TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO

NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

CIVIL ENGINEERING

ENGINEER LEVEL
The engineer's level is a tool designed to measure
differences in elevation between various points that are at different heights and in different places
stations.

1.- PARTS OF THE INSTRUMENT:

Like other classes of professional levels used mainly in the cons-

Instruction, an automatic optical level also has leveling screws, a level
bubble circular and a goal.

However, the feature that distinguishes it from others is a compensator.

that is, an optical pendulum that corrects or compensates for the variations of a line of
focused level.

Many other pieces that perform also integrate the structure of an optical level.
They perform important functions. In the figure below we see an example of all these.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Civil Engineering

Fundamental parts:

OBJECTIVE.-Contains the lenses that magnify the focused objects.

FOCUS BUTTON.-Allows you to visualize the objectives clearly and sharply.

OCULAR.-Located at the other end of the lens, it can be rotated to focus.

the reticular cross.

CIRCULAR LEVEL.- Ensure that the instrument is at a point of

true level.

LEVELING SCREWS.- Allows for adjustments to ensure the ni-

sheltering of the instrument.

HORIZONTAL CIRCLE.-Marked in degrees, it is used for adjustment and reading.

horizontal angle measurement.

HORIZONTAL ADJUSTMENT SCREW.- It can be adjusted so that the

the instrument moves to the left or right on the motherboard.

BASE PLATE.-Piece through which the optical level is connected to a tripod.

COMPENSATOR.-It is a system of prisms suspended over thin wires.

that work according to the principle of the pendulum under the action of gravity or of
magnetism, depending on the model. The lengths of the wires and the
the positions of the suspension points are defined in such a way that the rays
of light that the prism system sends to the threads of the reticular cross are rays
horizontal. Therefore, to the extent that the prism system can
freely rotate, the collimation line will remain horizontal, even when the
telescope is not positioned exactly horizontally.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

2.- TYPES OF ENGINEER LEVELS:

The level of engineer, as already described, is used to determine differences in height and elevation.
nes.

Also called a leveling instrument, it is a device similar to a theodolite except that

it has no horizontal axis, meaning it does not read vertical angles
Among the types of levels we have:

SIMPLE LEVEL
TIPPING LEVEL
Automatic Level
DIGITAL LEVEL

SIMPLE LEVEL. -The simple level is the sophisticated version of the hand level,
instead of being held by hand, it is placed on a tripod, the optics have
more increases and the drop is much more sensitive.

This level presents a problem, which is that as the device is operated there is
that you are continuously checking and especially when it turns, that the drop continues
centered, this is done with the 4 leveling screws which move in pa-
and always keeping tension so that the device does not move.

SIMPLE LEVEL

TILTING LEVEL. -which remains a simple level, greatly simplifying

the use of 4 leveling screws, one of the most precise levels is a bubble level
It is slow, but it mainly owes its precision to its drop and a plate.
parallel plane.
It is a telescope that is mounted on a transversal fulcrum on the vertical axis and a
micrometric screw at the end where the eyepiece of the telescope is located
After the instrument is approximately leveled following the

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

usual procedure and using the circular bubble level, the telescope is
aim in the desired direction, then tilt slightly in the vertical plane
from its axis by adjusting the micrometric screw until the sensitive bubble of the level
the telescope is centered. At this moment, the line of sight is horizon-
such, although the instrument as a whole is leveled

Tipping Level

AUTOMATIC LEVEL. -Its operation is based on a pendulum that

gravity, in a stable state this will always be in a vertical shape, and with the help
from a prism, this will give us the horizontal reference we are looking for. This
The level has a circular bubble (bull's eye) that may not be completely
centered, but the automatic compensator does just that, compensate, this
the advance proved so beneficial that it was incorporated into the most precise theodolites
in total stations, even though their operation may vary, the principle
it remains the same.

AUTOMATIC LEVEL

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

Due to their advantages, automatic levels are the ones that are most easily found.
at the market, among the characteristics that must be observed when comparing
Rar instruments is the number of magnifications of the lens which can be 20x.
up to 32x, this represents how much the image increases when viewed through the level,
if the distances are short (less than 10 meters) it may not be something significant
tooth, but when trying to see a state graduated to the millimeter at 100 meters it is im-
It is important to have the level with the most increases, or if great precision is required in-
Even at short distances, the 32 magnifications one would be recommended. It can be seen from the mirrors-
certifications that the number of increases is related to the accuracy of the equipment,
which is expressed in millimeters per level kilometer round trip, so if for example...
A level has an accuracy of ± 1.5 mm/km, which means that in a leveling of
A round trip of one kilometer has an error of plus or minus one and a half millimeters.

