Lombard, Illinois — November 23, 2015 — Celette and General Motors have developed repair plans for Cadillac’s CT6. The vehicle is complex, using a number of cutting edge advancements. Celette was the first to bring the repair solution to market.
“We displayed our approved CT6 repair plan and tools at NACE, way back at the beginning of the summer,” says Bastien Dias Da Costa, Operations Manager for Celette. “We were way ahead of the game when it came to bringing this solution to market.”
Recently, the company also showcased the tools and methods developed at the 2015 SEMA Show, along with “Skeletor,” the structure of the new CT6, and all of the Celette fixtures and equipment needed to repair it.
“Considering the mixed material and complex manufacturing process of the new 2016 Cadillac CT6 structure, it was crucial for GM to develop a strong collision repair plan early in the vehicle development process,” says Leo Gruzas, Manager Customer Care & Aftersales, Body/Exterior Service Engineering for General Motors. “The collision repair plan required timely review of repair procedures, service part strategies, training, and the necessary collision repair tools. One of the required tools for collision repair on the Cadillac CT6 is a structural repair bench.”
This is critical, according to statements from GM. Early review of the vehicle allows equipment manufacturers to start developing tools and methods that will be needed during the repair.
“GM shared critical 3D data with several structural repair bench manufacturers early on so development of fixtures and data sheets could be created,” says Gruzas. “Celette was able to create their fixtures and data sheets solely through the use of 3D data, only needing to physically validate their prototype fixtures on an actual Cadillac CT6 at the GM Collision Repair Technology Center.”
Dedicated fixtures ensure that everything on the vehicle is returned to the precise position it occupied when the vehicle left the factory. This is essential in ensuring a quality, safe repair.
The information in a partnership like this flows both ways. The OEM provides needed information to equipment manufacturers, and they in turn provide information about the repair plans to the OEM. General Motors’ instructors from across the globe came to Detroit in August for a “Train the Trainers” event hosted by Celette. They were in attendance to learn the specifics on repair plans for the Cadillac CT6 with Celette’s Dedicated Fixture System. The partnership isn’t limited to the new CT6, but will continue moving forward on other, future vehicles.
“GM plans to continue to partner with Celette and all 3D capable bench manufacturers on future products to ensure fixtures and data sheets are available before vehicles start to appear in dealer showrooms,” says Gruzas.
For more information, please visit celette.com.
