# DROPROS Electronica EL400 DRO for my Grizzly G4003G lathe



## coolidge (Dec 27, 2013)

As my eyesight for seeing up close has gone to hell I ordered the Electronica EL400 DRO from DROPROS today for my lathe. Shipped a few hours after I placed the order UPS says ETA Jan 2nd. The guys at DROPROS were nice, professional, a stark contrast to the clown at the counter of our local cutting tool supplier earlier today he'll not get one dime of my business but that's another story.

So I'm going with magnetic scales, slimmer, less worry about contamination or me dropping something on them more likely. The 4 part video they have of the installation was a plus as my lathe was the one featured in the video. Stay tuned photos of this install to follow.


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## LEEQ (Dec 27, 2013)

I look forward to hearing about it on the lathe. I have one on my mill that I'm loving and learning. I liked the staff also


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## bigearl67 (Dec 29, 2013)

Before they were sold by DRO pro’s they were sold thruNewall and made in India.Newall never sold junk so I am thinking you are getting some quality stuff.Please keep us posted, looking forward to the install pic’s. Earl


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## coolidge (Dec 30, 2013)

Thanks Earl that's good to know. A detailed install report with photos to follow, ETA of the kit Jan 2nd.


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## Tciplumber (Jan 5, 2014)

Pretty sure you'll love the readout.  I bought the middle of the road option for my 4003G last year from them.  Love it.  Could not live without it.  I await your assessment of the magnetic readers.

You will find adding the DRO scales is not a very difficult job and that once it's done you'll wonder how you ever lived without a DRO!


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## coolidge (Jan 5, 2014)

The kit arrived the other day, I'm trying to clear off my workbench of the current project before starting the install. I'm impressed with the DRO display housing, cast aluminum front and back with a nice baked on textured coating. Same black coating on all the mounts. So many seem to have gone to plastic display housings and a few have just raw aluminum mounting kits so this was one of the selling points. 

It has to be adjusted to a fairly tight tolerance, within .007 scale/reader and the magnetic scale is probably already +- .002 itself over its length eating into that tolerance. Then its not like the back of the G4003G casting is precision machined, in fact its not machined at all its raw casting so we'll see how this install goes and alignment goes. Also I see they just took a portable drill and tap to the thing in the video to save time, I'd rather disassemble and drill and tap on the drill press. Good thing they packed it well because UPS mangled the outer box, no damage though.


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## toag (Jan 6, 2014)

Glad to hear it was un damaged from the shipper.  I cant wait to see the install, as this will be my next big purchase, though some time down the road.


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## Tciplumber (Jan 10, 2014)

It is much easier to drill and tap with a hand drill.  The holes don't have to be super accurate, as the mounting brackets all have slots for adjustment.  I got my bracket holes close with a steel rule and center punch.  Then drilled and tapped them with a battery drill and hand tap. I then used the slots in the brackets to fine tune the placement of the readers and scales, using a dial indicator.  I do admire your quest for precision though...


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## Cobra (Jan 10, 2014)

I put the same system on my griz 0755 mill and love it. 
The mounting surface is not that important with the adjusting screws on the scales. 
Enjoy!  You'll love it. 
Jim


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## coolidge (Jan 11, 2014)

LOL Tciplumber you have not seen how crooked I can hand drill and tap a hole :angryfire:


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## Tciplumber (Jan 11, 2014)

I think you can do alright.  I'm not the best hand driller either.  I put a DRO PROS system on my bridgeport too.  No way to take those castings to a drill press!


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## wallyw (Jan 16, 2014)

Have had the same unit on my g4003 for 5 months.  With their videos pretty much a snap to install.  I almost always machine with constant flow of water based coolant.  Deliberately ran coolant on read head for 30 minutes.  No effect whatsoever.

What a joy to use.  Threading, turning, facing boring all so much easier to hit my marks.

Wallyw


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