Laser Pulley Alignment
By Benjamen Johnson
If you need to check drive pulleys to see if they’re out of alignment, one way to do it is to use the Gates Drive Align laser alignment tool. It can show you if the drive pulleys are offset or angled with respect to each other.
Gates’ tool uses a 650nm (red) laser diode powered by a replaceable lithium battery which provides 20 hours of continuous use. It can be used on all automotive serpentine belt drives with four or more ribs.
The Drive Align Laser includes glasses that help you see the laser better, a bungee cord to secure the laser tool to the pulley, and an Allen wrench to align the light beam. The tool comes in a high-impact plastic carrying with space for the other accessories. Overall the Laser Drive Alignment Tool will run you at least $125.
Lazer Drive Align [Gates]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
August 31st, 2009 at 10:28 am
I installed an old Atlas bench lathe a few weeks back and needed to make sure that pulleys were aligned.
…and I used a straightedge.
Saved me about $125.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:34 am
One way to get a cheap version of this is a laser pen… They have a very soft diffusion patter, so align it so it lights up two sides of your one pulley, and see then if it aligns with the other pulley, Using a magnetic brace or magnetic hold makes this easier, like aligning a table for a saw, or a mill.
ShopMonger
August 31st, 2009 at 11:41 am
I guess you could use the bungee cord to attach it to a shark…..Sweet!!!
August 31st, 2009 at 12:31 pm
$125? Really? I think another project just got added to the “I can make that for 10% of retail in my shop” list, and that’s assuming that I actually machine up something nice. If I dig up an old keychain laser pointer and use aluminum scrap, the most expensive part of this will be… the screws to hold it together.
August 31st, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Sharks with freakin laser beams………
August 31st, 2009 at 1:01 pm
i got one for my shop long ago. was a great little tool. was a bit cheaper then and well worth it.
August 31st, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Laser alignment tools make a ton of sense in industrial power transmission applications, tons of electricity to be saved and equipment failures to be avoided with proper pulley, sheave or coupler alignment. Don’t really understand the Gates tool though, most automotive pulleys are on fixed brackets, perhaps it’s for diagnosing damaged/worn tensioners?
September 1st, 2009 at 4:26 pm
yea, worn mounts, bent pulleys, bad bearings and wrong parts installed. don’t take much to mess up a belt. worked for me.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Never seen a laser aligner this cheap. Most of the industrial ones are in the thousands. Be interesting to try, but typically for fan motor or pump and compressor drives, I use the appropriate length of extruded aluminum, and that gets it close enough.