From tire changers and balancers to alignment and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) equipment, Hunter Engineering Company is taking steps to ensure its products meet the needs of the collision repair industry. At the 2023 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV, the company displayed a variety of new equipment for technicians.
This included Hunter’s Ultimate ADAS™, designed to eliminate errors common to static ADAS calibrations with manual layouts. During the show, Ultimate ADAS™ was named Best New ADAS Product 2024 as part of the New Product Showcase competition.
The company also showcased the HawkEye® XL alignment system, scissor lifts and the 51M tire changer for mobile use.
Tom Settle, Hunter’s director of field development and training, said this year’s 8,000-square-foot SEMA booth focused on showcasing equipment created to help with the recruitment and retention of technicians.
“Technicians today must have a range of skills,” said Settle. “If you have someone who is very energetic and willing to utilize state-of-the-art technology, you’ll get a larger diversity of candidates.”
He said Hunter has created a range of equipment that is easy to use and provides accurate results.
“Not only will this help with technician recruitment, but it will also assist with retention and, ultimately, allow shops to be more efficient and profitable,” he added.
Ultimate ADAS™
Ultimate ADAS™ combines Hunter’s standard-setting alignment technology with a guided target placement system for around-the-vehicle coverage.
Pete Liebetreu, vice president of product management and marketing, said Hunter was proud to win the SEMA award.
"Bringing this innovative product to market took a huge team of engineers, developers, U.S.-based manufacturing and of course, the interest of our customers and partners. It was a huge effort and the team at Hunter is very proud of this prestigious recognition."
Ryan Gerber, Hunter product specialist, ADAS, said the key component is the equipment’s use of gimbal-mounted lasers, which replace the guesswork of strings, plumb bobs and tape measures and can decrease setup time by 70% for some procedures.
Gerber explained the gimbals and onscreen guidance provided by Hunter’s award-winning WinAlign® software assist with target placement by compensating for non-level floors, monitoring for placement errors, and confirming accuracy with laser measurements.
Many common and time-consuming manual adjustments have been automated with the equipment, such as height, roll, pitch and yaw. Users can also do a full vehicle alignment.
Ultimate ADAS™ provides documentation of the procedures performed and exact target placement, which can be accessed or printed via HunterNet® 2, Hunter’s customer portal.
Designed with compact packaging, the equipment can be moved around the shop as needed.
Honda and Acura dealers are currently using Ultimate ADAS™; Hunter plans to work with additional OEMs in 2024.
HawkEye® XL Alignment System
Hunter product manager Alan Hagerty said the new HawkEye® XL was designed for speed, durability and ease of use for commercial vehicles; it provides measurements in four minutes or less.
“It’s perfect for heavy-duty shops looking to speed up and supersize their alignment capabilities,” he said.
“With our old system, I was doing 15 trucks in one 10-hour day,” said Vernon Embree, a technician at Prime Inc., who tested the HawkEye® XL with their large fleet of newer trucks. “Now I’ve hit 26 trucks in one day. I would definitely recommend the XL to anybody.”
The camera technology has extra-long range and extra-large targets, expanded from the HawkEye® Elite alignment system.
Hagerty said the lightweight, three-dimensional XL targets are durable, low-maintenance and non-electronic.
The high-definition cameras can capture measurements in a single rolling compensation and display live alignment readings for up to three axles. Technicians can perform alignments on the floor or a lift.
HawkEye® XL connects to the HunterNet® 2 customer portal, which allows shop owners to monitor alignment performance remotely in real time.
Scissor Lifts
To help repair large and small wheelbases, Hunter introduced two new, longer variations of its RX14 and RX16 scissor alignment racks that can accommodate up to 195-inch two-wheel wheelbases.
“We know that space is a premium, especially when we talk about ADAS calibrations,” said Settle.
The RX14KL lift gains an additional 13 inches and the RX16KL has an additional 17 inches.
Liebetreu said the longer wheelbase adds more medium-duty vehicle capability and more runway to perform rolling compensation on crew cab pickups and larger vans.
The adjustable turnplate pockets provide 88- to 168-inch four-wheel alignment service range.
51M Tire Changer
Hunter introduced the TCX51M to provide additional tire support for technicians. Designed specifically for mobile use and other tight spaces, Settle said the tire changer features a swing arm design with dual bead loosening rollers that can be demounted quickly without a lever.
The adjustable center clamp was designed to protect wheels and never slip. The TCX51M’s two-speed inverter motor operates at 110V, allowing technicians to service modern complex assemblies.
Training
To meet the educational needs of the industry, Settle said Hunter is updating its training approach. The goal is to roll out a gamified style of its learning management system (LMS) in 2024 aimed at the next generation of technicians. This includes designing shorter modules that last between three and five minutes.
“All of the courses will be more tailored to the current state of automotive,” explained Settle.
For more information about Hunter Engineering Company’s products, visit www.hunter.com.
Stacey Phillips Ronak