Pictures of the PM-833T

[7milesup]

That looks like a neat solution Bob. However, now that you bring that up, why not a 4 axis DRO? From the same place you bought yours, here is one that is $426, about $200 more than the one you purchased. 4 Axis DRO from AliExpress If I went with that box (encoder) and had to buy another scale, it would be about $200 more. Of course, with the encoder box, you get a nice clean number for the Z in one spot with the math already done.

Speaking of DRO's, the longer I look at those on Wilson's site, the more confused I get. They all seem to be about the same except for the price. What is the difference between Easson, Sino, Rational, SNS, etc?

Also, have you guys seen this controller? I talked to Matt about it the other day. I am quite intrigued. Masso CNC (looks like their site is undergoing maintenance so it is rather messed up at the moment).

 

[Bob Korves]

Speaking of DRO's, the longer I look at those on Wilson's site, the more confused I get.

Apparently, some buyers only look at the item price and consider shipping and ignore other fees as just part of doing business. Others want the best total price, delivered on their doorstep. So I think what the vendors are doing is selling the same product with pricing packages that appeal to all parts of the spectrum. If you get confused by all the choices and miss the best deal or make a mental mistake and click on the wrong one, all the better for them. I learned how to deal with that sort of marketing in about third grade. Many others did not...

 

[7milesup]

Apparently, some buyers only look at the item price and consider shipping and ignore other fees as just part of doing business.

Yeah, I'm not like that. I was referencing the one store, not multiple stores. If you notice, Wilson has multiple brand of DROs within his store. That is what I was questioning. I realize that the Easson 12C has a nice LCD display that sets it apart, but beyond that, it looks like they all do about the same thing.

 

[mksj]

A 4th axis glass scale on the spindle of a bench top mill is challenging to install and can take up a lot of space. The most common spindle DRO is a the battery operated type, they come in a vertical format, are easily mounted and inexpensive. Also be aware that the head Z Axis is usually locked when milling, otherwise you will get some angular nod forward in particular as the gibs wear. If you are looking for a DRO to just give you coordinates as in X, Y and Z then they all will do that. There is a difference in the layout of the controls, easy of access functions/menus and having an instruction manual that you can actually understand. The graphical displays allows easier use of bolt circle, drilling linear arrays, profiling and other functions. Some people use these functions, others do not. I find them helpful, much more on the mill vs. my lathe. There can be other annoying issues with the less expensive DROs such as noise filtering of the inputs, often you will see the last digit flickering or with a 1 micron scale the display will give you 5 decimal places which can be annoying. A 1 micron scale on a mill is not needed, nor beneficial. Summation of the head and the spindle, never needed it when I had my bench top mill, did just fine with a 2 axis DRO, the mill came with an installed battery operated spindle DRO. If you go with a 3 axis DRO head, I would put the 3rd scale on the column.

 

[Bob Korves]

I was referencing the one store, not multiple stores.

So was I.
I can sell you a bolt for $3, a nut for 2, a washer for 2, and shipping for 2.
Or, I can sell you a bolt for $3, a nut for 3 a washer for 3, and free shipping.
Or, I can sell you the whole package for $9.
All in different looking ads from the same seller, who is not paying for the ads, just a percentage of sales.
Yes, he is competing against himself, and he wins whichever way you go.

In the case of Wilson's DRO's, the totals do NOT add up to the same price, and it pays YOU to look at all the ads, do the math and pick the best deal.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Neil, I went with Easson as it's a known brand and that's what I wanted, and I figured it would also have better resale value if I was going to upgrade later to magnetic scales like the EL400 or EL700..

The other units will work as well but I've seen a few reviews for Sino that were not as favorable as the Easson.

Warranty and returns are a problem when dealing with China, so better to buy the best when buying from Aliexpress/ Siton..

They can DHL stuff for $30-$40 to us and for me to return for exchange/warranty via DHL it's over $200 or about $30-$50 for parcel post without tracking which could take 3 months or more.

I took a gamble and bought from Aliexpress, but would buy from QMT if I order another set just because of the challenges I had with ordering a GS11 and trying to exchange it for a GS31 scale.

After 6 months of back and forward messages with Wilson he finally allowed me to send it back but took 2 more messages to get his address to send it to and still awaiting for an invoice to pay the $30 shipping up charge for the exchange on the GS31 scale.

