Situations in life are different. As traffic on the roads increases, the risk of becoming a victim of both your own carelessness and other drivers on the roads of our state increases proportionally.
Considering the state of transport lines, the likelihood of such an outcome in 2022 is extremely high even for a diligent motorist. With large dents, you cannot do without major repairs, but if the car has a couple of concavities, you can really solve the problem at home.
It is enough to make a slipway with your own hands, and the number of calls to auto repair shops will be significantly reduced. In today's article we will analyze the design of the garage device + provide instructions for its assembly.
Selecting a body finishing machine
The stocks can be designed for light handling operations, multi-purpose and heavy-duty work.
They are functionally classified into 3 main types. You should know that when choosing slipway equipment, the motorist should rely on the following important parameters.
- Quick installation of the car on the machine.
- The number of additional components that act as rods on the slipway.
- Compactness (the more space the stockpiling equipment takes up, the less suitable it is for a private garage).
- Reliability (we must not forget that there is a heavy machine on the slipway).
- Price.
Platform slipway for checking the geometry of the body
In a word, we can say that the slipway equipment must be suitable for individual requirements. Professional car repair shops mostly choose heavy, large machines that can be used to repair any type of vehicle, including buses. On the contrary, a slipway for private use should be compact and preferably mobile.
What is needed to make a slipway
A collection of tips for the car enthusiast Do-it-yourself car repair Do-it-yourself car maintenance
The production of slipways is carried out by large world-famous companies and small regional enterprises. The price of such power stands varies greatly, but making such equipment yourself will cost many times less. Depending on the chosen design, drawings should be drawn up, providing for all the features of the future workshop. Then all that remains is to prepare the necessary consumables and tools.
To assemble a homemade slipway you will need a metal profile, which will form the skeleton of the structure. The assembly process is carried out by welding and the appropriate equipment must be available
The fastening system is developed individually and it is important to purchase a power rack mechanism, chains and gripping devices that are difficult to manufacture. Before starting work, you should prepare the metal by cleaning it from rust, degreasing and priming
After which you can begin assembling the structure.
The slipway as the most important equipment for body repair
Making a car lift for a garage with your own hands
Anyone can find themselves in a situation where their car needs body work. Deformations of body elements can be different: small dents, medium damage or large curvatures. Not all damage can be repaired on your own using standard tools. For this reason, craftsmen use specialized equipment, which includes a slipway.
The body finishing itself can involve a wide range of work.
DIY slipway drawings
In some cases, the frame will have to be disassembled, in others, parts will have to be aligned or welded, and seams and surfaces will need to be cleaned.
The slipway plays the most important role of a special stand in the process of repair work. With its help, the damaged geometry of body elements is brought back to normal; side members, door pillars, etc. are aligned on it.
So, there are several slipways:
- Equipment with a frame base;
- Built in the likeness of a platform, a slipway;
- Floor type equipment.
The slipway equipment may or may not have a lift among its components. In addition to the platform, the machine must be equipped with additional components for directing force, clamping, fastening, etc.
In addition to the slipway machine, other equipment is used in finishing the metal frame of a car. This includes hoods, chains, straightening and hydraulic tools, induction devices and much more.
Conclusion
One of the main features of the slipway is the preservation of the geometry of the body. Why is this necessary? Primarily due to a significant displacement of the front or rear track, wheelbase, etc. A sudden breakdown may occur, which, in turn, leads to dangerous consequences. During long-term operation of any car, a slight displacement still occurs, but this cannot be compared with changes in the geometry of the body after an accident or other major mechanical damage.
Usually this type of repair is done before selling the car in order to give it a marketable appearance or if the owner himself wants it. The best option here would be to entrust the repair to professionals, but this will require serious financial investments, since this procedure is the most expensive element of bringing the car into a salable condition.
Why do you need to maintain the basic geometry of the body base?
Removing dents on a car yourself
Quite often there are situations when car drivers turn to car service centers in order to correct deformations of the base of the body of various types and types of complexity that appeared after:
- hitting various obstacles;
- collisions with other cars;
- after the car overturned.
