June 17, 2014—Chief Automotive Technologies and Steck Manufacturing Co. both announced Monday they released products to assist in working with aluminum auto body parts.
Aluminum is becoming increasingly popular in the autoparts industry as automakers look to the lightweight material to help vehicles meet new federal fuel emission standards.
Chief Automotive Technologies announced a collet style target attachment kit for shops using the Chief LaserLock Live mapping system. The 18-piece kit includes three sizes of self-centering aluminum expanding collet attachments that fit reference holes 10–44 millimeters.
“The new aluminum collet kit takes the place of our standard magnetic or snap-in hole attachments when working on vehicles with aluminum frames or bodies,” said Lee Daugherty, global data product manager Vehicle Service Group, Chief’s parent company. “Magnets don’t work with aluminum, and the snap-in attachments are equipped with steel fingers. Any steel coming in contact with aluminum can cause corrosion, so shops need an option for aluminum repairs.”
The set is included in the 2015 Ford F-150 Collision Repair Program and is available as an option on any Chief LaserLock system order. For more information on the set, visit chiefautomotive.com.
Steck manufacturing is also tackling the issue of steel causing corrosion to aluminum parts with its line of Soft Strike Covers, which helps convert existing steel tools to be safe to work on aluminum.
The removable covers are aimed at preventing cross contamination and galvanic corrosion.
For more information about the new Soft Strike Covers line, visit steckmfg.com.
