What is a body stacker, why it is needed and how it works
Smaller jobs include paint restoration, scratch and dent removal of small size. Under the right circumstances, most of this kind of work can be done independently.
Carrying out a major body repair involves completely different concepts. It should be done in situations where there was an accident, an accident that resulted in a violation of the geometry of the body. With the help of an ordinary hammer such malfunction will not be eliminated. Their implementation requires special straightening equipment, a special place in which occupies a slipway or just a stand for straightening.
Repair requires special straightening equipment, a special place in which takes a slipway or just a bench for straightening.
With the help of such installations it is possible to return the body to its former state in a short time. Staples are almost not used in garage conditions, but are available at service stations or car repair shops.
In this case, car owners should understand how exactly are arranged staples, what they may be, and how this or that kind of stand for straightening can cope with the obtained violation of the geometry of the car body.
What is a staple? This is a device used to restore the disturbed geometry of the body. Mainly, staples are equipped with a hydraulic power unit, the task of which is to create a great force to be directed to fix the body geometry after an accident or an accident. In this case, specialized devices can cope even with very serious damages.
A straightening bench is needed to carry out complicated body repairs and fix the broken geometry. It contains a large number of tools and devices. They all have a single goal, namely, to restore the original shape of the body. The main components become:
- Various grips;
- Chains;
- Instruments for measuring;
- Spotters and more.
The construction of many components makes it possible not only to exert force on the body metal, but also to dose the forces with load distribution, with a firm grip on the metal and measurement of the current parameters. After all, you can easily overdo it, and then it will be impossible to repair.
Principle of operation. Mainly, the use of slipways or straightening stands is made with automotive vehicles. In the process, the body of the car that was in an accident can be corrected, with the receipt of various dents or defects. Applying a slipway, it is possible to pull the car body and give it the factory shape.
Applying the building block, you can pull the body of the car, and give it the factory form.
To understand the essence and all the features of the staple it is necessary to become familiar with the principle of its work:
- Before carrying out the work, specialists conduct an inspection and make a list of required activities;
- After completing the preliminary diagnostics, the car is exhibited on a special platform, with a firm fixation in the frame for subsequent pulling;
- Using the grips, chains, and measuring devices provided on the straightening bench, the area where the work will be performed is determined;
- A force controlled by the operator is created on the slipway. The device allows the metal to be stretched or compressed in different directions, making it possible to return to its former shape;
- The structure of the metal itself receives almost no damage.
Staples can be roll-up, floor, frame, and platform.
Without a staple, it’s probably impossible to grind away at one point
Conclusion. How profitable this kind of installation is at home is debatable. But every self-respecting car repair shop must have one, and it should be professional and of high quality.
What is a body staple, why do you need it and how it works?
Body repair can be divided into small and large. Minor work involves restoring the paint layer, removing small scratches and dents. Under certain circumstances, most of these activities can be performed independently.
Major body repair includes completely different concepts. These are situations where, as a result of accidents, accidents and other circumstances, the geometry of the body is violated. An ordinary hammer will not fix it. Restoration of geometry requires the use of special alignment equipment, among which a special place belongs to slipway or just a bench for straightening.
With the help of such installations it is possible to return the body to its former state rather quickly and qualitatively. Staples are practically not used in garages, and are used in car repair shops and service stations.
It is important for car owners to understand how to arrange stapels, what they are and how this or that type of staple bench can cope with the task of restoring the damaged geometry of the body of the vehicle.
What is it
The body is the most important element of every car, and consists of a large number of components, elements and parts. When they are seriously deformed, it leads to such a phenomenon as violation of geometry.
With your own hands to restore such a defect is almost impossible. For such repair-restoration works were created straightening stands, which are commonly referred to as slipways. This largely helps to answer the question of why you need a building berth, and how much it is necessary facilities in each auto service center.
Basically, building berths are equipped with hydraulic power unit, with the help of which it is possible to create a great effort, aimed at correction of body shape after an accident, accidents and other situations. Moreover, specialized units sometimes are able to cope even with very severe damage.
The alignment bench is used to perform complicated body repairs and restore geometry on various vehicles. It consists of a large number of devices and tools. And they all have the same goal. Namely to return the body to its original shape.
Among the main components of the stand are:
- various kinds of grips;
- chains;
- measuring instruments;
- spotters, etc.
The multi-component construction makes it possible not only to force the body metal, but also to precisely dose the force, distribute the load, firmly grip the metal, and measure the current parameters. After all, it’s easy to overdo it, and the body can no longer be repaired.
Working principle
Mostly slipways or straightening benches are used in work with motor vehicles. They are used to correct the body of the car, which was in an accident, received all sorts of dents and defects. Using a staple, you can pull the body of the car and return it to its factory parameters.
