About Brake Align
Why use the Brake Align System?
brake lathe?
Brake Align ™ Starter Package
Brake Align ™ Runout Correction Plate
Brake Align ™ Products
Why
use the Brake Align™
System?
Answer: Brake Align saves time and money.
At most repair shops time saved is like money in the bank. And now, thanks to Brake Align, you can save time and money on your most difficult brake jobs - up to 45 minutes in labor time on each job.
How
many times has this happened to you? You perform a routine brake job only
to find pedal pulsation or steering wheel shimmy when finished. So, you
resurface the rotors a second time. To your surprise, there is little
or no significant improvement. Now what? Apprehensively, you pull out
that clumsy old on-car brake lathe, dreading the loss of time and increased
effort and begin again. Well, not anymore!
What
are the problems with using an on-car brake lathe?
Answer: On-car brake lathes can cause a job to take longer, customer dissatisfactions, loss of profits, and frustrations for technicians.
Brake pedal pulsation and steering wheel shimmy are usually symptoms of "lateral runout", a condition effecting 90% of vehicles and the number one cause of customer dissatisfaction and comebacks. These manifestations are most likely a result of irregular rotation between the brake rotor surface and brake pad. Rotor runout is the major cause of thickness variation, which increases pedal pulsation.
While runout can be caused by a number of variables, an irregular rotor surface, mismatched mating alignment of the hub and rotor or a "stack-up" of tolerances between rotor and hub are often to blame.
The current school of thought dictates using an on-car brake lathe to eliminate lateral runout. By positioning the on-car brake lathe directly on the caliper mount or hub assembly, you can make allowances for lateral runout during the machining process. However, there are drawbacks.
First, you have to purchase an on-car brake lathe if you don't already have one. This capital outlay will take quite some time to recoup the expense before offering a return on your investment.
Next, on-car brake lathes have garnered a well-deserved reputation as being difficult and time-consuming to install, adjust and operate. The on-car brake lathe becomes unprofitable for both the technician and the dealership.
Then, to make matters worse, inexperienced technicians are likely to have their hands full working with an on-car brake lathe. As a result, this will require a greater investment in more skilled personnel, an increase in your labor rate and a decrease in your margins-not to mention sustained training.
Finally, the on-car brake lathe may require that you remove a significant amount of rotor surface in order to fully correct the problem. Generally, .002" to .004" of good rotor surface must be removed per side - over and above - the minimum amount needed to simply create a smooth braking surface. This not only take more time to cut the rotor because more than one pass may be necessary, but also significantly reduces the life span of your customer's brake rotor.
To
summarize, you now have a job that takes much longer than anticipated
to complete, is needlessly unprofitable and frustrating, is cost prohibitive
to your customer, and if the vehicle owner knew the truth about how much
rotor material was actually removed, would not make for a happy, repeat
customer.
Who came up with the idea for the Brake Align™
System?
Answer: Tommy Saunders, president of Accu Industries, Inc.
The Brake Align™ System is the brainchild of Tommy Saunders, president of Accu Industries, Inc., a company recognized as a leader and innovator in the design, manufacture and operation of brake lathes. In fact, Accu-turn pioneered one-cut capability - a process that eliminated the extra time required to first make an initial rough-cut followed by a secondary finishing cut when machining rotors.
Saunders and his father also head Brake Align, LLC., and have developed the industry's first line of high quality, easy to install runout correction plates. Brake Align runout correction plates are micro-thin "shims" engineered to address and fully correct problems associated with lateral runout.
These unique correction plates from Brake Align install in minutes, saving 30-45 minutes over a brake job requiring the use of an on-car brake lathe.
"What
is truly amazing about the Brake Align system is the fact that it not
only corrects surface variation on the brake rotor, but it also takes
into account the "stack up" of tolerances and error in the spindle,
hub, wheel bearings and rotor, and completely eliminates the problem 100%
of the time," Saunders said. "This product is so good, it corrects
for inaccurate resurfacing of the rotor!"
Answer:
Brake
Align works by using a simple step-by-step process. First, the rotor is
removed from the vehicle and machined on a quality bench brake lathe.
Next, the machined rotor is reinstalled onto the vehicle's hub. The rotor
is then checked for runout using a dial indicator, noting the rotor's
high spot with a marking pen. If the runout exceeds OE specs, the rotor
is removed to allow the installation of the appropriate Brake Align runout
correction plate. A V-notch in the plate indicates the proper location
to offset the high and low spots on the rotor. The rotor is reinstalled
and the brake job is complete.
see diagram
As stated earlier, it's common knowledge among service professionals that on-car brake lathes can be more than a little finicky to setup and operate-not to mention the needless removal of rotor material when attempting to correct runout. The use of Brake Align runout correction plates enables technicians to machine rotors on a bench lathe and produce a superior microfinish in less time than it would take to turn the rotors on the vehicle.
Cycle time for a complete brake service can be reduced by as much as 50%, therefore, total labor costs are reduced. No new capital expense is required because additional equipment purchases are not necessary.
The profit potential that is available by using the Brake Align's system is outstanding. The following hypothetical example will illustrate that point. According to a recent automotive survey, the "average" repair shop performs between 35-40 brake services each month. Assume a service center's hourly rate is $80.00 per hour and an "A" technician can perform a front-wheel brake service on an Asian import in two hours using an on-car brake lathe. The repair bill for the customer would likely be in the neighborhood of $180.00. Since the procedure requires a moderate amount of skill, the technician's hourly wage runs $20.00 per hour. Shop supplies, special tools and overhead may approach $45.00 per hour; brake pads will average $20.00 per set. By accounting for the total overhead costs, the $180.00 brake service has turned into a $30.00 net profit for the business.
Brake Align can save up to 50% of the labor costs on most difficult brake jobs, so let's reexamine this scenario. The brake service costs the customer $180.00, the brake pads still average $20.00, but labor hours have decreased from two hours to one-saving $20.00 in employee wages and $45.00 in shop overhead. Simply by using the Brake Align system, net profit has jumped from $30.00 to $95.00! That's an extra $65.00 per job to hit the bottom line.
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