Slippery Rock Gazette

If you’re looking for a fast, accurate, and flexible, state-of-the-art technology for measuring and designing countertops, you’re going to want to check out ETemplate Systems’ innovative ELaser™ system.  

Integrated with the company’s powerful Measure Manager™ software, this feature-rich two- and three-dimensional measuring tool is built to dramatically reduce the time (and number of mouse clicks) needed to complete a job – by as much as 90%. 

“The ELaser system uses simple ‘point-and-shoot’ to measure locations,” said Paul Hansen, ETemplate’s president. “Our Measure Manager software collects those position measurements, creating intelligent drawings automatically.” 

“The Measure Manager software is unique in that it’s not only CAD-based, but also has the ability to let the user establish some design criteria,” said Hansen. 

A typical countertop will have overhangs and corner radiuses of certain values, or it may have a backsplash that’s going to be a certain height. Once set up, the software will automatically use those values as design defaults – so the user doesn’t have to set them up every time.

“And by simply collecting two points per finished edge and three or more per wall, it automatically draws the complete countertop,” said Hansen, “and with all those design criteria – including square footage of the top, square footage of the backsplash, and linear footage of profile edge to help them verify against their estimates. Need to make a change - no problem - simply click on the feature and change the value and the drawing is automatically updated.”

Chris Althouse of Odyssey Tops in Pennsylvania recently said, “The ease of operation is so simple, even a person of basic computer skills can template a 75-square-foot kitchen in 30-40 minutes. One of the best features is the automatic compensation of wall offsets (if desired) for our CNC to create some buffer space for install, so as not to damage customer drywall. The luan and gas savings is great!”

The hardware – the laser unit itself – has industry-leading, incredibly useful features: it’s self-leveling, for example, making for easier setup and more accurate measurements. The device can notify the user if it’s been bumped out of position; it actually stops you from making a measuring mistake. And it can be run either by hand, or through the computer – wired or wireless.

“The system also has a relocation function, so if you do need to physically move the whole device, you can do that,” said Hansen. “But thanks to our unique offset tool that measures around a blind corner, you won’t need to move it very often.”

For countertops, the 3D capability of ELaser allows it to easily measure cabinet faces and back walls without having to raise the tripod. The 3D capability also makes ELaser ideal for measuring commercial spaces. With its built-in video camera in the laser, measuring even bigger commercial spaces become simpler affairs. 

“When measuring large spaces, the video becomes very important, because there’s a crosshair target built into the video that defines the measurement position of the device,” said Hansen. “That allows someone to point the device up to 150 feet into the air, and use the video to zoom in and align that crosshair target to the position they want to measure – far more accurately than the naked eye.”

For professionals who design cabinets as well as countertops, the ELaser measures in both 2D and 3D space, so it can lay out a full room, adding doors, windows, outlets, and any other existing features into the plan. And that’s where the Measure Manager software really shines, in taking those measurements and instantly creating drawings that can be sent from the field in moments. 

For those on the cutting edge, use go-to-meeting software to link the ELaser to an office computer to view, and even drive, the measurement process remotely.

For more information about the ELaser unit and the user-friendly Measure Manager software, visit ETemplateSystem.com.