Hofmann Megaplan Blog

CONTACTLESS WHEEL ALIGNMENT MEASUREMENT WITH INSTANTANEOUS RESULTS

At a recent customer open day at the company’s headquarters, ISN Garage Assist showcased the latest touchless wheel alignment measurement system from Hofmann Megaplan.

megaline OPTUS measures the wheel alignment of any vehicle, completely automatically without the need for clamps, or the presence of an operator. The results are immediate (c 5 seconds) and incredibly accurate.

OPTUS uses advanced technology cameras which analyse the wheel geometry at all four corners of the vehicle, simultaneously, and without any contact with the wheel or rim.  The time consuming process of mounting clamps with targets or sensors onto wheels or rims is a thing of the past, as is the risk of damaging expensive alloys.

The system comprises four fixed towers containing a series of high definition, advanced technology cameras. When the vehicle enters the measurement area, Automatic Number Plate Recognition uploads the vehicle detail without the need for any data to be entered manually. The software automatically pre-selects the vehicle specification, detecting parameters such as camber angle and toe angle. In only 5 seconds, the system returns the results with extraordinary accuracy.

An easy-to-understand report highlights measurements that are out-of-specification together with related issues that can affect the drive, allowing customers to make faster, more informed decisions.

OPTUS is able to measure each wheel type and automatically distinguish vehicles with different wheelbases. It is not necessary to remove the wheel trims before measurement, there is no run-out compensation or roll-back required.

The caster measurement can also be carried out without the use of a brake block, whilst still guaranteeing maximum precision.

Megaline OPTUS has been designed to adapt to any vehicle lift or pit, making installation extremely quick. The absence of moving parts simplifies maintenance and reduces the risk of breakdown. The cameras self-calibrate to ensure consistently accurate results. All this to ensure greater reliability in the long term.

Thanks to the automated process, OPTUS can measure a much higher percentage of vehicles than is possible using traditional methods. The immediate identification of necessary adjustments increases the number of vehicles that will benefit from wheel alignment adjustments, guaranteeing greater profits for you workshop and significantly improving the quality of the service you can offer your customers.

You don’t even need an alignment technician to get complete geometry readings. Anyone driving a car into the workshop or moving vehicles around can drive through OPTUS and gain a valuable revenue opportunity without even getting out of the car!

MOT Bays – Smoke and Mirrors?

An MOT Bay often represents one of the most sizeable investments a garage will ever make, with ongoing commitments and legislative factors that mean the decision you make now will have consequences for years to come.

Before you spend a significant amount of money on what could be one of the biggest investments you are likely to make, it is worth comparing and thoroughly checking the following key points, as they could have a huge bearing on the reliability, capability and cost of ownership of your MOT equipment.

Warranty
It is not uncommon for suppliers to claim reassuringly lengthy warranties, which are effectively negated by complex T&Cs. A classic example is for only the first year to include parts and labour, and thereafter it is parts only. With ISN Garage Assist, you get a 3-year warranty, with no strings attached.

Calibrations
It is essential to discuss, understand, and preferably button-down your calibration arrangement BEFORE you place that order. Remember, calibrations MUST be done every 6 months, so don’t get locked into an expensive contract. With ISN Garage Assist, you get 3 years free calibrations as part of your package.

Origin of Manufacture
There is a huge difference in price and quality between European-manufactured equipment and that produced in the Far East. European manufacturers have been making equipment for UK MOT for decades, and are often involved with the DVSA for both legislative and development matters. A factory in China does not have that understanding or connectivity. With ISN Garage Assist, you get top quality, European manufactured equipment.

Installation and Ongoing Support
Who will install and maintain your equipment? Your supplier’s in-house engineers, or sub-contractors? If it’s the latter, consider their capability, ability and incentive to ‘look after you’ after the initial installation. With ISN Garage Assist, you get employed installation engineers and electricians – not subcontractors.

Additional, necessary services
Having the resources to help with a seamless application is not as common as you’d think. Does the supplier have a dedicated person allocated to manage your application? Don’t be fooled by the term ‘handholding’, that just means you have access to some advice, and invariably suggests the real work is still down to you! Are things like in-house electrical connection, which you will absolutely need, included or even available? With ISN Garage Assist, experienced MOT specialists do the administration and project management for you. We will ensure you are in safe hands; not just for the purchase, but for the life of your MOT facility.

In yet another industry first, ISN Garage Assist have introduced the next generation of balancer technology in the form of the all-new megaspin FastTouch.

The megaspin FastTouch is, in our view, the most technically advanced wheel balancer on the market. When the automatic ‘measuring gauge’ was introduced some 25 years ago it took balancing to a new level, allowing the operator to enter the rim data automatically by using an integral measuring gauge to take the rim parameters. Now, FastTouch technology even does away with the gauge, instead using lasers to take all necessary data, and the operator has a choice of hitting the ‘Magic Button’, or simply tap the rim by hand or even a knee to enter all the information the balancer needs.

That’s it. Lower the hood and activate the spin, and when the cycle is done the rim even moves straight to its first weight position. Once the operator has applied the weight, the press of a button then moves the rim to the second position.