In the mean while Matt from QMT stepped up and will send me a GS30 scale which will work for my application for no charge, so I'll just hold onto the GS11 scale until I can find a home for it.

That was so unexpected and just shows why he's earned the respect and loyalty he has on this site.


David.

 

[7milesup]

Neil, I went with Easson as it's a known brand and that's what I wanted, and I figured it would also have better resale value if I was going to upgrade later to magnetic scales like the EL400 or EL700..

The other units will work as well but I've seen a few reviews for Sino that were not as favorable as the Easson.

Warranty and returns are a problem when dealing with China, so better to buy the best when buying from Aliexpress/ Siton..

They can DHL stuff for $30-$40 to us and for me to return for exchange/warranty via DHL it's over $200 or about $30-$50 for parcel post without tracking which could take 3 months or more.

I took a gamble and bought from Aliexpress, but would buy from QMT if I order another set just because of the challenges I had with ordering a GS11 and trying to exchange it for a GS31 scale.

After 6 months of back and forward messages with Wilson he finally allowed me to send it back but took 2 more messages to get his address to send it to and still awaiting for an invoice to pay the $30 shipping up charge for the exchange on the GS31 scale.

In the mean while Matt from QMT stepped up and will send me a GS30 scale which will work for my application for no charge, so I'll just hold onto the GS11 scale until I can find a home for it.

That was so unexpected and just shows why he's earned the respect and loyalty he has on this site.


David.

David:
Thank you for the insight. Just what I was looking for.

 

[Silverbullet]

I think your gonna love the way you built the stand. It'll be super stable. I don't think those flimsy sheet metal stands are worth even having , make them cast or heavy steel. Nice machine , I see they only used one bolt on the oiler manifold , I'd drill and tap the other one if it were mine. No I wasn't nit picking things like that jump out at me. I like the stand very much. Great job building it.
The wainscoting on the walls is a super idea too.

 

[blue_luke]

Hello all, a bit of time since my last post... Here goes...
- The place where I ordered my DRO: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/162359087225 And Like I said, this is the first time I deal with him.
- just got a phone from DHL and it seems that the package is at the local depot! That was fast! And I've paid for standard delivery! Just about a week!
- 5um resolution on the glass scales is perfectly adequate in my opinion. Like a few have said here, it's nice to see those 2 last digits on the display moves when you breathe or if the dog wag his tail, but honestly, if you can get consistently .0005 precision on those machines, you are a master machinist possessed by 'the force' ! Much more experienced than me for sure!
- Yes i will put the Z axis scale on the column/head... not on the quill. My reasoning is that the 'Z' crank is so smooth on the PM833t, and of course because of the weight of the head, backlash is about nil, I have decided not to use the quill lever for milling operation. Of course the quill is very handy for drilling operation
- It is a realy good idea to buy a DRO from Matt if you live in the states, his price are very fair and the quality is there. The reason why I did not buy from him is that as a Canadian, I get hit quite hard with taxes and accises on that sort of things! Not the machines though.
- A little bit of advice to my fellow Canadians, Machines are almost always duty free, you pay federal taxes and sometimes provincial or HST depending where you live. The same goes with tooling such as vises, drill chucks arbors and the likes. But anything electronic such as DROs, variable speed drive, PLCs and that sort of thing will be taxed, and something shockingly heavily!! In these cases, you are better off with a Canadian reseller, or import directly from China, because you will not pay the duty twice or so...

Cheers, Luc

 

[7milesup]

One of the first things I decided to do to my mill was add a light to the spindle so I can see what im doing. I find that the older I get the more light I need.

I ordered a 90mm OD angel eye LED from Superbrightleds. Super bright LEDs cool white angel eye. I probably could have found something cheaper on eBay but this had the LED driver attached to the wires.

I had a 12v wall wart switching power supply here already and 5.5 mm X 2.1 mm 12 volt plug and a switch. All I needed was an enclosure for all the pieces. Since I have a 3D printer I drew the design up in Fusion 360 and printed out a switch enclosure and cover for it. That was attached to the mill with 3M VHB tape. I did make provisions for bolt mounting but just decided to use a tape for now.
The angel eye and lens were attached to the spindle (non-rotating part of course) with a genrerous amount of E6000 adhesive. The wire is protected with a wire loom and heat shrink tubing on both ends.