DIY Laser levelling using webcam and laser level

[Kitwn]

Gret stuff Joe!
Having just found out how effective taut wires can be for machine alignment I can really appreciate the value of the new software. Do fishing shops sell stainless steel leader in the UK? It's what I used and may be more stable than nylon.

One measurement I was completely unable to make on my machine was the straightness of the fixed rails. That may have now changed. I just need to work out a carriage arrangement for the round supported rails.

Kit

[devmonkey]

Gret stuff Joe!
Having just found out how effective taut wires can be for machine alignment I can really appreciate the value of the new software. Do fishing shops sell stainless steel leader in the UK? It's what I used and may be more stable than nylon.

One measurement I was completely unable to make on my machine was the straightness of the fixed rails. That may have now changed. I just need to work out a carriage arrangement for the round supported rails.

Kit

Hi Kit,

Yes they do sell steel leader, music wire is also an option. These axis are only 1300mm long so normal lightweight fishing line seems to be perfect, very uniform and black meaning it is easy to resolve in the software. It only flows for around 30s after tension is applied and under the microscope you can see when it stops. The length I put on the machine yesterday hasn't stretched at all over night.

Some things I noticed that maybe useful:
1. The microscope (£20) must be focused once at the beginning and then not touched. Turning the focus winder shifts the optical axis which would throw off any measurement. The focus winder is solid enough not to move on its own.
2. The microscope cable must be tied to the carriage to avoid any force being applied to the back of the scope pushing it off axis.
3. M6 bolts make perfect wire guides for 0.28mm wire, the wire locks into the V of the thread.

The depth of field (variation in objective distance where object remains in focus) of the microscope is probably <1mm so you need to get the wire guides to the same height so the wire is not sloped, I set mine level with the top of the epoxy bed using a ruler. The wire is then suspended a few mm outside the epoxy bed.

If there is enough interest I will share the app, needs a bit of a cleanup first as it was a quick hack.

Cheers, Joe