But there’s even more to the megaspin FastTouch. The OWB (One Weight Balance) mode is automatically activated in the event you can eliminate all imbalance (both static and dynamic) with one weight. Working on around 70% of balance jobs, this wheel balancer is now saving you money as well as time. To top it all off, the amazing Hubmatch feature allows you to determine the ‘high spot’ of the tyre (which in turn equates to imbalance), and position the wheel on the hub of the car in the correct position to counter this residual imbalance that can’t be dealt with by a wheel weight!

Touch-screen control and a pneumatic clamp for fast and accurate wheel locking on the balancer shaft are standard, as you would expect from such an advanced balancer, and the machine is even supplied with marketing material, including banner and leaflets, to help explain HubMatch to your customers.

megaspin FastTouch Lite

Who said a balancer in a mobile van or confined space has to be ‘basic’? The megaspin FastTouch Lite offers luxury features, such as gauge-less data entry and auto positioning, in a practical compact balancer for mobile operators or those who are simply tight for space but don’t want to compromise on features.

An ingenious design sees a swivel display that allows the operator to use the balancer in any position; a complete game-changer for mobile fit-outs, where space-restriction can often compromise not only the performance of a balancer, but also the way it is operated.

Available to be either bench-mounted or freestanding, the megaspin FastTouch Lite is undoubtedly the balancer for the true tyre professional, who wants to be able to offer the same level of service as a conventional tyre shop would.

The writing has been on the wall for diesel cars for a few years now - since the infamous dieselgate scandal swept the industry - but sales on the second-hand market have remained strong. Until now, that is. For the first time, online used car remarketing platform Autorola has reported a decline in demand for second-hand diesel vehicles. Over the course of 2022, diesel sales fell by a not-insignificant 15.1%. Gone are the days of diesel domination: last year, just one in four vehicles sold through the platform was so-powered.

Jumping ship
So, what are motorists buying instead? According to Autorola’s stats, petrol power is now by far and away Britain’s preference. Last year, sales increased by 28.9%, representing 64.9% of total sales. The biggest winners of 2022 though, perhaps unsurprisingly, were hybrid and electric cars. Sales of these lower-emission models shot up by 52.6% in the last 12 months, making up 8.9% of total sales. Although this figure sounds small, we can expect it to increase significantly in the coming years, in-line with new vehicle sales.

Offering further insight, Autorola UK’s group sales director, Jon Mitchell, added: “We are witnessing a shift in the type of stock we are selling, with diesels proving less popular and petrols and hybrids increasing in popularity.” Interestingly, he noted that hybrids are currently performing better than full EVs on the second-hand market: “Used EV demand and prices are falling during the current cost-of-living crisis, which is helping boost both petrol and hybrid sales,” he said.

Do you run a garage?
If you run a workshop of your own and are looking to invest in the very best garage service equipment the industry has to offer, look no further than Hofmann Megaplan. View our full range of machinery online today.

Every car over three years old needs an MOT to be road legal. Light commercial vehicles and motorcycles need them too, so demand for testing is always high, year-round, no matter which type of vehicle your workshop specialises in. If you don’t currently offer MOT testing in-house and would like to, your first question may well be the one posed in the title of this article: what equipment do I need? Let’s take a closer look at each piece of equipment used in an MOT test.

MOT testing equipment
Typically, garages looking to branch out into MOT testing will choose a complete MOT bay installation, which includes all of the necessary components to carry out accurate, compliant testing. It’s much easier to take this route than it is to buy equipment individually.

Our Class 4 MOT bays include the following pieces of equipment:

• Four-post lift: A robust, easy-to-use lift that’s perfect for inspecting vehicles. A four-post lift is ideally suited to MOT testing, as it takes just seconds to get the vehicle up in the air but still provides enough access to check for play in bushes, exhaust leaks, corrosion and other potential failure points.
• Radius (or turn) plates: Not an essential item legally, but a must-have for busy MOT garages nonetheless. Radius plates allow a vehicle’s wheels to be turned without using the steering wheel, allowing a tester to quickly and easily check the operation of the steering from outside and underneath. Much easier than asking a colleague to hop in and turn the steering wheel!
• Play detector: A straightforward device used to check for play in suspension bushes - a common failure or advisory point on an MOT test.
• Jacking beam: Mounted to the four-post lift, a jacking beam makes it easy to lift the vehicle off the ground while it’s still in the air - perfect for checking play in wheel bearings, for example.
• Headlight beam tester: A machine that efficiently assesses the aim of a vehicle’s headlight beam. Using it, a tester can quickly determine whether or not the beam needs adjusting, before making the necessary alterations to pass the vehicle.
• Brake tester: A vital component of the MOT test. Brakes are perhaps the single most important safety component on a vehicle, and this machine will make sure they’re in good working order. Not only will it assess the overall stopping power of the vehicle, it’ll let the tester know if there are potentially dangerous imbalances across an axle.
• Smoke and gas analyser: Used to analyse the emissions from a vehicle’s tailpipe. A variety of parameters are recorded and compared against maximum legal requirements, giving you a clear pass or fail result.

Get your quote today
Ready to learn more and begin planning your MOT bay installation? Learn more about the services we have to offer today, or contact us to get your own tailored installation quote.