To make alignments easier, more accurate, and less time-consuming, Hunter Engineering developed the HawkEye XL Alignment System. Fleet Maintenance met up with Alan Hagerty, Hunter wheel alignment product manager, at the American Trucking Associations' Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting in New Orleans to show how the system works and how it benefits users.
Check out the video below:
“Our new heavy duty wheel alignment system HawkEye XL is an evolution of Hunter’s continued innovation in wheel alignment technology,” Hagerty started. “We've now moved to cameras and targets.”
This new system simplifies the alignment process in that it eliminates the need for extra cables or other electronics at the wheels themselves, as Hagerty explained.
“One of the great advantages of this new technology is that we've moved the electronics up and away from the wheel, out of harm's way," he said. "What that does for you as a customer or a shop is it provides more uptime, more durability, and lower cost of ownership with your investment.”
The process itself is intuitive, as self centering wheel clamps quickly attach to the wheel with durable targets. "All we need is for the camera to see this target and we're up and ready to go in our alignment," Hagerty explained.
Hagerty pointed out that the system is portable, allowing users to perform alignments in the bay or on a lift, allowing shops to perform their own alignemnts as opposed to outsourcing the task to a third-party.
The machine was designed for ease of use, with a tehcncian able to clamp the targets on the wheels and then roll the vehicle or trailer forward and compensate.
"I don't have to stop, jack up each axle, and do the individual compensation," he noted. "So with that quick rolling compensation and the ability to do alignments in any bay, I can knock lots of alignments out day after day.”
Hagerty noted a Prime Trucking maintenance facility was able to complete 30 alignments in one day. By using Hunter's power slide turn plates, which automatically lock and unlock without the use of pins, Prime could do the alignments on the floor at a faster rate.
"We have plenty of other customers who are doing 10-15 alignments a day," Hagerty added.
"Having that control and being able to get the vehicle back on the road making you money is really a great investment.”
The system is available now and Hunter is offering live, on-site demos of the XL which can be requested here.
Check out our review of the Hunter HawkEye XL HD Alignment system: Tool Review: HawkEye XL Alignment system | Fleet Maintenance
