Bombelli Design

Chemical, Energy and Automation, Oil & Gas, Power

ESAPRO supports the 3D design of complex industrial plants by integrating piping, structures and project data.

Key results

Bombelli Design used ESAPRO to develop a complex energy recovery project for the steel industry, managing 3D modelling, piping, structures, materials and data coordination within a single workflow.

7,000 engineering hours · 3D models over 300 MB · 30–40% time savings

In the plant engineering sector, theory is not enough: excellence means anticipating problems before they reach the construction site. High-value engineering is not just about knowing how to ‘design’ a plant, but about integrating 3D technology and data accuracy to ensure reliable schedules, optimised costs and zero unexpected issues. Choosing ESAIN’s ESAPRO software proved to be the right decision once again.

Massimiliano Bombelli, CEO | Industrial Design Fixer | Operations, Development & industrial project

Our path

Having worked in the industry since the early 1990s, the Bombelli Design team has first-hand knowledge of all the manual steps traditionally required in engineering development and the related criticalities.

From the outset, Bombelli Design realised that many of the problems identified after project delivery could be traced back to poor management of the information needed to develop the project. Redundant and unproductive data transfers could ultimately lead to results that failed to meet expectations.

Bombelli Design strives for excellence in engineering services: clients must know that every answer is the right one for their needs. Therefore, in addition to investing in human resources aligned with the company’s mission, it was essential for the company to equip itself with tools capable of meeting its objectives.

Once the specific challenges of its sector had been identified, Bombelli Design immediately focused on finding software capable of fully meeting its requirements.

In the early 2000s, as demand for 3D design became increasingly predominant, the company made a clear choice: to adopt software capable of overcoming gaps in information sharing.
The software had to be immediately operational, already equipped with a complete database, user-friendly and capable of virtually unlimited implementation and customisation.

It was in this context that Bombelli Design chose ESAIN’s ESAPRO solutions. In 2005, the company introduced ESAPRO P&ID, ESAPRO 3D Piping and ESAPRO Isometrics. Following a short introductory training course of around 20–30 hours, the tools were immediately used to design a plant featuring an industrial boiler for superheated steam.

A decade later, in 2015, the suite was expanded with ESAPRO Supports.

Massimiliano Bombelli, CEO of Bombelli Design, recalls how the direct exchange with ESAIN also contributed to the evolution of the solution: “I remember with pleasure that we were among those who encouraged ESAIN to develop a module for support engineering: the fact that the package was then implemented by listening to customer requirements confirms that relying on them was the right decision. Since then, we have continued to use these products with great satisfaction, both in terms of our operating standards and the results delivered to our clients.”

In the second half of 2024, Bombelli Design had the opportunity to make intensive use of ESAPRO on a Heavy Industry project that demanded maximum performance from the tools involved.

Turning waste heat from steel production into clean energy is no longer an option: it is becoming a new standard for heavy industry. Bombelli Design played a key role in engineering an innovative Energy Recovery System installed downstream of a new electric arc furnace, for a new plant owned by one of Europe’s leading steel producers.

The technology:
1) High-efficiency containment: the exhaust gases leaving the electric furnace are contained through dedicated ducts and conveyed as efficiently as possible to a boiler for waste heat recovery.
2) Steam generation: the recovered energy converts recirculating water into saturated steam, ready to feed the plant network and generate electricity.
3) Advanced thermal integration: the plant also includes a hot-water generator designed to recover residual energy, making the water suitable for a district heating circuit.
Behind every major innovative industrial plant lies highly precise engineering capable of ensuring safety, longevity and maximum energy efficiency: energy efficiency in the steel industry starts with good design.

Bombelli Design’s contribution included:

Plant layout integration
Advanced 3D modelling
Structural analysis
Thermomechanical stress analysis
3D piping
3D modelling of load-bearing and service structures
Material lists
Site support
Problem solving for systems outside the scope of work

The project required a total of 7,000 engineering hours and involved 3 calculation engineers, 3 mechanical and structural designers and 3 senior draftsmen.

The scale of the project is also reflected in the quantities managed: approximately 450 tonnes of steel for piping, 400 tonnes of structural steel and 50 tonnes of steel for primary ducts.

Massimiliano Bombelli himself confirms the value of the ESAPRO solution in this project: “Choosing ESAIN’s ESAPRO software proved to be the right decision once again.”

The use of the ESAPRO Plant Design suite on the AutoCAD graphics engine enabled Bombelli Design to manage large 3D models of more than 300 MB with ease, keeping workflows productive and free from redundancy.
The experience gained by the Bombelli Design team with ESAPRO 3D Piping made it possible to design and resolve critical issues directly within the model, without additional intermediate steps, resulting in an estimated 30–40% time saving.

Another important aspect concerns material forecasting, which is essential for anticipating procurement requirements. Thanks to ESAPRO 3D Piping, Bombelli Design can archive material list data, highlight differences between revisions and provide the purchasing department with already validated information.

In addition, during the project the interaction between ESAPRO modules and objects originating from other systems within the 3D model was tested with highly positive results.

For Bombelli Design, however, the value of technology emerges above all when it is combined with the team’s experience. As Massimiliano Bombelli explains: “True efficiency is not only about knowing exactly ‘which screw to turn’ to solve a problem, but also about having a good screwdriver. It is this expertise, combined with the right tools, such as ESAPRO P&ID, ESAPRO 3D Piping, ESAPRO Isometrics and ESAPRO Supports, that turns technology into real savings in time and resources for our clients.”.

Bombelli Design also looks to the future of this collaboration with confidence: “The future ahead does not worry us: we will increasingly integrate our experience with the ESAPRO suite, until the two become one. We know that the tools we have are and will continue to be up to the task: they have been for twenty years, and they will be for the next twenty. And so will we.”

Company description

Since 2003, Bombelli Design has been an industrial engineering company that makes a difference: a strategic partner for industrial plant design and consultancy, offering multidisciplinary expertise focused on cost competitiveness, speed of execution, quality and service reliability.

Chosen by leading industrial companies in the Oil & Gas, chemical, conventional energy and green energy sectors, Bombelli Design strives for excellence at every stage of the process, from mechanical and piping design through to structural engineering.

Its team consists of highly qualified professionals who use advanced 3D CAD software such as ESAPRO to transform complex ideas into clear, accurate and immediately usable three-dimensional models.

Reliability, precision and confidentiality guide every Bombelli Design project, with the aim of providing clients not only with a design, but with a complete and optimised solution.

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