What are Construction Lasers?
A construction laser can be used for a number of tasks that require a precise level reference. Whether one is working on indoor tasks like hanging a picture and installing ceiling tiles, or working on a large-scale job like installing sewer pipes, construction lasers are used to help in all of these situations.
The most common are construction laser levels. These are ideal for measuring distance, leveling, aligning, plumbing, and angles, though they are capable of measuring more as well. Additionally, they help expedite the process of excavation, machine control, landscaping, and building. The reason a construction laser is capable of such an array of tasks is because their capabilities and features are also widely ranging.
Types of Construction Lasers
The nature and size of the task at hand will dictate which construction laser to use. While some construction lasers have basic functions, like a measuring tape, they can also be mounted to machines for grading. They can even measure up to hundreds or even thousands of feet, both indoors and out
Laser Level
For the small-scale indoor jobs, laser levels are helpful for hanging a row of pictures and installing shelves on a level plane along the wall. These lasers produce single lines, cross-hair lines, and sometimes a combination of both.
Rotary Laser
This type of construction laser can be used in both indoor and outdoor tasks and produces a 360 degree level. These lasers have a broader scope than line generators and are better suited for larger-scale, outdoor jobs.
Dot/Plumb Laser
This construction laser is good for jobs that need a dotted line on a work surface or wall. More specifically, this laser is best suited for when something plumb or level is needed but not a laser line. The dot patterns come in a variety of patterns for plumb or square configurations.
Pipe Laser
Used in the process of setting grade and aligning pipes, this construction laser generates a single dot, includes brackets, and the hardware needed to fasten it to a pipe or manhole for aligning.
Laser Detector
This is an essential tool for construction lasers that generate a line that isn’t detectable to the human eye. Laser detectors are mainly used outdoors and are attached to grade rods for picking up a rotary laser beam. There are also laser detectors meant for bigger tasks, called machine control laser detectors. They are attached to heavy equipment like bulldozers and make the detection of lasers easier while the heavy machinery is moving.
Construction Lasers: An Essential Tool
The construction industry is highly competitive and as time progresses, contractors continue seeking ways to optimize their labor while expediting the time it takes to complete the job. This is what makes construction lasers so important: they help speed up the process while ensuring results are achieved with accuracy and safety. The fact that these lasers can provide such high precision has diminished the amount of obstacles a contractor faces during a construction job. More specifically, excavation can now be achieved under conditions that used to prevent the task due to the use of construction lasers.
“By linking excavators, graders and paving equipment to on-site laser beacons, global positioning satellites and other electronic systems, operators now have easy to read coordinates for digging. A combination of laser beams and mounted sensors calculates bucket angles and then relates this information back to the operator’s control panel,” according to Johnson Level.
Because of this, contractors are using lasers more often in not just in excavating, but in road paving, installing drainage pipes, and trenching.
Future of the Construction Laser
While the construction industry has generally not been as digitized as other industries, the strides being taken with wearable technology is significant. Undoubtedly, technology in construction is evolving and the laser will find new applications in the construction industry.
