# TheDROstore.com  Anyone ever used them?



## RobertHaas (Dec 13, 2017)

I will be buying a 3 AXIS DRO for my new machine and would love some advise on where to shop for a good stable accurate unit that won't bankrupt me further then I already am.


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## Dhector (Dec 13, 2017)

RobertHaas said:


> I will be buying a 3 AXIS DRO for my new machine and would love some advise on where to shop for a good stable accurate unit that won't bankrupt me further then I already am.



I must say I have never used them so my comment won't help. I am replying because of this part of your comment "that won't bankrupt me further then I already am.  "       Don't fight it. It will happen!!!!  

I bought a dropro's and so far I think its great. More money but it is a nice unit so far. There will be a lot to chime in and help with this I'm sure. There are a lot of really good people here with a lot of usefull knowledge!!!!!


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## jocat54 (Dec 13, 2017)

Have you considered buying from aliexpress (China). I and others on here have bought from there and have been happy and they are much cheaper.
I have had mine for a couple of years with no problems. They are slower shipping--so you can;t be in a rush for them.

Here is a link to the one I bought  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/fre.../1524501216.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.kC33tq


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## Tink (Dec 13, 2017)

Here is a link that has a little more variety, they are sold through Ali-express. Same stuff that DROPros sell.
Link


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## Eddyde (Dec 14, 2017)

+1 for buying from the above links to AliExpress (they're both to the same seller). I bought my DRO through them and am very pleased with it.


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## RobertHaas (Dec 14, 2017)

Jocat;   If you don't mind, could you tell me why you chose that particular unit?


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## jocat54 (Dec 14, 2017)

No real reason--I was new to DRO's and just took a chance on it after reading several others comments who had ordered from them. But I have been very happy with it.


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## JPigg55 (Dec 14, 2017)

I went to their site, http://www.thedrostore.com/
They appear to be a re-packager type supplier. They probably buy from Aliexpress and resell.
This more than likely means little or no technical or product support. If you click on the "Details" for any of the products, there's not much in the way of any useful information there.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 14, 2017)

jocat54 said:


> Have you considered buying from aliexpress (China). I and others on here have bought from there and have been happy and they are much cheaper.
> I have had mine for a couple of years with no problems. They are slower shipping--so you can;t be in a rush for them.
> 
> Here is a link to the one I bought  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/fre.../1524501216.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.kC33tq


I have the same one waiting for installation, several of my friends bought them around the same time.


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## higgite (Dec 14, 2017)

JPigg55 said:


> If you click on the "Details" for any of the products, there's not much in the way of any useful information there.


Did you scroll down on the “details” page? I found quite a bit of useful info/specs farther down the page. There is also a link to their blog that looks like it may have some useful info. Not an endorsement, just an observation.

Tom


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## 19E60 (Dec 15, 2017)

jocat54 said:


> Have you considered buying from aliexpress (China). I and others on here have bought from there and have been happy and they are much cheaper.
> I have had mine for a couple of years with no problems. They are slower shipping--so you can;t be in a rush for them.
> 
> Here is a link to the one I bought  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/fre.../1524501216.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.kC33tq




I have the same unit on my mill as well, purchased from the same vendor. Works well, no issues with function other than the display can be difficult to see under bright lighting, I have to tilt the unit downward for the numbers to be more readable for my old eyes. FWIW I do not have the same issue on the Eason E8 on my lathe.


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## Cobra (Dec 15, 2017)

+1 on DROPROs.  I used them for both the lathe and mill and could not be happier.
Installed and set up and then just used for the last three years without a hitch.


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## kd4gij (Dec 21, 2017)

I have not dealt with dro store. But about 2 years ago I was following a thread don't remember what board witch board. but a couple of guys that ordered from them showed the shipping label where they where shipped from dro pros.


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## RobertHaas (Jan 16, 2018)

How do I measure for the scales?

Do I max out the travel on all three axis measuring the actual travel and order scales to those numbers?


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## Tink (Jan 16, 2018)

Here is a link to some video's that will give you some ideas
link

Scroll down to where it says video training


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## gradient (Jan 16, 2018)

+2 for DroPros.  Bought one for each of our Southbend lathe and vertical mill.  Very knowledgeable folks there. Helped me choose exactly what was needed.  Chose the magnetic scales for both applications.  Big plus is that you can cut the scales to custom length with a bandsaw or hacksaw.  A little more $ but nice quality.


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## RobertHaas (Jan 16, 2018)

gradient said:


> +2 for DroPros.  Bought one for each of our Southbend lathe and vertical mill.  Very knowledgeable folks there. Helped me choose exactly what was needed.  Chose the magnetic scales for both applications.  Big plus is that you can cut the scales to custom length with a bandsaw or hacksaw.  A little more $ but nice quality.




The DRO mentioned in this thread comes with glass or optical scales for less then 250.00 Total for a 3 Axis set up, how much would the magnetic scales add to the costs?

Also the term magnetic makes me think that the scales could become contaminated from ferrous materials, ??? I realize I am an idiot so don't worry about pointing that out.


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## Eddyde (Jan 16, 2018)

RobertHaas said:


> The DRO mentioned in this thread comes with glass or optical scales for less then 250.00 Total for a 3 Axis set up, how much would the magnetic scales add to the costs?
> 
> Also the term magnetic makes me think that the scales could become contaminated from ferrous materials, ??? I realize I am an idiot so don't worry about pointing that out.


