Industries and areas of application
After the first laser projectors from SL Laser were used 30 years ago for positioning free forms in CNC machining centers, the areas of application and thus the industries for the use of laser projectors have expanded greatly.
From woodworking to the stone and concrete industry to boat building and the aircraft industry, ProDirector 7 and 7 LR as well as the other products from SL Laser are used for countless purposes and tasks.
The laser projectors have proven to be real success models all over the world.
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More information on the application areas of our laser projectors
On this page we present a sample of typical areas where our laser projection products make work easier, faster and reduce the margin of error.
Composite applications
Composite processing tasks are made easier with the help of SL Laser’s laser projectors in industries as diverse as aerospace, wind energy and automotive. The contours of the various layers for composite fiber components are projected using SL3D software.
Similar success is achieved for the laying processes of fiber mats in the automotive sector, which can be documented simultaneously.
Aircraft industry and boat building
In these two so different industries the highest accuracy is always important. In aircraft construction, for example, this refers to the exact assembly of clamps, screws and holders. With the appropriate SL Laser software, not only can the exact placements be imported from CAD data and projected, but the geometric contours of components can also be stored in libraries ready for retrieval and later displayed as components.
In boatbuilding, ProDirector 7 or 7 LR can provide good services for layer processing in the composite sector. For this purpose, the ProCollector measurement system can be used to capture the many complex curved surfaces at their boundary points, reference them and save them in a common CAD format. Then all the parts will also fit during final assembly.
Woodworking/CNC
Reducing setup times for CNC routers was one of the very first applications for laser projection. Suction cups and workpieces can be positioned easily and accurately, and working with contours and outlines is simply more successful.
In the furniture industry, the same advantages apply to the positioning and quality control of fittings. And in interior finishing and drywall construction, as in boat building, the ProCollector proves to be a valuable tool for creating measurements, recording wall courses and curves, and transferring them to the CAD program.
Prefabricated wood components
In timber frame construction, setting rows of nails and screws is greatly facilitated with the laser projector. All components can be reliably positioned. For roof trusses, 1:1 scale projections are used to accurately map nail trusses, nail plates and the stop positions. Frequently repeated operations are speeded up even further with the programmed software.
The production of glue-laminated beams is facilitated by using the laser beams both to position the press blocks more easily and to display the moldings themselves. Similar to timber frame construction, for extremely large work areas, several projectors are used in combination or one projector with our movable system on rails.
Concrete industry and construction
Frames, formwork and reinforcement can be easily and accurately positioned with a laser projector. For long components and workpieces via a rail system or permanently mounted in the pallet circulation system – the concrete industry knows how to use the SL laser profitably. When working with different stations and projectors in the pallet circulation system, both capacity and quality can be greatly increased.
The ProCollector L is used for masonry and drywall construction. This projects a floor plan onto a concrete slab and is calibrated on the work surface. With the ProCollector, two measuring points on the surface are sufficient without having to aim at corners and edges. With visual control via the display, the saved plan can go into production.
Metal Industry
The optimization of many work processes with a laser projector offers invaluable competitive advantages. At the welding table, the positions of the clamping devices are displayed and workpieces are positioned 1:1 on the table directly from CAD. This is ideal for quality control. When setting up steel trusses, the 1:1 projection allows immediate machining.
Applications, screw connections and stop positions are accurate to the millimeter. Different setup states can be forwarded by software to the laser, which projects the new image just seconds later. The system with all its operations can be learned quickly and is compatible with most CAD programs.
Stone industry
The displacement-free processing of heavy stone slabs through the cooperation of laser projector and machine is a great labor-saving feature. The Laserpilot software is used for this purpose. It also provides good services for nesting, e.g. for different orders from one slab. The different contours are moved by mouse and the ideal processing is selected.
This all works without a template. CNC routers have been optimally used in the stone industry as well as in woodworking for decades with SL Laser. Here, setup times are shortened, suction cups remain undamaged, and scrap is minimized. The 3D measurement for measuring stairs or worktops is performed by the proven ProCollector.
Textile industry
Whether in leather processing or cutting hot air balloons or awnings: With the projection on the work surface, the positioning of workpieces for the cutter or the cutting itself can be done with millimeter precision and radically reduce the margin of error with expensive waste cuttings. In addition, employees enjoy the workload reduction that comes with eliminating the need for templates.
Quality control before further processing is a breeze. Working time and personnel costs are reduced – and so are the costs for the customer.