Product Engineering, Design & Development Case Studies

Form meets function… 400m underground.

Bis Industries is known for delivering highly capable mining vehicles that meet the demands of some of the world’s toughest environments. Cobalt has partnered with Bis across several key vehicle programs to bring fresh design thinking to their progressive engineering - helping to elevate the safety, ergonomics, usability and visual identity of their fleet.

Rexx Haulage Truck
Rexx revolutionises mining haulage with longer range, greater fuel efficiency and improved terrain handling. Bis collaborated with Cobalt to ensure the exterior and interior industrial design matched their progressive and intelligent engineering. In addition to the future-focused exterior styling, there was an important focus on driver safety and usability – enhancing visiblity, optimising controls, interior layout and enabling safer access with a low 2.4m cab height (instead of the usual 6-7m). The final CAD models were then faithfully adapted into the final production vehicle.

Razor Underground Grader
Razor is a heavy-duty underground grader engineered to flatten earth within mining tunnels. Working within Bis’s developed CAD, Cobalt collaborated with their team to refine key areas of the design, including the interior layout, cabin, and rear panels. We introduced structural mesh elements for visibility, improved cable routing, and supported critical crush safety requirements while respecting strict height limits.

HUGO Underground Mining Truck
Hugo is a smaller underground truck with high agility and an articulating drivetrain powered by a diesel-hybrid system. Cobalt’s role centred on maintaining consistent visual styling with Rexx and enhancing driver field of view – this time even more critical so the driver can see corners in tight underground tunnels. Again, keeping in mind crush safety, the result met the unique demands of underground use.

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Focus Areas

User-Centred Design
Industrial Design
Automotive Design
CAD Modelling
CG Visualisation
Human Factors and Ergonomics
Australian Standards and Design Rules Compliance

Year

2018-2021

Client

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Design Outcomes

Functional Exterior Styling

Visual Identity

Cabin Design and Layout

Driver Visibility

Safer Access

Design with Constraints

Starting with sketches to explore styling approaches, CAD then detailed design elements with consideration for materials, integrated lighting, structural stability and production techniques. Bis then continued to develop this CAD to a manufacturing level, ensuring function and form met operational standards.

Across Rexx, Hugo and Razor, Cobalt established a coherent design language that reflected Bis’s cutting-edge innovation. Bold surface modelling and shared styling cues allow each vehicle to feel distinct yet connected as part of a progressive, purpose-built fleet.

CAD simulations created accurate underlays for interior layout sketch concepts. Options were brainstormed and tested using a low-fidelity mock-up to optimise the positions and layout of interfaces and controls. Feedback from a range of users fed into the final design and 3D CAD model.

Maximising driver visibility is critical for safety and was prioritised from the start. Concepts were sketched from the driver’s POV, considering window placement, driver sightlines and large-format windscreens. Designs were then reviewed with drivers to ensure safe, functional visibility in real conditions.

Cab design accounted for frequent entry and exit, so entry points are designed to reduce strain and risk. Rexx’s 2.4m cab height, for example, is significantly lower than typical mining haul trucks, enabling safer, faster and more ergonomic access for operators.

The team worked closely with Bis’s engineers, respecting hardpoints, structural envelopes, and crush safety requirements to ensure optimal functionality and performance. CAD models were purposefully built to integrate directly into existing engineering, ensuring seamless implementation through to production.