RennStand - The New Jack Stand for Car Enthusiasts

[Gyrfalcon01]

Dear NICOclub members,

I’m the inventor of a new type of jackstand (RennStand) that was reviewed a few months ago by your very own Greg Childs. The article Greg wrote was actually the first time the stand debuted on an automotive forum, and we’re very grateful to him and honored that it took place right here on NICOclub.

Here’s a link to Greg’s article that includes a video demo of one of our prototypes in case you missed it:

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/rennstand.html

There have been many requests for a sign-up list to keep everyone posted while we're working hard to make a production version of the stand a reality, so we just put up our website a few days ago. If you’re interested, please visit us and sign up under the ‘Join Our List’ tab. We’ll be updating everyone on the list with a release date, additional technical information and pricing as soon as we have them:

http://www.rennstand.com

Just to sum up, what we've done is created a jackstand that not only allows you to jack and support at the same point, but is also height-adjustible, super compact, lightweight, and durable. Also versatile, as there will be different adapters available for use with a variety of makes and models. Strength and durability testing of the design was performed by an aerospace engineer from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona (every detail down to the pins were considered, and under conditions that would be difficult to reproduce in a typical garage setting), and the prototypes have been tested and approved by both professionals and DIYers. We have issued patents on the design, with others still pending, and are now focused on bringing you the actual product.

Your input is very important to us, so please share your thoughts below this post, or if you prefer in the comment section where you sign up on our website. It’s the interest coming in from enthusiasts like yourselves that is driving this project forward, and your support is greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

[Gyrfalcon01]

For some reason my signature is not showing up in my initial post. Sorry about that.

Frank Ceravolo, CEO
RennStand Inc
email: [email protected]
website: rennstand.com

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Great news! I was wondering when the next step would be.
Do the main beams really look like the ones in CAD?


I just signed up for the list.

[szh]

Hmmm ... I like what I see a lot! Have one question: you mentioned this already, but do you all think the pins are strong enough? They look a little bit on the smallish side. So, some limit testing would be good to see where they give way - including for the entire stand itself.

Yeah, I understand that each stand will only take 1/4th of the car weight when used correctly, but more margin for strength can't hurt.

Z

[float_6969]

I joined the mailing list. I also edited your post so your links were hyperlinks. Click the edit button on your post (looks like a pencil) to see how to do that in the future.

[Gyrfalcon01]

Great news! I was wondering when the next step would be.
Do the main beams really look like the ones in CAD?


I just signed up for the list.

Hi, and thanks so much for joining our list! At the moment we're sharing our designs with different manufacturers in trying to determine the best route for us to have the production version built. A lot of it depends on their capabilities as well as cost (we're trying to have them built here in the USA) without sacrificing even the least bit of durability. We anticipated that we may have to use different methods of manufacturing, so we had designed a few different versions just in case. The one in that solidworks snapshot is a cast version, and those upper legs may end up looking like that if we end up casting with steel primarily to reduce weight, as opposed to the aluminum version of the stands which would have to be far more solid to sustain the same loads. That snapshot was always our favorite design because it took the most engineering effort to perfect it, and as a result has that aeropsace look to it. I just also want to add that each design had to meet the same criteria of strength and functionality.

I really appreciate the question, and thanks again for the support!

Frank

[Gyrfalcon01]

Hmmm ... I like what I see a lot! Have one question: you mentioned this already, but do you all think the pins are strong enough? They look a little bit on the smallish side. So, some limit testing would be good to see where they give way - including for the entire stand itself.

Yeah, I understand that each stand will only take 1/4th of the car weight when used correctly, but more margin for strength can't hurt.

Z

Hi, and thank you for bringing that up because we do get a lot of questions about the pins. Just to throw some numbers out there, they are steel and have a diameter of 1/4" and each is in double sheer and capable of sustaining up to 19Kn (1.9 metric tons of force per pin). Each pin will only need to bear half the weight of whatever each stand is supporting, so you would have to load 4 metric tons on EACH stand before you approach pin failure. Considering that the stands are rated to 2 tons/pair, that gives you a safety factor of 4 for each pin. Even so, I agree with you that visually they may not appear to be that strong at first glance, and we may have to go with thicker pins to inspire more confidence in the stands' durability.

