Laser projection · Laser templating
Stop measuring.
Start making.
A laser projector turns your CAD drawing into a full-scale template of light, right there on the work surface. Your team cuts, places and builds straight to the projected line. There’s no need for tape measures or physical templates, and no re-jigging when the job changes.
*Z-LASER ZLP2 projector: 0.25 mm per metre of projection distance; working areas up to 10 × 10 m, multiple projectors combine for larger beds.
Why owners buy it
The business case
A projector pays for itself in the hours it saves — the setout, the template-making, the rework — all swapped for a beam of light landing exactly where it should.
~$3 / hour
Running costs you can ignore
Running one costs about $3 an hour. Weigh that against the labour hours you’re currently spending on measuring, marking out and building templates.
Day one
Works with any skill level
It takes out the measuring and plan-reading — the steps where experience usually matters most. A new operator can follow the line and turn out accurate work on their first shift.
0 errors carried
Eliminates measuring mistakes
The geometry comes straight from your CAD file, so there’s no misread tape, no error creeping in over a run, no template wearing thin. Mistakes get designed out instead of caught after the fact.
No re-jigging
Design changes cost nothing
A revision or a new product is just another file — no re-templating, no re-pinning jigs, no re-marking. That’s where high-mix and custom shops feel the biggest difference.
Up to 70% / 30%
Faster setup, higher throughput
Truss plants using laser projection report setup times cut by up to 70% and throughput up by up to 30%; Z-LASER’s own figures show productivity gains of up to 30% in composite manufacturing.
See it instantly
Quality you can check by eye
The projected outline works as an instant visual check too — if the part sits on the line, it’s right. Precision stops being a separate QA step and just becomes part of the workflow.
Figures: 0.25 mm/m accuracy, 10 × 10 m coverage and up-to-30% productivity are Z-LASER’s own manufacturer data; the 70% setup / 30% throughput / ±0.2 mm figures are results reported for truss production using laser projection (LAP); the ~$3/hr operating cost comes from Laserman Technologies. Your own numbers will depend on your workshop — call +61 8 9335 1718 and we’ll work through them with you.
Where it pays off
Explore applications and capabilities
Laser projection replaces manual setout wherever parts get cut, placed or assembled against a drawing — it speeds things up, cuts errors and takes labour off the job. Pick your industry below to see exactly what changes on the floor.
Imagery throughout this section is supplied by Z-LASER, SL-Laser, Laserman and our own clients.
Because of camera frame-rate, laser projections can appear to flicker on video — the line is solid and continuous in person.
Without a projector
Site geometry arrives as tape measurements between anchors, often over spans no single tape covers. The flattened panels then reach the cloth off a chalked loft floor or taped-down kraft paper that shifts, stretches and gets replotted every revision.
With a laser projector
A laser measuring device captures the site in three dimensions, so the sail is calculated from real coordinates. Panels compensated for warp, weft and seam bow then go onto the cutting table as light.
What gets projected
- Compensated panel outlines, straight from the patterning file
- Seam line and cut line shown separately
- Seam bow and edge hollow curves
- Hem fold and allowance lines
- Corner plate and reinforcement patch outlines
- Panel IDs and seam-mate pairing marks
Laserman’s how-it-works video shows the whole job. Laser-measure the site, design the sail off those coordinates, then project the finished pattern onto the cutting table. Every revision is a new projection with no paper to replot. Someone who has never made a pattern can cut the panels to the projected line.
Because of camera frame-rate, laser projections can appear to flicker on video — the line is solid and continuous in person.
Without a projector
In a vacuum-bonded panel the timber inserts that furniture and awning rails screw into disappear once it is pressed. A fixing that lands in foam writes the panel off. The alternative to tape and square is a steel stencil per variant.
With a laser projector
Bracing, fixing and electrical positions come up on wall and floor elements straight from the file. The same rig covers chassis and floor, one assembly group at a time. Each part number is projected where its part goes. A fitter who has never built that model can find the right part for every position.
What gets projected
- Insert, bracing and fixing positions on bonded or framed panels
- Window, hatch and vent apertures
- 12 V and 240 V runs and outlet positions
- Adhesive bead paths for windows and roof joints
- Furniture and cabinetry landing positions
- Part numbers projected next to each location
A new floorplan means a new file, not a new stencil, so variance stops costing you tooling. Users report a 90% time reduction against manual setup in special-vehicle body building, the closest documented case to caravan work.
Without a projector
Find the template, pin it, scribe round it, lift it out, place the ply, hundreds of times on one part, off a ply book and a rack of Mylar or GRP templates. Boatyards run on splashes and plywood patterns taken from the first hull, so later hulls inherit its errors. A misplaced ply is not caught until after cure, writing off prepreg, consumables, the autoclave slot and the labour.
With a laser projector
Each ply boundary lands on the tool in sequence and oriented, confirmed step by step. On a hull, a gantry projector throws the layout into the mould or onto the deck bench, registering off retro-reflective targets or off features like edges and holes. Where a hull flexes, a laser tracker measures the as-built shape and the projection fits to that.
