Laser Alignment Tool – 3D printed stand

[L Gebhardt]

Years ago I found a laser air pistol site that had a nice flat base. I’ve been using this to align my enlarger ever since, and it works very well. But, I haven’t seen that model in years. Since I have frequently recommended building your own laser alignment tool I thought I would build a 3D printed stand to use the commonly available laser sites for pistols.

I have now released a 3D printed stand so you can build your own laser alignment tool. The STL file is at thingiverse.com. The site pictured was $17 at Walmart.

 

[AgX]

After wondering what are talking about I guess you mean "sight".

 

[L Gebhardt]

After wondering what are talking about I guess you mean "sight".

Well that's embarassing, yes I do mean sight. Thanks for the correction.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Well, I cheated and borrowed a two grand survey laser (I sell the damn things) - then ran the beam thru a custom optical collimoator (if I even
spelled this correctly) using half-silvered mirror. So it was as if I was essentially leveling a surface wider than a football field to within a thousandth of an inch, which was of course ridiculous overkill. But it was fun.

 

[M Carter]

Mr. Gebhart - kinda psyched about this - anyway you could provide a rundown of how it all works, user guide, something like that?

I've got the 3D bug... building a headmounted HDMI for steadicam work in the Texas sun. It's a new world out there...

 

[M Carter]

DOH! Just noticed your link... sorry sir!

 

[L Gebhardt]

I hope the directions work for you. If they don't let me know. 3D printing certainly opens up some new opportunitities, but it's still early in the game. It will get better.

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

How flat does the base get once it's printed? I notice that the top of the base looks a little rough.

 

[L Gebhardt]

How flat does the base get once it's printed? I notice that the top of the base looks a little rough.

That will depend on your printer. I printed it on glass so the base is very flat and smooth. The rest of the print has a slightly rough texture since it is built up layer by layer, but that is not important in this design.

 

[bosummer]

3D printing is very advanced technology.The laser alignment tool might be greatly helpful to your work.