Inexpensive Laser Grading

[npalen]

YouTube
This is a good animation for anyone not familiar with how laser grading works.

 

[ChrisNEA]

This is my first post and really one of the reasons I joined this forum. I love the idea of building your own stuff vs buying premade implements. There is a company Canamek that has a laser machine control that is relatively inexpensive and was wondering if anyone utilized this particular setup? I'll include a link to their homepage and also an ebay link I found if it's allowed.

As I don't have 3 posts yet, look up Canamek on ebay. There should be at least 2 links, one for 1200 and one for 1800. As best I can tell, the 1800 one comes with a remote control (I'm assuming manual/auto switch).

also their website is canamek dot com.

Anyone have any experience with this company? Looks to be an extremely affordable option (maybe not for pros but for someone who uses it around their personal property).

 

[npalen]

Thanks for the info on Canamek. They have what seem to be reasonable prices on their laser machine controls.

 

[FrankJG]

Good question! See this thread from 2015:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ital-readout-3ph-top-cylinder.html?highlight=

Particularly on a box blade its handy to dump a "load" and then return to the same exact blade depth. The remote display can be mounted on the tractor dash or fender and the scale could certainly be mounted on the gauge wheels cylinder.

The idea of the linear actuator with the attached position readout: Take a reading where you want to establish a benchmark with the blade just touching the ground and the laser receiver indicating "on grade". Then drive to the first point where you want to see the elevation relative to the benchmark. Zero the digital position readout and then extend or retract the linear actuator until the receiver indicates "on grade" again and note the new position readout. This is basically the same procedure as walking around the area with a grade stick and laser receiver to take readings but a lazy way of doing it.

My understanding of the process would be to mark out a grid of an entire area to be leveled and take elevation readings at each grid point. Then the amount of soil to be moved can be calculated by taking an average. Other TBN members with experience in this area please feel free to chime in.

Note that the actuator and readout are certainly not required for laser grading, they're just "frills" from a guy who likes to play.

I'm a construction surveyor and I'm working everyday with machine control equipment. From excavators to graders and skid steers, some are equipped with high precision GPS Receiver and other are real time tracked by robot. These systems cost big dollars for big dollar companies. I got to say that your setup looks pretty neat and perfect for your application. One thing you can add is graduations on your receiver's post for quick adjustments with your actuator.

You are on the right track with grid volume calculation method. With a grid you can obtain a pretty precise results with cross sections area or cells averaging. Do a tight grid on really steep terrains and a loose one flat area.