pump stations, and equipment-room air panels.
Design Improvements
The digital models also became the starting point for improvements. When ACWS asked for a better top high-pressure oscillator, Bedatek developed a "hammock" redesign that re-hangs the motor, gearbox, and spray assembly in a stainless sling so its center of gravity sits below the pivot instead of balancing above it. Reusing the existing pivot hardware, the concept cuts the estimated cylinder force from about 104 lb to 27 lb and the pivot load from about 167 lb to 95 lb, and it was followed by a complete retrofit drawing package. On the pumping station, the belt guard was redesigned as a full enclosure per OSHA 1910.219.
Results
25+ pieces of equipment digitized with CAD models, fabrication drawings, STEP files, and DXF layouts
One consistent part-numbering and drawing standard across the product line
Fabrication-ready packages that any qualified shop can build from
DXF layouts supporting ACWS's site planning and bid drawings for new car wash projects
A digital product library that supports quoting, rebuilds, and future design improvements