02/19/2026
Leica AP20 AutoPole PRO Tips✅
Last month, at World of Concrete 2026 in Las Vegas, I got the chance to chat with people and answer some questions about my experience with Leica iCON. It was lovely meeting people and showcasing a bit of my workflow in person! Here’s a video that I recorded at the show, explaining how to get the best results from the AP20 AutoPole when laying out.
One of the questions I get most often is related to the accuracy of the AP20 AutoPole.
Using the methods I show in this video, I find that my layout accuracy is anywhere between 0 to 1/4” (6mm), which is well within my own tolerances in residential concrete forming.
❓Why would I choose the AP20 over a pole and bipods or mini prism?
1️⃣ On a typical foundation that I build, there are hundreds of dowels sticking up out of the footing, and each one is an obstacle for bipods. For an efficient layout, I need the prism to be above the dowels to maintain line of sight, and the AP20 set to the lowest height helps me achieve that.
2️⃣ Placing the pole and bipods at the top of footing steps/jumps (which our foundations often have a lot of) can be dangerous if the step is tall, because there isn’t a great place to stand or put the bipods. With the AP20, I can stand at the lower part of the footing, hold the pole at the top of the step, and mark my line safely.
3️⃣ Using the AP20 AutoPole allows me to skip plumbing the rod with bipods for each mark, which can be quite time consuming. If you factor in how much adjusting I have to do for each mark, the time really adds up. With the AP20, I can stay low, near the footing where I’m marking, and see all the information on the tablet without the constant up and down.
❗️For any further information about digital layout with Leica iCON, or the AP20 AutoPole, feel free to use the link in my bio.
