The posting of addresses is in reply to e-mails I've received. I
didn't want other
people to know their exact addresses so I only posted enough for them
to know that
I can also google up some data. I tried replying with e-mail but that
keeps
bouncing back.

Obviously someone had the desire to look me up and threaten me via
e-mail. Why are
Ed and Doug so hostile over me suggesting that they keep marketing off
the
newsgroup? So hostile that they'll lie about me calling them? They
must be making
more money off that hunk of sheet metal than I thought they were.

For the record, I haven't called anyone. This is a discussion forum,
not a
wrestling ring. You can also rest assured that having a public
disagreement with me is an automatic exclusion from being harmed. If
that was my intent that I wouldn't have replied at all. Speaking of
which, I'm not the one who responded with insults in the first place.
I just pointed out that I would rather not see advertising here.

I own a small company that improves manufacturing processes through the
use of
lasers. We engineer the systems and write embedded front-ends to
process data for
various pre-made laser systems. One of my favorite vendors is just
down the road.

http://www.pinlaser.com

Check out their product page at:

http://www.pinlaser.com/products.html

If you checked out the website you'll see that this company makes
products that measure DISTANCE using lasers. They also measure ANGLES
and that data is used to CALIBRATE machinery. It's not rocket science.
Dial indicators aren't used as much
for calibration anymore. Back when Ed and Doug were working for Mr.
Slate in the
quarry, dial indicators were cool. Today people have the option of
precision using
lasers. The client I'm working with today uses a system we developed
to ensure the
circumference of their cigarettes is consistent. That's 8000
cigarettes per minute
per machine. Each cigarette is measured 20 times from different
angles. Because
smoking is an obsessive behavior, it's important that a smoker always
have the
exact same experience when they light up. That includes, length,
circumference,
weight, color, odor, etc. Lasers are used to help achieve that.

Lasers are prone to atmospheric interruption, particularly in a
manufacturing environment. Tobacco dust of .2 microns can throw
measurements out of whack. So can adverse changes in humidity. Most
of the time we engineer a known positive airlow into the system to keep
dust out of the stream. Be sure to read this little blurb on that:

http://www.pinlaser.com/faq.html#q15

The calibration tool I put together for my shop uses a laser that's
specifically made for measurements. The cost is $70. I use a Xilinx
Spartan 3 FPGA
(http://www.xilinx.com/products/silic...pgas/index.htm)
to control the laser, check sensors, run the UI and calcluate the trig.
I think I paid $6 for it. I did use a Motorola 68000 CPU core,
implemented in verilog and programmed into the FPGA.
(http://opencores.org) This was due to cost/speed/familiarity. I also
used a compact flash slot and System Ace interface chip to program the
FPGA on powerup. The entire solution is around $90. I'm not the first
person to do this by any means but wanted to try rolling my own.

This guy gives a simple explanation of how distance is measured with
lasers but I do I'm doing it a little differently. I use the latency
instead.

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaver...roject-11.html

So what can my setup do that Ed's doesn't? First, you can take
measurements when a
machine is running. Want to detect blade wobble? How about blade
flatness or tooth pitch consistency? Turn on the saw, select the test
and hit a button. When the memory fills up the test is over. Download
the data to your PC and graph. Ed's device is also limited to 2
measurement points. If you want to miter slot alignment, my device
will measure from A through C, not just A and C. A and C refer to end
points. B is the middle. Ed's device also requires the use of goofy
triangles and charts to determine an angle. Yes Ed, I have bought one
of your products.

In the near future you'll likely see a similar device being marketed.
I don't own the patents needed to make something like this happen but I
can put one together. The big plus in laser calibration is that most
of the physical deviations of a device like Ed's are gone. You don't
have bearings, rails, steel rods or a slab of aluminum that will
deviate in changing conditions.

Well, there you have the answers to many things that Ed and Doug stated
are false. They declared themselves the experts. Doug stated that
atmospheric conditions wouldn't affect a laser. Ed stated that
measuring angles with a laser is not possible. Both said it would be
too expensive. In fact, Ed said that I couldn't make the same thing
cheaper. Ed must not know that I have a mill and some T11 sitting in
the shop. I'm pretty confident that I could copy his design in a day
or perhaps two. But why bother when I have one that I don't use
anymore?

What was the purpose in Doug and Ed stating something that's not true?
Were these
lies or deliberate attempts to mislead the group? Are they just trying
to sell more product? Why is it that Ed and Doug decided to be
aggressive towards me when I started with a friendly comment? I'd say
they feel that their superiority as the all-knowing guru's of this
newsgroup is threatened. There's nothing wrong with other people being
more knowledgable in a subject than I am. That's just the way it is.
Ed and Doug should learn to accept that too.

BTW: Whichever one of you has my address is welcome to send me an x-mas
card.