You also made a great point about testing the entire stand to failure. We'll be setting out to destroy a few of the production models under presses just to see just how strong they really are. We're actually very curious about that since they perform so well in simulations and in practical use too.

Thanks again for the question!

Frank

[Gyrfalcon01]

I joined the mailing list. I also edited your post so your links were hyperlinks. Click the edit button on your post (looks like a pencil) to see how to do that in the future.

I really appreciate you joining the list, and thank you also for taking care of those hyperlinks!

By chance was the pencil in the upper right hand corner, just to the left of the avatar? I thought it was there initially, but even though I'm logged I only see ! and " buttons in that spot now.

Thanks in advance,

Frank

Just to follow up, I just noticed I have the pencil in my responses today, but still not in my initial post.

[float_6969]

Yes, that is the pencil. Due to the activity of some past members, there is a time limit to edit posts. I forgot about that. Sorry!

[Gyrfalcon01]

Yes, that is the pencil. Due to the activity of some past members, there is a time limit to edit posts. I forgot about that. Sorry!

Ok great, and no worries! Thanks for letting me know

[centralcoaster33]

Very neat product/ invention here. I like it a lot.

I wonder what height I can get out of these things. Tall enough to clear my 240sx transmission bell-housing I hope. That's about the tallest I go with my car. Also, I have a Craftsman 3 ton floor jack. It's got a large footprint. Like, it's pretty wide at the lift plate between the wheels. Are you testing with a variety of jacks?

I like the adapter plates for pinch welds. This product seems very well thought out.

I'm surprised you haven't smashed these up yet to find their true breaking point and weak spots. Maybe that happens after you decide upon the manufacturing process and materials?

BTW - the first thing I thought when I read about the pin comments is that their likely strong steel and there are two of them, so they share a load. I read your response about using 1/4 inch and having calcs to back it up. I looked again and they appear small. It's a visual perception thing. I agree with your thought that you could to beef it up to appeal to the masses. Since you'd be exceeding structural requirements I'd go for a proportional and pleasing look. At least 3/8ths I'd think.

[Gyrfalcon01]

Very neat product/ invention here. I like it a lot.

I wonder what height I can get out of these things. Tall enough to clear my 240sx transmission bell-housing I hope. That's about the tallest I go with my car. Also, I have a Craftsman 3 ton floor jack. It's got a large footprint. Like, it's pretty wide at the lift plate between the wheels. Are you testing with a variety of jacks?

I like the adapter plates for pinch welds. This product seems very well thought out.

I'm surprised you haven't smashed these up yet to find their true breaking point and weak spots. Maybe that happens after you decide upon the manufacturing process and materials?

BTW - the first thing I thought when I read about the pin comments is that their likely strong steel and there are two of them, so they share a load. I read your response about using 1/4 inch and having calcs to back it up. I looked again and they appear small. It's a visual perception thing. I agree with your thought that you could to beef it up to appeal to the masses. Since you'd be exceeding structural requirements I'd go for a proportional and pleasing look. At least 3/8ths I'd think.

Much appreciated!

The max height of the prototype in our demo video is just over 15", but we've had several requests to increase the height range so that's one of the things we're shooting for in the production model. We're looking into the 16" - 17" range. At the lowest height setting of the prototype, there is 11.5" between the two legs measured at 2" up from the floor to accomodate for most jack's wheel heights at their upper and outer edges. The higher you raise the stands, the wider the space to fit the width of your jack. With earlier prototypes we were having an issue with some of the wider jacks at the stands' lowest setting, but with this version we haven't run into a problem yet after testing a fairly wide range of jacks.

One of the things we're planning to do is destroy several of the production models, not just to test the limits but also consistency in the manufacturing process. They should all begin to show signs of failure within roughly the same load range. As you pointed out, this is best done with the produciton models since that's exactly what the customer will be receiving.

Regarding the pins, I agree with you that 3/8" would probably be enough make a lot of difference visually, so we will be looking into modifying that as well. I appreciate that observation and suggestion!

Thank you again!

Frank