Today's vehicles are built on engineering principles that control and divert crash energy forces to protect occupants. The importance of understanding these principles is cruical to undertaking a complete, safe repair. I-CAR's operations and technical coordinator, Mark Czvitkovits, reports.
It is estimated that an average of 75 per cent of vehicle structures within three years will be made from high strength steels (HSS).
The array of steels from mild steel, HSS, advanced high strength steel (AHSS) and ultra high strength steels (UHSS), combined with aluminium, magnesium and the numerous composite materials, will provide occupants with unprecedented levels of safety.
However, these materials pose many repair or replace decisions. The modern collision repair technician must understand the limits of all materials used in the construction so the correct decisions are made in the damage analysis.
Advanced materials are one area where vehicle manufacturers are working to improve vehicle safety, the other being the various electronic developments being used today.
Vehicles are packed with rafts of systems such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous braking, lane departure warning systems, ESC, blind spot detection and accident avoidance alert systems.
All of these systems use a vast array of computer software to record and analyse the data received from radars, sensors and cameras to operate these safety systems. The correct alignment and calibration of these systems is imperative to ensure they work in sequence with the structure of the body to ensure passenger safety in the event of a collision.
Less tolerance
Tolerances have been slashed on today’s vehicles, which makes it even more important to measure the vehicle not only during the repair, but also before the repair, during the estimating process, and after the repair to verify that the collision damage has been corrected – a 360° review.
The advance of design and electronics now places more emphasis on correct alignment. Crumple zones, impact absorption engineering and other crash and safety parameters of a vehicle are directly related to correct air bag deployment and the correct function of other advanced electronic systems.
Incorrect alignment can also contribute to recurring vehicle maintenance issues, such as premature tyre wear, suspension, wheel alignment and steering problems.
Who needs 3D measuring equipment?
Three-dimensional measuring is the only way to accurately determine where damage is located and to what extent. It also allows collision repair technicians to document vehicle measurements before and after the straightening process.
Simply looking at a vehicle and performing quick checks will not produce an accurate analysis of the damage and will result in delays in the repair process. Without measuring a vehicle, how can a technician identify what is damaged, or whether you have brought the vehicle back to specification? The answer is simple – you can’t.
By capturing these measurements during the analysis phase of the process, the estimator has the facts to provide the customer or insurance company a more detailed description of the damage and what needs to be repaired.
Every millisecond counts
Today’s vehicles have more computing power than the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. With the proliferation of SRS components, vehicle electronics and driver aid systems, the correct placement of the sensors for these components, which often interact with each other, is critical to their function. When a sensor is misaligned, the data collected and relayed back to the computer for analysis when required will be flawed.
Many vehicles today may have up to eight airbags, and this number is increasing, so the correct positioning and and protection of sensors in the repair process is essential to post repair crash performance.
Incorrect alignment will also affect the sensors’ ability to determine when an SRS component should be deployed. As these components rely on milliseconds for correct timing, the correct alignment and repair of the structure is critical in retaining and restoring the performance of passive safety systems.
If the radar units are not correctly positioned and aligned for blind spot detection, autonomous braking or park assist, their ability to accurately pinpoint other vehicles could result in a preventable accident. The same goes for lane warning systems.
Isolation zone
Electronic systems in new vehicles require isolation of both the sensor and wiring harness and in some instances removal from the repair area and weld zone. The magnetic fields generated by welding equipment can damage sensors and welding cables passing over or near the wiring harness can wreak havoc. Using anti-zap cables will not isolate componentry from power surges and spikes, so research OEM procedures to find out when and how electronic components should be isolated during a repair.
Some vehicle makers such as General Motors and Chrysler mandate the use of three-dimensional measuring equipment. Other advantages of three-dimensional measuring include accuracy, reduced measuring time and the ability to repeat and verify specific measurements so they can be documented both before and after repairs are complete.
Providing measurement print-outs with the damage estimate to the technician helps with parts ordering, calculating repair times and reducing supplements.