When I shopped my DRO the magnetic scales were considerably more expensive However, that was a couple of years ago and prices may have dropped, since then. I went with glass scales as I could easily fit them on my mill and they came in appropriate sizes although, they can be cut if really necessary (see YouTube for instructions). When I DRO my lathe, I may opt for magnetics as the space will be an issue.
No, chips shouldn't be a problem.


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## DougD (Jan 17, 2018)

I went direct (China) a little over a year ago for my mill (2axis) and have been very pleased on use. Had an issue when it arrived caused from shipping. The service was within a day, with solution via video (due to language) and totally resolved.  Just received a unit for my lathe from same people.  Will post link tonight. 
dd


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## RobertHaas (Jan 17, 2018)

Ordered


However there was no place to give the size of the scales needed, I sent them a memo with the order listing the actual travel on all three axis. I am not sure if I am supposed to make a deduction or addition to these specs????


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## Bob Korves (Jan 17, 2018)

RobertHaas said:


> Ordered
> 
> 
> However there was no place to give the size of the scales needed, I sent them a memo with the order listing the actual travel on all three axis. I am not sure if I am supposed to make a deduction or addition to these specs????


All of this is important.
Make sure that you actually measure the travel of all axes, not taking numbers from a spec sheet or ad. 
The scales need to have more travel than the axes travel, or else you will crash into the end of the scales.
It is also a mounting issue because if you have 2mm of longer scale travel than axis travel, then the scale will have to be mounted very accurately within about plus or minus 1mm of where it will crash.  That wastes time and is asking for trouble.
Too long is only a possible mounting issue or a possible issue of being in the way of other stuff.  Pay attention to that before ordering.
I ordered my scales 1"+ longer than the actual axis travel.  There were no obstruction issues.  That gives plenty of room to easily find a place for the read head and scales to mount without fussy measuring.
It is very easy to measure the axis travel.  Make sure no hard stops or other settings are reducing the maximum travel of the axis.  Move the axis all the way to one end.  Put a sharpie mark across where the two halves of the axis slide past each other.  Move the axis all the way to the other end.  Measure between the sharpie marks.  Add, do not subtract, to make sure you have enough travel with your scales.
More questions?


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## RobertHaas (Jan 17, 2018)

Thanks Bob, I will add 25mm to all travel sizes and request that to be the scale sizes.


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## Eddyde (Jan 17, 2018)

Actually, I think the addition might be more than 25mm total, you need to add the length of the read head as well. There should be instructions for ordering the scales on the site?


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## jdedmon91 (Jan 17, 2018)

Cobra said:


> +1 on DROPROs. I used them for both the lathe and mill and could not be happier.
> Installed and set up and then just used for the last three years without a hitch.



I used them on my Lagun 
	

		
			
		

		
	





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Bob Korves (Jan 17, 2018)

Eddyde said:


> Actually, I think the addition might be more than 25mm total, you need to add the length of the read head as well. There should be instructions for ordering the scales on the site?


The lengths of the scales already take the read head and bracketry into account.  The actual overall length of the scale will be larger than the size ordered.  Travel is what is specified, at least on the Chinese scales I ordered.


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## DougD (Jan 18, 2018)

The seller I used for the DRO I have on the mill was:  technical.jrs  .  There listing is clear on what to add for the total length of the scale vs the travel needed for the scale.   I mentioned in the post above that I received a unit for my lathe.  Actually I purchased a unit for a SB heavy 10.  I recently acquired a different, much longer lathe (Hendey).  I was able to contact them and purchase only the Z scale for lathe.  They just have to match the manufacture unit that I purchased.   I have been very pleased with their product and service.  (no affiliation)
dd


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## ronboult (Jan 21, 2018)

Robert
May I suggest that the display that you choose determines how easy the DRO is to use. The quality of the scales is important but the quality of the software that runs the unit determines whether you will curse or praise the unit while in use. I have experience with both a generic Chinese unit supplied on my lathe and two Eason 12 displays. I found the generic so hard to use and program that I got rid of it and replaced with a new Eason 12B which is superb. 
Just as an example some displays have seperate buttons to zero the display ie. X 0 but others require two or more button presses to zero a scale. Just a little thing but makes a big difference in use. I am sure you will love your new DRO they make such a difference to a mill and lathe.
Ron


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## Manderioli (Jan 23, 2018)

I went with a DRO Pro 3 axis mag scale for my mill due to the low profile, easy maintenance, cut to length options, and half off for black friday ($964). 

I would go with them again and likely will for a 2 axis on my lathe.


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## COMachinist (Jan 25, 2018)

Manderioli said:


> I went with a DRO Pro 3 axis mag scale for my mill due to the low profile, easy maintenance, cut to length options, and half off for black friday ($964).
> 
> I would go with them again and likely will for a 2 axis on my lathe.


Plus1 here as well. They are Vet owned and I have never had to leave a messag. They always answer, in English.
CH


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## Rsc (Jan 28, 2018)

Has anyone ordered from Siton on Aliexpress recently?  I wanted to order a Easson 12b but wanted to upgrade a scale for the xslide.  I cant get a response for the upgrade price.  

Anyone finding good deals on magnetic scales on Aliexpress?


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## Bob Korves (Jan 29, 2018)

Rsc said:


> Has anyone ordered from Siton on Aliexpress recently?  I wanted to order a Easson 12b but wanted to upgrade a scale for the xslide.  I cant get a response for the upgrade price.
> 
> Anyone finding good deals on magnetic scales on Aliexpress?


Ask Wilson.  He will get back to you in a day or so.  For the lower end DROs we bought from Siton, upgrading from .005 to .001 micron was $18 per scale, and the scales are custom made in any travel length you specify, by 1mm increments.


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