To understand the essence and all the features of the staple, it is necessary to consider the principle of its work.
- Before the experts pull the body of the car on the appropriate slipway, they determine the degree and nature of damage, make a list of necessary work.
- When the preliminary diagnostics is completed, the car is set on a special platform, where the car is firmly fixed in the frame to be pulled.
- Using the chains, grips and measuring devices provided on the straightening bench, the vehicle determines the area on which further restoration work will be carried out.
- The staple then creates a force that is controlled by the operator. The device can stretch or compress the metal in different directions to return it to its former shape, that is, geometry.
- Measuring instruments and the ability to simulate impact in reverse order the body gets its former shape. At the same time, the structure of the metal itself is practically undamaged.
It is important to consider the fact that there are different types of slipways, the principle of which is somewhat different from each other. But all of them are united by one common task. All varieties of straightening stands are designed to pull out hollows and retract convex body elements in order to restore the original appearance of the metal. The key is to prevent damage to other parts.
The slipformers are only able to act on specific points and areas where damage has occurred. Thus, the entire metal, which was not damaged in the accident, is not affected. There are certain situations resulting from damage to the body where the only solution is the use of a frame.
If you properly operate the equipment, competently disposing of all its capabilities, the result of restoration surpasses the boldest expectations. After restoration, the restored body section will not differ from the rest of the elements. Plus, it may not even be necessary to restore the paint layer. But it directly depends on the nature of the damage.
It is necessary to understand that some accidents, collisions, and traffic accidents end up with extremely sad consequences for the integrity of the body. Even the most modern and functional slipways cannot cope with all of them. For this purpose, a preliminary assessment of condition is performed. The master determines how realistic is the restoration of the body in its present state, and whether stretching or compression will result in the final destruction of the vehicle body.
Despite the objective advantages of the staple as a means to restore the car body, the qualification and experience of the master involved in the restoration plays a major role in the quality of the work performed. Therefore it is important to choose not just auto service center, where the staple is present, but also where good specialists in the field work. It is not worth saving on such service if you really expect to bring your car back to life.
Varieties
A certain role in the quality and peculiarities of the restoration work plays the fact of using a particular type of slipway.
They are differentiated according to their design features. At the same time, all of them can be used to perform the assigned tasks to restore the geometry of car bodies.
As a result, slipways can be divided into the following categories:
- floor;
- undercarriage;
- frame;
- platform.
To understand the difference between the presented equipment, in each slipway, which carries out pulling of the car, you need to understand separately.
Undercarriage
Podkatnye models are designed primarily for relatively simple repair and restoration activities, when there is no opportunity to use powerful full-fledged equipment.
But this fact does not prevent the rolling stands to be very common. This is due to the fact that such stands have a wide range of functionality. Their strengths include the following points:
- They are designed to work with different types of vehicles. Therefore, one stand can serve different vehicles. There are rolling stands that have special elements in their arsenal which allow fixing the car without the obligatory flanging of the thresholds.
- They have compact dimensions, which allows using a rolling machine in a limited space. Such models can be found even in ordinary garages. Their small dimensions provide a definite advantage over competitors.
- A wide range of settings. This feature provides an accurate presetting. That is, the machine adapts to a particular type of body when restoring the geometry of the car.
- Special clamps for fixing the flanging of car sills. They have no analogues, and therefore serve as a strong argument in favor of the car jacking models.
- If necessary or desired, the chassis can be additionally equipped with a hydraulic system.
But in many ways, their advantages and advantages are not always justified. These slipways are not as versatile as they may initially seem.
If we are talking about severe damage and serious change of geometry, the wheel chassis is not able to cope with the restoration. It is relevant in the process of repairing spars, panels, struts and other similar components.
But still roll-up models can be called effective, versatile, affordable and reliable. Many car repair shops rightly invest in such equipment, because this purchase is fully justified.
Floor
Floor models of slipways are different in that they provide for the installation of special rails, racks, anchors and fasteners in the floor. They are used as a basis for placement and fixation of the repaired car.
The key advantages of floor leveling stands are their relative affordability, simplicity of installation and absence of difficulties when placing the car. Although the design is floor standing, in fact it does not take much space. This allows you to competently use the available space in a garage or small auto repair shop.
As needed, when there is no need for a slipway, the design, mounted in the floor, can be used for other tasks and purposes. Rails in this case will not interfere at all, and sometimes can even help in the implementation of certain works.
The only more or less significant disadvantage is the difficulty of making the necessary measurements in the process. But in general, floor stands are a worthy alternative and a serious competitor for the roll-up counterparts.
Frame
This slipway is characterized by a more complex design and device. But it is what many masters of body repair prefer to use as part of the elimination of relatively small defects.
