Collision Repair Training | Australia
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Collision Repair Training | Australia
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Current Events/News: Advantage Online: 2003 Archives
I-CAR TECH CENTRE CONDUCTS VEHICLE-SPECIFIC TRAINING FOR ALUMINUM JAGUAR XJ May 19, 2003 -Structural collision repair training for the new, aluminum-intensive Jaguar XJ has been taking place at the I-CAR Tech Centre in Appleton, Wisconsin the past several weeks. The program has been running Monday through Saturday, with a maximum of six students per session. So far over 40 technicians have been trained, including some Spanish-speaking students. Attendees are from collision repair centers in North America that were selected and approved by Jaguar. The initial training session began on February 2 and will run through June 7. Additional training sessions will be held as needed. To prepare for the program, Research Coordinator Steve Marks and Technical Specialist Nathan Rebarchik from the Tech Centre attended a two-week Train-the-Trainer program conducted by Jaguar at a training centre in Nottingham, England. Marks and Rebarchik were accompanied by representatives of Jaguar of North America to sessions that also included representatives from other training organizations based in Germany and Switzerland. Using the Train-the-Trainer materials received in England, the Tech Centre staff developed a customized six-day North American training program. It’s in a CD-ROM format, similar to the I-CAR Enhanced Delivery programs, containing all the videos and graphics. I-CAR Instructor Tom Stark was contracted to help deliver the training at the Tech Centre. The student technicians attending the I-CAR program have been primarily from independent facilities from the United States, Canada and Mexico. A few have been from Jaguar dealerships that have collision repair facilities. Jaguar handles scheduling and student selection. This is the first in-house vehicle-specific training that has been conducted at the Tech Centre. What may be even more significant for I-CAR is the cooperative effort with an OEM that could lead to better-targeted I-CAR and I-CAR Education Foundation training. Welding Training One of the main skills practiced during the six-day program is aluminum welding. The digital welding machines can be programmed for different specifications and even different repairs. When purchased from the Jaguar equipment program, the welding machine includes 18 programs that match the required weld parameters for different repairs on the XJ. When making a specific weld joint, all the parameters for that weld have been preset by a welding engineer, giving the technician an accurate starting point. There is some minor adjustment allowed, for wire speed and arc length, to accommodate different technician techniques. Jaguar requires technicians to be proficient in 14 welds that are used on the XJ in different positions and joint configurations. The welds are made on coupons of the same alloy as the vehicle. The welds are visually inspected and destructively tested.
Rebarchik and Stark assess the technician’s techniques (see Figure 1). Rebarchik says “They must prove to us that they can do the 14 welds so when they leave here, they’re capable of repairing the car. There is also a few skill-building welds we have them do to help give them a little more welding experience.” The Jaguar XJ is built using self-piercing rivets (SPR) in combination with metal bonding adhesive. The reason why there is so much emphasis on welding is that there are several sectioning recommendations on the vehicle. Aluminum expands and contracts slightly different than steel, so there is more potential for cracking during straightening compared to steel construction. If the cracks form during the collision or repairs, Jaguar requires that rail or panel be replaced. Using factory-specified sectioning procedures avoids replacing an entire rail or uniside. When parts are replaced at factory seams, repair facilities also use SPR rivets and bonding. The use of a specific riveting tool, required by Jaguar, allows the joints to match the original appearance and strength. Other Skills
During the program, technicians are also instructed on structural straightening considerations for the XJ (see Figure 2). One of two specific bench racks is required. There is no hands-on structural straightening in the six days, but everyone gets a chance to remove dents from an aluminum panel using a hammer and dolly and shrinking the aluminum with a heat gun. Technicians are informed about the complex restraint system on the XJ, which not only includes side seat and side curtain airbags, but also ultrasonic sensors that recognize if there is an out-of-position passenger in the front seat, and a silicone-filled weight bladder in the passenger seat to gauge the weight of the passenger. Specific vehicle protection measures, trim removal and installation, and stationary glass replacement are also covered in the program. There are specific equipment and material requirements for rivet tools, bonding materials, glass removal tools, and nonconductive glass adhesive, among others. Cooperative Effort I-CAR Video Production And Research Manager Bob Wipf believes that the greatest benefit of I-CAR’s participation with the Jaguar training is the knowledge gained by such a cooperative effort. “Learning early about how a vehicle is constructed and what repair procedures are being recommended by the individual vehicle manufacturers allows us to make sure our I-CAR and I-CAR Education Foundation training is on target,” says Wipf. “While working with the Jaguar trainers, we learned a lot about the XJ Jaguar structure and the new aluminum GMA (MIG) welding machines. Our objective is to help Jaguar deliver this important new training to its North American market and allow I-CAR to learn more about the vehicle-specific repair processes used on the XJ Jaguar. OEM materials and tasks are changing, and cooperative projects like this allows I-CAR to re-evaluate what we’re teaching. By working with the OEMs, we can better define the training requirements of the collision industry.” |
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