A
Th e
Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$er
October 2019 #11243 Page #38
Do Lasers Tell the Whole Story?
L
asers can be exact, but their data can be misinterpreted. Having the equipment is only part of the equation—it also must be used and understood properly.
For example, the connection in the photograph was misallocated. The plate should have been dropped to the bottom of the chord covering the splice but, because of the projection of the laser, the builder positioned the plate as shown. The diagram illustrates the problem. As the material height rises from the table top, the system has an adjustment that corrects the parallax which occurs due to the angle of the laser relative to the position the laser is projecting. Often, the truss builder is aware of this, because they have been trained to understand this relationship. Unfortunately, in some instances, the builder does not have this knowledge or does not understand. This causes the builder to misinterpret the information and place the plate in the wrong location. In fact, the error increases as the distance from the laser increases. So, knowing this is a problem waiting to happen, the question is—how do we address it in practice? Shop drawings are the best source of information for truss builders. But, because many plants are now depending solely on the laser to present plate placement information, it is important the builder understands how lifting the truss members changes the projection image. In addition, steps can be developed to reconcile this problem.
Continued next page
PHONE: 800-289-5627
Read/Subscribe online at www.componentadvertiser.com
FAX: 800-524-4982