Distortion of the basic geometry of the body can be identified by taking measurements of the body at the main control points of the body geometry, the exact coordinates of which are indicated in the specially attached documentation on the technical characteristics of the car. After taking measurements, it is determined that the values do not correspond to the normal values specified in the documents, and the conclusion is that the body is skewed and requires straightening.
Car body restoration
In order to correct the resulting deformations of the body, it is necessary to apply a specifically directed force to the metal itself. It is for these purposes that the slipway is equipped with special hydraulic drives, as well as various devices for securing one part of the body and additionally securing the remaining parts. Concluding from the fact that each car is deformed to varying degrees, it is worth considering each type of deformation as unique in its own way, requiring body repairs of varying levels of complexity. It is for these purposes that there are quite a large number of varieties of slipway devices that can help carry out repair work, as well as correcting body defects with different levels of complexity.
Spotter
The spotter is used for body repair and helps, like a reverse hammer, to tap small deformed parts. This is one of the methods of machine straightening, which is performed point by point using similar equipment. In this regard, this miniature device has many advantages over a conventional device:
- The straightening work is carried out efficiently.
- The working time with the spotter is short.
- There is no need to disassemble the car to perform auto repairs.
- The unique operating principle allows the spotter to eliminate mechanical damage and defects of the body, including the hood, fenders, and sills.
Straightening with a spotter will allow a car owner who wants to repair the car themselves to save on costs. To choose the right spotter, you should take into account the nature of the damage to the car.
Tools and materials for creating a slipway
If you decide to mount the slipway with your own hands, you will need:
- electric welding;
- hydraulic drive;
- sander;
- electric drill;
- dye;
- profile pipe from 5 mm;
- metal sheets 5 mm thick;
- clamping clamps;
- nuts;
- bolts.
The main point for the manufacture of a high-quality and durable slipway is the correct creation of the drawing. The efficiency and quality of all equipment depends on the accuracy of its creation. One of the main nuances is to think about the correct dimensions of the slipway and take into account the size of your garage
It is important not only to take into account the permissible dimensions of the structure, but also the location of individual parts and fasteners. On average, the dimensions of the slipway are 4.5 X 1.9 m
Assembling a homemade slipway
Self-production of a slipway should begin with the installation of the frame platform of the device. To do this, you will need a steel rectangular profile with a section of 50×50, 70×40 and others, depending on the expected load on the device. The parts are connected by a weld, which must be done to the highest possible quality. The linear dimensions of the platform should satisfy the dimensional parameters of the frames of most cars that you intend to work with.
To ensure high frame strength, it is necessary to combine both longitudinal and transverse elements. The assembly of the structure must be performed on a level, flat base, such as a concrete floor. Making a chamfer at the ends of the parts at the places where they join will help improve the quality of joining parts. In addition, it is necessary to correctly select the operating modes of the welding machine. To ensure high stability of the frame with the car installed on it, we recommend welding small height posts at the corners and the center of the longitudinal sides.
It is necessary to select or manufacture a number of auxiliary devices for the frame of the slipway, without which work on straightening the body and giving the frame the correct geometry will be impossible. The first of these is fasteners.
They are used directly to fix the car frame on the slipway. The quality of body (frame) work depends on their strength and performance. The design of fasteners may be different, but it should allow:
- withstand the deforming force applied to the frame without destruction;
- provide the ability to move along the frame and fasten at its various points;
- ensure maximum strength of the connection between the vehicle frame and the slipway.
It is taking into account all the above parameters that one or another fastener option is selected. At the same time, to work with different brands of cars, it is better to use devices with varying heights of mounting jaws and stocks that move along the frame both in the longitudinal and transverse directions.
Another mandatory device is a power rack, which must also move and be fixed in various racks of the slipway.
It is through them that the main force is applied to certain parts of the car frame in order to straighten it. In this regard, such a knot must also have maximum strength. The main material for the manufacture of racks is a square steel profile with a cross-section of at least 80×80 or a steel pipe. The junction of the vertical and horizontal parts is further strengthened by installing a gusset from the same profile, or slightly less.
For ease of work, the stand should be equipped with a device for attaching to the frame of the slipway and a platform for installing thrust rods. To work with simple body defects, two such devices are enough.
Thus, using quite affordable materials and the simplest types of connecting parts - welding and bolting, you can not only make a useful and convenient device, but also save significant money on it.
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