Generally speaking, it could be said that the range of a level of 20 increases is

of 50 mts, 22x.-65mts, 24x.-80mts, 26x.-90mts, 28x.-100mts, 30x.-115mts, 32x.-
125 meters, but if we use a level with a lot of zoom at short distances, I will have to...
easier to take readings at the state level and eventually more
precision, so for example if one wants to level a machine, where the distances
they may not exceed 10 meters, it is recommended to use the 32x magnification level,
to have the maximum possible accuracy.

Although the level is only used to measure unevenness, recently it has been incorporated
a graduation in the horizontal circle, allowing for angle measurements
with a precision of half a degree, being practical on site for measuring or marking angles
horizontal grooves that do not require great precision.

There is an accessory called a parallel flat plate or micrometer this accessory

I can take measurements to the tenth of a millimeter, although it can be placed in
any level, recommended only for levels with 32 magnifications, this accessory
It is very helpful for tasks that require a lot of precision. In some cases.
It is even advisable to use inbar state to eliminate error due to variation in the
temperature and expansion of aluminum sections.

Automatic level with flat parallel plate or micrometer

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

DIGITAL LEVEL. -Thedigital levelsthey are instruments for the direct measurement of
angles with high precision.
These are electronic levels whose positioning index is a pendulum or
disk, connected to the support base, that acts on an inductive electronic system
the capacitive, generally in a differential form, giving rise to a signal that,
well-treated, marks the angular position of the level
Thedigital levels they usually have two sensor elements connected to a
same scale of measurement to work with the difference between their indications, eli-
thus eliminating errors caused by vibrations or other types of disturbances.
Regarding its accuracy and precision, it is necessarycalibrate digital levelto work
according to a quality system. It is advisable that thelevel calibration di-
digitalcarried out by laboratories accredited by ENAC. These two
Parameters are fundamental for good quality control of products.
In the measurement process, the accuracy of the measure is not as important as the
reliability of the result and that the technician knows the different concepts well
dystopic and metrological.

DIGITAL LEVEL

3. WHAT THE INSTRUMENT MEASURES:

The engineer level is a tool whose purpose is to measure

differences in height from one point to another that are at different elevations and in different locations
or also for the transfer of heights from a known point to an unknown one
with regard to the land.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

Quota:
Vertical distance that exists in-
three a point of the land and a
horizontal reference plan
determined.
Any point in the land
it can have many limits, everything
it will depend on the reference plane
the one that is taken.
A topographic survey
it should only have a re- plan
determined reference, what
requires that each point of the te-
the territory has one and only one value
of quota.

Elevation difference:
The difference in height between two points

(∆ABis the vertical distance between

the surfaces that pass through di-
two points.
The slope can also be
define as the difference between ele-
vacation or quota between both points
tos.

In the figure, it can be observed

geometric unleveling sim-
ple, the slope between the two points
it can be estimated with a single station, that is, without moving the optical level
from its place, through a difference in heights, ∆AB= La–Lb= Ha–Hb

But when the points are separated by a distance greater than the limit of
topographic field, or what the visual range is, the placement of is necessary
intermediate ratings and it is said to be a composite leveling, how can it be
observe in the following figure.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

The composite leveling consists of the successive application of the sim-

In the figure, points 1, 2, and 3 represent the change points (PC).
Point A is a Measurement Base (BM) or known benchmark. E1, E2, E3… re-
they present station points located at equidistant points to the states and
The values (l) represent the readings in the state.

4.- APPLICATION OF THE INSTRUMENT:

We apply at slopes of different points that are at different heights and

different places

ALUMINUM TELESCOPE MIRROR:

Every time a reading is to be taken on the sight, it must be completely
vertical.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

Verticality is achieved by estimation or by means of a vane or bubble level.

rich (in this case not used), otherwise the person who is in the crosshairs
(craftsman) can diagnose in such a way that the lowest reading is correct.

TRIPOD
The tripod is a device used to support a measuring instrument such as
a theodolite a level, its handling is simple, since it consists of three legs that can-
it looks like aluminum

Engineer level installation.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

The level should be positioned in the desired location, allowing for the greatest visibility.
number of points to measure, with the tripod legs well spread and firmly
buried in the ground in such a way that the platform remains as horizontal as possible
horizontal possible. The craving is oriented in the direction of two thyme plants and is centered
bubble; immediately the 90° binocular is turned and the same operation is repeated with the
third screw.

Once the bubble is well centered, if the instrument is calibrated, the view will be
horizontal.

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 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ORURO
NATIONAL ENGINEERING FACULTY
Civil Engineering

The level is an instrument intended for measuring differences in elevation between

points that are at different heights or the transfer of levels from a point cone-
Cement is widely used for construction works.

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