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We have one but will not really be able to comment on it properly until our new CNC is fired up for the first time next week.
Initial impressions are good. We have taken their training course in Holland and the four guys who went came back confident about using it.
Initially we will use it as our method of converting our hard templates into digital format for the CNC. We assume that it will serve this purpose as well as a digitising table would. Longer term we intend to switch to digitising directly on site. In this regard it is more versatile than the photo systems and in comparison to Laser systems it offers more confidence to the user because there is the physical element of actually touching the digitising pen to the surface that is being measured. This, in my opinion, gives physical feedback and instils confidence in the measurements produced.
I’ll let you know more as we gain more experience in use.
Sounds good Patrick. I sometimes suggest to people to use it as a digitizing board first then take it out in the field once they feel totally comfortable. Once there you can also digitize in the field as well as make wooden templates.
Which version of the machine did you get?
Who did your guys train with?
Mike,
there is no model number on it. I understand that the models now being sold are slightly upgraded.
Our guys trained with “Collin” at Prodim’s HQ in The Netherlands. One thing we found while practising with it is the necessity to have a good tripod to fit it on. We bought a cheaper version of the tripod from another company and are having to improve its stability, failing which we will have to pay for the proper one.
Your reasoning about its dual use is the same as ours.
I agree with the tripod issue. I went and bought a regular cst berger and the legs slip. So we had them make us a special tripod where the legs lock.
Mike,
having just brought our CNC online we are just starting to get serious about testing out the Proliner. We were not initially certain that it was giving us the accuracy that we required so we tried an experoiment to see how accurate it was.
We cut an MDF shape on the CNC. We then glued it to a full board of 25mm thick MDF to ensure it stayed stable. We fixed the Proliner in place and carefully scanned the shape. We were exceedingly careful to ensure consistency in how we handled the “probe” while digitising the shape. We then fed each of our digital scans into the CNC and cut what we had scanned. Our intention was to compare the shapes and sizes output by the CNC with the master template.
Below is a photo showing the master template glued to its backing board.
Below is a photo showing the discrepancies that were thrown up by our experiment.
This was not the level of accuracy that we were expecting, particularly as we were working under rigorous workshop conditions and not under the uncertainties that we will be expecting to face on site.
We have spoken to Prodim the manufacturers about this and have found them most helpful. We trust that their feedback will enable us to report to you shortly that our “problem” has been resolved. As it is our intention to outfit our six fitting teams with digital templating capability in due course there is a lot riding on us getting the system right.
Our experience of Prodim up to this point has been that they are a professional company looking for long term partnerships with their customers so we are confident of a satisfactory outcome to this “blip”.
I’ll keep you all informed of progress.
Prodim assure me that they stand by the accuracy and quality of their product. They are shipping me a Fed Ex box so I can use it to return the Proliner to their HQ for testing. If there is a problem that they cannot fix then they will replace the machine. They assure me that their warranty will cover any problems.
I’ll keep you posted.
Mike
Just getting started on this site. We have the older ver. of the proliner. It saves so much time. We have had it since Jan. and still use mostly in our shop. Not quite to using it in the feild yet. Only on some things.
Jim
Sorry to bring up such an old thread but did you ever find a solution to the accuracy problem?. I use a proliner to digitize wood templates and I feel like mine is not as accurate as its supposed to be
hi i used to use a lt 55 laser i found it ok but for scribing the proliner is above and beyond the call i can have a typical kitchen scribed by the cnc and not onsite cutting down the installs buy a huge margin and im finding the proliner much more accurate . this being said it is faster then the lt55 without the hassle of checking to see if the laser is level or even stays level during shooting this has been a huge problem in the past if u are shooting on a sub floor and u cannot stand in 1 place for the entire shoot… with the proliner this is not an issue… using the rapid fire when scribing has been excellent….. installers here love me now..lol avarage 30 min to install a complete kitcvhen including 2 seams and an undermount sink is definatly cut costs down by a huge margin… i typically template about 4 to 9 kitchen a day depending on how far for travel… this tells me that set up time and tear down after the template is very short.. altho i do wish i had better instruction on the editing software!!!
hi , guys
i’m new at here .i’m a templater in a granite company but i have some problem with proliner nowadays and now i have some questions about them if someone answer them i’ll be realy appreciate.1)i set my proliner up to the left side and i’m starting from left side to capture the points but at the same time i’m measuring by my hand also and when i work with proliner drawing on the autocad i see always 1/4” different from my hand measurment..do you guys have any idea why i get this probllem always? 2) the other thing is ”origin” problem so when i finish my measurment on the job side i do ”origin” command to make the drawing straight but the front of drawing always uneven i thought maybe the cabinets are install inclined but the installer guys say no because the overhangs are always different..
if you guys tell me what i should do i’ll be rejoiced ..
thanks for helpsJoseph,
1) The proliner has a 5mm ball on the end of the measuring stylus. Selecting “left” or “right” compensation adds (or subtracts) 2.5mm from the surface being measured, BUT you have to be PERFECTLY consistent (CW or CCW) measuring for it to offset to the correct side. We typically use “center” (or no) compensation. When you put the 5mm ball against the wall, the reading will be 2.5mm off the wall (about 1/10 of an inch). We find that spacing to be helpful when installing confined pieces, and easy enough to caulk without any complaints.
2) The first three points determine a “flat” plane that all other points will be projected onto. I usually pick two points along the front edge of the sink cabinet, then a point at the back of the cabinet. I always go left-front, right-front, then back. That should bring the rest of your measurements closer to horizontal on the screen.Hope this helps. Good luck and happy templating!
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