What gets projected
- Ply boundaries in layup sequence, with orientation
- Core, adhesive and bond-line paths
- Trim and net lines
- Drill, fastener and penetration locations
- Kitting guidance — which ply to lift next off the nest
- Frame, bulkhead and stringer stations
- Engine beds and structural landings
- Deck hardware and fitting positions
- Wire loom routes and cable mount positions
Every ply outline shows on the mould at full scale and in the right order, so material goes to a line. Layup time drops sharply against manual marking, and placement holds from the first shift to the last. A revision is a file change, with no rack of templates to remake. In a boatyard, core details and timber bracing are confirmed before they’re glassed over.
Without a projector
Leather can’t be auto-nested, so hide defects get worked around by eye. On cloth, chalk or a paper pattern carries the marker onto the spread, and both shift with use. Nap, grain and repeat have to be respected on every piece.
With a laser projector
The nest goes straight onto the spread, the hide or the foam. On leather the operator sees the pattern over the skin, slides pieces clear of flaws, and the cutter picks up the new coordinates. Changing the marker changes what is on the cloth, with nothing to chalk again and nothing re-cut.
What gets projected
- Full nest layout on the spread or hide
- Cut line and sew line as separate lines
- Notches, drill marks and grain or nap direction
- Piece IDs and model, colour-coded
- Patch, logo and trim placement
- Alignment marks for positioning plies before cutting
Fabric is usually the biggest cost in the job, so utilisation is the number that matters. A projector can also put the sew line on the piece at the sewing station, which a cutter cannot do.
Without a projector
Setting out a bed from the shop drawing means tape, chalk line and square, then every shutter, block-out, ferrule and conduit. Measuring end to end down a long bed stacks error. A ferrule 20 mm out means drilling and chemical anchors on site. Rework after the pour gets measured in cubic metres and crane time.
With a laser projector
Contours go down on the bed at 1:1, straight from the file. The operator drops a shutter or cast-in inside its outline and switches on the magnet. A labourer new to the plant can set a whole bed. On carousel plants the projection re-references to each pallet as it comes round.
What gets projected
- Panel outline, side rails and shutter positions
- Block-outs for windows, doors and penetrations
- Ferrules, lifting anchors and brace inserts
- Conduit runs, junction boxes and electrical positions
- Reinforcement and mesh positions
- Height-compensated layers on stacked elements
Vendors report setup times cut by 50–70%. In a lot of plants the competition is an ink-hungry gantry plotter, not a tape measure. Projection has no consumables and needs no reprint when a pallet gets bumped.
Without a projector
A complex table reset can eat an hour of one experienced setter’s time, stops and pucks off the reference line, bottom chord strung, table squared. Before laser projection, nail-plate tolerance sat around ±10 mm, enough for slipped plates and out-of-square trusses.
With a laser projector
The truss appears on the table at full scale, out of your truss design software. Chords, webs and every nail plate are outlined in position and orientation, and stop and clamp positions come up too.
What gets projected
- Chord and web outlines, true to scale
- Nail plate position, size and orientation
- Jig stop and clamp positions
- Press block locations
- Assembly sequence, component by component
- Several trusses side by side, independently, on one table
Truss plants running laser projection report big cuts to setup time and solid gains in throughput. Someone on their first day can place components inside a glowing outline, with no measuring, stringing, squaring or plan-reading.
Without a projector
A component saw or a pencil puts stud, nogging and opening positions on the plates. Studs drop between the marks and the frame is squared before sheeting. One mis-marked plate carries through the whole panel, and plants over-jig to keep quality consistent.
With a laser projector
The panel file drives the table directly. Studs, noggings, lintels, openings, bracing and nailing lines are all projected onto the framing table, so the crew builds to the line and the panel comes off square without a separate squaring pass.
What gets projected
- Stud and nogging positions, lintels and trimmers
- Window and door openings
- Bracing and sheet positions, including nailing lines
- Drilling positions for electrical and plumbing rough-in
- Part numbers and text alongside the outline
- Cut-outs projected onto already-sheeted panels
Framing plants running laser projection report setup time cut dramatically. An apprentice can set out a panel and have it come off square. A plant can back off the jigging it built to hold quality. Floor cassettes are the sleeper application, full of one-off penetrations and hangers, where laser-guided layout still cuts cycle times substantially.
Because of camera frame-rate, laser projections can appear to flicker on video — the line is solid and continuous in person.
Without a projector
Two minutes to weld a bracket in the wrong place, ten to thirty to grind it off, plus the consumables and the scrap. Marking out is tape, square, scriber and soapstone off a datum edge, then centre-pops. On plenty of weldments the measuring outlasts the welding.
With a laser projector
Fixture, bracket and hole positions are drawn onto the plate from the CAD file, so the fitter drops the part in, clamps and tacks. Systems locate off the part’s own features, so there are no targets to stick on. A trainee fitter can position every bracket on a complex weldment.
What gets projected
- Bracket, stud, cleat and stiffener positions
- Hole centres and fastener locations
- Cut, bend and forming lines
- Weld seam positions and depths
- Fixture and jig placement
- Step-by-step assembly and welding sequence
The plate carries its own brackets, hole centres and weld positions, so the tape and the marked-up drawing stop being the reference. Across a large weldment, hours of layout become a place-and-tack job.