The design itself takes up little space. Basically, the frame models are installed on the scissor car elevators. As a result, the car is at an adjustable height and is easily pulled in the right directions.
If compared to the same platform slipways, which we have yet to consider, the frame analogues are structurally more complex and consist of a larger number of components. Choosing a slipway of this type, it is recommended to give preference to the devices, additionally equipped with auto-lifts. This will reduce the time spent on repairs, as well as give an opportunity to save space in the car repair shop.
Platform
If you do not consider homemade slipways, the platform type of device is the last among the existing varieties. But this type of equipment is positioned as the most expensive, productive and efficient.
The platform stiffeners allow you to cope with serious mechanical damage on cars with a different type of body, including even huge frame SUVs.
All platform constructions are delivered in a certain set, which includes rails and an exit bridge. This is the base, on which the vehicle is driven or tightened with auxiliary devices for subsequent fixation by special high-strength fasteners.
The platform has a large number of fixation points. It is these that allow you to install different devices and apply the slipway depending on the specific vehicle, the type of body or the nature of the damage. Platform devices are capable of firmly securing the car, pointing at certain points of the body, stretching or squeezing in the desired direction.
An important component of the platform straightener is a winch and a mobile unit for the machine. The latter is designed for loading and further fixation of vehicles that cannot drive on their own on the platform.
Supports, which are made in the form of one or two support towers, are characterized by a very reliable hydraulic mechanism, which ensures a long service life and trouble-free operation. The support legs move around the straightening platform as required, thereby assisting in pulling out defects and damage to the body that are located at different points.
The special fixing beams are designed to move heavy structures weighing more than 20 tons. And the movement can be carried out in different required directions.
An important distinguishing feature of the platform car stacker for straightening and restoration of the body is the telescopic scale. It guarantees accurate calculations and determines the errors in the measurements performed. In fact, the device does not allow you to overstretch the metal or pull it not all the way.
Manufacturers of automotive platform straightening stands are ready to offer their customers a wide range of additional and auxiliary accessories. How much those or other devices are necessary, each buyer determines individually. But all accessories are aimed at expanding the capabilities and adding new functions to the stack.
It is impossible not to mention the fact of the solid size of the platform slipway. That is why it is not reasonable to install such stands in a limited space. Mainly they are used in large car service centers, which have the appropriate space for placing the straightening equipment.
With all its objective advantages, only the large size and the need for stationary location can be considered as disadvantages of the platform slipway. But in reality, when the body is heavily damaged and the geometry is severely disturbed, only platform models of straighteners are able to cope with the task at hand. From this you can draw the appropriate conclusions.
The importance of controlling and maintaining body geometry
So much has been said about the ability of staple machines to restore body geometry. That said, not everyone fully understands why to do this and why a car should not be operated with any deviations from its factory geometry.
Body geometry or body geometry refers to the exact dimensions of the vehicle, set at the production stage. The key parameters include:
- the width of the front track;
- the width of the rear track;
- wheelbase length;
- side member length;
- the distance between the side members.
The body consists of a large number of parts that form a load-bearing system. In the course of normal use, the parts begin to shift slightly. This is caused by the less than ideal road conditions, vibrations, bumps and potholes, sudden forced braking, etc. There is a process of natural wear, which can be characterized as metal fatigue.
But under normal conditions this process proceeds very slowly. But there are situations when the displacement occurs suddenly and abruptly. This is possible in accidents, serious mechanical damage, when the car hits a large pothole at high speed, when colliding with obstacles. As a result, the geometry is disturbed, i.e. the car doesn’t correspond to its factory standards any more.
In such situations, a qualitative restoration of the modified geometry of the car body helps. It can be restored on a slipway. This type of repair allows you to restore the car after accidents and crashes and continue normal operation.
If you ignore the need for repair, it can manifest itself in the form of the following problems:
- doors do not close properly;
- the hood and trunk do not close tightly;
- the car is unstable at high speed;
- the car skids even though the steering wheel is straight;
- the car ceases to obey the driver;
- vibration appears;
- metal deteriorates gradually;
- the load increases;
- the body elements and related units are worn out;
- the fasteners are destroyed.
Each of you can guess how dangerous all this is. That is why it is important to check the geometry not only in case of an accident and various kinds of severe damage, but also after quite a long period of car service.
Some car owners, in order to prevent and prevent development of problems, carry out diagnostics of body condition at least once in 2 years. It is especially important for those who have to drive on bad roads, which contribute to quick wear of body elements and accelerate metal fatigue.
Body staples are objectively sometimes indispensable equipment when it comes to the repair of vehicles. They help in the restoration and extend the life of the car.
As far as such equipment is necessary in home conditions, the question is extremely disputable. But each auto repair shop that provides body repair services simply must have at their disposal a professional and high quality slab.
