Installing Conduit with LASERS

[@patrickzavas]

As an electrical foreman of 20 years, that was clever but... you're fired. Whilel you're off 3D printing a laser that might not be accurate I'm going to eyeball bend a piece of conduit and adjust it until it points where I want it and be done and moving on to the next project.

[@EikiMartinson]

And as an inventor and product developer I relish the chance, when I'm working on my own clock at least, to follow out new ideas like this one and see where they lead. One use doesn't justify it, you're absolutely right... but some number of uses?

[@stephenledford3808]

@@EikiMartinson At first I agreed with it being useless...but With a strong enough laser I could see it being useful in very large runs if you want straight conduit. Though in the case of your garage...useless.

[@truckywuckyuwu]

Yeah I was going to say, I'd just bend it a bit at the one end and it would all line up.

[@tristonskelton1015]

Smart and awesome idea. Maybe some embedded set screws to account for laser pointer error and some machined to tolerance holders next?

[@EikiMartinson]

Yes, exactly! Lots of room for improvement. I've got a list of projects I'll work on "as soon as I get a lathe" already.

[@tristankline6676]

This is cool! A bona fide product!

[@EikiMartinson]

It might be! But surely someone has come up with this already?

[@schneisim]

How did you make sure the laser is actually coaxial to its own cylindrical hoiding?

[@EikiMartinson]

I didn't; that's surely one of the things that could be improved about this.

[@schneisim]

Easy test could be: put it on an angle iron or strait long edge, slide it forward and watch if the dot is moving on a facing wall.... or just rotate it when fixed.

[@DemonReign23]

Okay, hear me out... It's not a bad idea. But a cheap laser and 3D printed mount? Not unless you check that everything lines up perfectly straight first. Those lasers often point at a slight angle. And most 3D printed materials shrink when cooling, so I wouldn't trust the angles unless I tested them. Great idea! But I'd rather buy a laser level. :| Might even cost about the same. And works for other projects.

[@EikiMartinson]

Valid criticisms for sure! There is much room for improvement; this is more of a proof of concept. Thanks for commenting!

[@BorealisNights]

Don't heed the critics... I mean listen, to see if they have valid ADVICE to improve something... but keep on with seemingly off the mark ideas... they can lead to the next step of inspiration. I mean, I agree with the critique of the low quality laser, etc.. but that's not the point.. its a first poke at an idea to see where it leads.

[@EikiMartinson]

That's the spirit! Thanks for the comment!

[@ryanmcallister9177]

you're assuming that the laser beam and the housing of the laser are perfectly aligned, and also that the outside and inside surfaces of the 3d print are perfectly aligned, and also that the conduit has a perfect even thickness and isn't skewed to one side or another. too many unknowns. you'd be better off eyeballing it or using a straight edge and some sort of compass and angle finder.

[@EikiMartinson]

Fair criticisms, yes. Sloppiness in the conduit coupler and box are forgivable, since they will also give me some margin of adjustability when I actually install the conduit. The rest of the potential inaccuracies are present and can certainly be improved.

[@xDownSetx]

Wild that those toy laser pointers haven't chanced a bit in 25 years

[@EikiMartinson]

A classic design!

[@Playingwithproxies]

Why are we installing bare conduit inside at all

[@EikiMartinson]

It's a garage! But still I want it to be neat looking at least.

[@GrubbyPaddler]

Solving a nonexistent problem, just run your conduit in relation to the room, then adjust box to suit

[@EikiMartinson]

The box is an extension installed on an existing box (for a ceiling light). My plan is to drill some extra holes in the flange of the extension box so I can compensate for the underlying box without having to take it out and adjust it. That's why I want to know how far off it is so I know where to drill the holes. But no doubt there are other ways!

[@Sugar3Glider]

"Let's fix it!" Doesn't fix it.

[@EikiMartinson]

Haha, it's hard enough to come in under 60 seconds as it is! This project was a minor tangent I followed from a larger renovation; the fix will part of that long-form video.

[@Sugar3Glider]

@EikiMartinson oh yeah, no shade intended

[@EikiMartinson]

@@Sugar3Glider None taken! As it happens I can probably drill some extra holes in the extension box and correct the angle that way.