Without a projector
Every loom variant needs its own board. Plot the drawing at 1:1 across tiled pages, mount it to plywood, pin every breakout and clamp point, then rack it. One engineering change makes it obsolete, and superseded boards take up storage for years.
With a laser projector
Projection turns the board back into a reusable pin table. The routing shows on the surface, pins go to those positions, and the next variant is a different file. Some systems recolour each strand once it is laid correctly, so the board itself shows what is still to run.
What gets projected
- Wire routing and branch paths
- Breakout points and connector positions
- Clamp, clip and cable-tie positions
- Colour change as each run is laid correctly
- Part numbers and build notes at the position
- One variant at a time on a merged, high-mix board
The pins stay, since something still has to hold the wire. What goes is plotting a full-scale drawing for every variant, mounting it, pinning it out and storing it afterwards. A new hand can lay a variant they have never seen. Where boards carry dense text and part numbers, some systems use video projection.
Without a projector
Wiring is where the hours go, and most of that is prep, working out what goes where against a schematic of hundreds of pages. Marking out the gear tray with rule and square is the smaller job.
With a laser projector
The mounting plate sits under the projector. The fitter drills to the projected hole pattern, cuts rail and duct to length, and drops each device into its footprint, equipment designation beside it. It lights one build step at a time. A first-year sparky can populate a plate to the projected sequence.
What gets projected
- Drill positions for DIN rail and ducting
- Duct and terminal strip lengths and positions
- Device footprints with type and equipment designation
- Build sequence, step by step
- Label and nameplate positions
- Wiring routing, run by run
Drill positions, duct lengths and device footprints are already on the plate, so nobody walks back to the schematic to check what goes where. Each device carries its equipment designation, so a wrong part shows up before it is wired.
Without a projector
Suction pods and stop pins go down by hand, off a printed nest and a tape. A pod slightly inside the toolpath gets hit on the first pass. A slab a few millimetres off throws every cut on the sheet.
With a laser projector
Everything goes on the bed before the program runs. Pod positions clear of the toolpath, stop pins for registering the slab, and the outline the material has to sit inside all show at full size. Setting the bed becomes a quick job of placing to marks, with no measuring off a printed nest.
What gets projected
- Suction pod positions, kept clear of the toolpath
- Stop pin and fence positions for registering the slab
- Slab or sheet outline for placement
- Nested part layout and cut sequence
- Keep-out zones around the tool path
- Part IDs alongside each nested piece
A pod in the wrong spot costs a damaged head or a snapped bit on top of the downtime. Projecting pod and stop positions first shows where it is safe to place things and where the slab has to sit.
A template made of light
If you can export a drawing and follow a line, you can run a laser projector. Three steps get you from CAD file to finished part.
Load your CAD file
Export from whatever CAD software you already use. DXF, DWG and the other standard formats load straight into the projector’s ZLP-Suite software — no redrawing, no sending it off to a conversion service.
The laser draws it full scale
A projector mounted above the work area traces the outline at true scale, whether that’s a table, a bed, a mould or a curved panel. On the ZLP2 that’s accurate to 0.25 mm per metre of projection distance.
Build to the line
Cut, place, weld, lay up or assemble directly against the glowing outline. If the design changes, just load the new file and the template updates on the spot.
There are no physical templates to store or jigs to re-pin, and no tape-measure errors turning up at final assembly.
The hardware
Z-LASER and SL-Laser projection systems
Laserman supplies and supports both Z-LASER and SL-Laser projection systems in Australia, so you get a platform matched to your workshop rather than the other way round. Both ranges are configured, commissioned and backed up locally.
ZLP2
- Fibre-coupled source for outstanding beam quality
- Accuracy 0.25 mm per metre of projection distance
- Working areas up to 10 × 10 m, distances 0.5–7 m
- IP65-rated housing for workshop conditions
- 2D, 3D and CAD projection modes
- ZLP-Suite software, full API (C++, C#, Python) and PLC integration
ProDirector 7
- Accuracy ±0.35 mm over a 4.5 × 4.5 m field
- Wide field of view — up to 80° horizontal, 70° vertical
- Green 520–525 nm laser, eye-safe class 2M
- IP54-rated aluminium housing, 5–45°C operating range
- RS232 / RS485 interfaces for line integration
- Proven across aerospace, composites, metal, timber, concrete and boat building
Every system is built to order around your workshop — table size, mounting height, materials, software workflow — and typically takes 2–6 weeks. For bigger work areas, multiple projectors link together without a hitch.
Not sure which? Call +61 8 9335 1718Straight answers
Questions we hear every week
Take the next step
Talk to a projection specialist
The fastest way to find out what laser projection would do in your workshop is a ten-minute phone call.
+61 8 9335 1718Mon–Fri 8:30am–4:30pm WST
We’ll ask about your table or bed size, your materials, and the CAD software you design in. Have a rough idea of those handy and we can spec a system on the spot.
Prefer email? team@laserman.com.au