A Digital Template Capture for Transfer to Custom Cut Materials

 

Digital Template Capture and Projection System for Custom Cut Building Materials

Problem / Motivation

Anyone who has ever built a shed, cabinet, or other wooden structure knows the frustration: irregular gaps and missing spaces that need to be filled with custom-cut plywood or other materials. Traditionally, this involves careful measuring, creating cardboard templates, or repeated trial and error. The process wastes both time and material.

What if you could simply take a photo of the gap and have an app provide an exact outline to project onto your new material? That is the idea presented here.

The Invention

1. Capture Module

• A smartphone camera is used to photograph the irregular gap or missing space.

• For accuracy, the user places a calibration marker of known size (e.g., a printed square or QR code) next to the gap. The system uses this reference for scale.

• Future enhancements could include laser line projection or a plug-in LiDAR module to measure exact dimensions directly.

2. Processing App

• Software analyzes the captured image, extracts the outline of the missing piece, and converts it into a dimensionally accurate 2D template.

• The user can adjust tolerance (for example, adding 2 mm of clearance for easier fitting).

• The template can be saved as a vector file (SVG, DXF) for further use.

3. Projection / Transfer Module

The app provides several ways to transfer the outline onto new material:

• Projector method: A portable pico-projector aligned above the work surface projects the shape at full scale onto a sheet of plywood.

• Robotic plotter method: A small XY plotter sketches the outline directly onto the material.

• Augmented reality method: The app overlays the shape on the phone or tablet screen, aligned over the new sheet, guiding the user to mark the cut.

4. Cutting & Use

• Once projected or marked, the worker traces the outline onto the plywood.

• The piece can then be cut with standard tools, fitting accurately into the intended space.

Technical Notes / Materials

• Smartphone with camera (existing hardware).

• Calibration target (printable reference square).

• Projection device (portable LED projector or AR overlay).

• Software app (image processing and shape extraction).

Advantages

• Saves time and reduces wasted material.

• Increases accuracy for both amateurs and professionals.

• Eliminates the need for cardboard templates.

• Creates a pathway for an affordable DIY product.

Open Disclosure Statement

This invention is published here as a defensive disclosure. It is free for anyone to build, adapt, or commercialize. By publishing this, I dedicate it to the public domain and establish prior art to prevent others from patenting it.

---

Diagram Concept (for blog illustration):

1. Phone captures the shape of the gap (with calibration marker).

2. App processes the image and extracts outline.

3. Projector displays outline full-size onto plywood.

4. User traces and cuts the shape.

5.