Blackhawk plays key role in TU Dublin Bodyshop Training Centre transformation

May 17, 2021
Blackhawk plays key role in TU Dublin Bodyshop Training Centre transformation The course will cover areas such as 4-wheel alignment, ADAS and electric and hybrid vehicles, with all new equipment being installed to reflect this
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Later this year Ireland will be home to one of the very finest bodyshop training facilities in the whole of Europe, when TU Dublin completes its upgrade programme on its Beresford Street Body Repair facility in Dublin. The transformation will include the installation of the most advanced body repair and refinishing technology available and this process recently got underway with the installation of  Blackhawk Shark 3 computerised measuring system.


Technological University Dublin, or TU Dublin, is Ireland's first technological university and evolved from the Dublin Institute of Technology. The Beresford Street complex is located just a hundred metres from the well known Bolton Street building and behind its ordinary looking door it is home to a large complex of workshops and classrooms which are the venue for courses run by the School of Transport Engineering, Environment and Planning. These include the Solas Vehicle Body Repair technician apprenticeship programme as well as various undergraduate and specialist courses in automotive management and technology.

Lecturer, Frank O’Neill, has worked in automotive training since 1985 and saw the need to make sure that the training facility reflected the very latest repair technology. He commented, “Automotive technology is moving at a great pace and body repair is very much at the cutting edge of these developments. It vital that future technicians we are training have the very latest knowledge and skills and this has brought about a huge capital investment in our facilities.”

A very substantial grant secured from the Higher Education Authority has allowed a carefully planned investment in new facilities and equipment, including specially designed training rigs for air-con, SRS, diagnostics, and mechanical training geared to body repair requirements. There are also a range of welders that can be used to work on the very latest structural materials, an aluminium repair bay has been put in place and is in the process of being kitted out and a brand new spraybooth will be installed over the summer.

Computerised measuring systems of course play a vital role in the repair process and new systems will be introduced to reflect this. Central to this investment is the Blackhawk Shark 3. Frank says, “We have had a very longstanding and successful relationship with Blackhawk dating back to the 1980’s and have been operating a Shark system since as far back as 1995. This is still in use which reflects how robust Blackhawk equipment is. We have always found that the Shark has been a system that students enjoy working on and take to it very easily because of its intuitive operation.”

When considering the new investments Frank and his team took the excellent track record of Blackhawk into account and insisted on the very latest Shark model as a primary measuring system. The Shark 3 is a fully computerised measuring system that relies on ultrasound technology for its speed and accuracy. It offers “measure-as-you-pull” functionality that virtually eliminates reworks and provides access to a huge database of repair information and precise measurements.

Frank comments, “The latest Shark 3 is very impressive and has excellent graphic capabilities including a very useful zoom function. It is also clear and easy to understand because of the way it compartmentalises data, making it very good as a tool in a training environment.”

The Blackhawk Shark 3 will play a key role when a new apprenticeship training syllabus is introduced in September. This is something that Frank had a role in drafting and he says it reflects the huge changes that the automotive sector currently faces.

As such the course will cover areas such as 4-wheel alignment, ADAS and electric and hybrid vehicles, with all new equipment being installed to reflect this. The course will also focus on the vital area of new structural materials such as high strength steel, aluminium and carbon fibre. Frank comments, “Many of the latest materials used in vehicle construction react very differently to traditional steel when in both impact and repair situations. We have invested in advanced ultrasonic material analysis and hardness testing equipment so that we can demonstrate to students what can and cannot be repaired and why. This will be very important as these new materials are used more widely.”

Frank says he is hopeful that by September the facility can operate at full capacity as it has operating at 50% over recent months due to COVID restrictions. By then he anticipates that all equipment installation work will be complete and Ireland will have a state of the art body repair training facility of which it can be truly proud.
 
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