# Dro For Mill



## Mark_f

I want to put 3 axis DRO on a mill. I talked once to someone who is a member of this forum that sells them. Does anyone know who he is and how to get in touch with him. 


Mark


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## middle.road

DavidH has the iGaging scales. -=- LINK -=-
There is also an effort to interface the Absolute style with OpenDRO going on.
I'm looking at going that route with an Android tablet since the 'X-axis' on my Mitutoyo is toast.


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## joshua43214

I do not wish to step on any toes by saying controversial things.
I know a lot of people use iGaging scales and they do pretty fine work.
Just consider the published tolerance of their best scales before you buy:
http://www.igaging.com/page44.html

If +/-0.001" over 6" is acceptable to you, then run with it. Just keep in mind that the hand wheels on even the cheapest mill will be probably a whole order of magnitude more accurate.

I went shopping for inexpensive scales to use with OpenDro and I wound up with this:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-ax...achine-3-pcs-1um-linear-scale/1556577283.html
I figured the worst that can happen is that he head unit will die and I will use the scales with OpenDro. The whole system is about the same cost as just two scales from DroPros (which has the cheapest domestic price I could find for glass scales). I checked it against my gauge blocks and it was dead on agreement with my Mitutoyo micrometer at 1" travel. I assume there is some error over longer distances, but so far it puts one hole dead inside a previous hole no matter how much I move the table around. So far it has been a good system, it arrived in 5 days, came with protective covers, brackets, etc, but I had to get some screws in the end.


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## RJSakowski

Interesting that the aliexpress link  claims 1 micron scale accuracy but the scale is labeled as 5 micron.  I have no personal experience with purchasing a DRO from a Chinese dealer but have read of issues regarding support.  

Aside from that, the scale looks like a standard 5 micron glass scale.  I have installed two three axis systems with these scales and have had no problem with them.  As mentioned, they usually come with a fairly complete mounting package although I made fairly extensive modifications  on both installs.  In contrast, the iGaging scales have no protective covers for the scales which is not conducive to longevity.

I have installed a 3 axis iGaging scale system on my lathe using the TouchDRO readout app on my Android smart phone.  The scales have a 10 micron (.0004") resolution.I have checked the accuracy of  the readout and have generally found it to be within +/- .0005".  I would expect that if I were dealing with a significant temperature swings, the accuracy of the aluminum backed scales would degrade but my shop holds a fairly consistent temperature year round (maybe 5F swing max.).

I have yet to work a mill or lathe that has less than .001" backlash.  Additionally, the Chinese mills and lathes that I have used have metric lead screws so there is a built-in error in the hand wheel dials if using inch graduations.  It is possible to correct for the difference between the displayed .040" and the actual .03937" on each dial revolution but it is a PITA and exposes the possibility of errors.  I have also not seen a hand wheel dial with smaller than .001" graduations so trying to make any adjustments to sub thousandths accuracy requires interpolating between the marks.

A friend and business associate runs a CNC job shop with four six figure Haas machining centers and , IMO, one of the two best machinists that I have ever met.  He will not guarantee better than +/- .002".  He had done a significant amount of work for our company and is work is typically much better than that but his position is that if had had to stake is reputation on it, he quotes the conservative accuracy.  I can read out position to .0001" on the Tormach and typically set my coordinates to the tenths of thousandths but I would be only fooling myself if I though I was better than a thousandth.  Lost motion due to backlash, play in the ways, machine flexing, tool runout, and tool flexing all come into play.

In the final analysis, for most work, the .001" accuracy of the lower cost scales will meet the need.  If I am machining something that required a more precise fit, I come up close to the final dimension and make a measurement.  I then tweak the hand wheel slightly to finish the cut. 

I like the 2.5 and  5 micron resolution on the Tormach and my mill/drill but it comes with a cost.  If cost were not a consideration, I would go with a glass scale system.  However, the money saved by going with an iGaging type DRO can be applied to some other piece of gear.  

Bob


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## John Hasler

It would not be hard to interpolate a 5 micron scale to one micron.  The actual accuracy at the system level will not be that good, of course.


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## wawoodman

I'm using Shooting Star, and I'm quite pleased with it.

My biggest problem is user error: I kept picking up the fourth digit as the third. I fixed that with electrician's tape!


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## Doubleeboy

wawoodman said:


> I'm using Shooting Star, and I'm quite pleased with it.
> 
> My biggest problem is user error: I kept picking up the fourth digit as the third. I fixed that with electrician's tape!



I used a Shooting Star on my Clausing mill for 5 years before I bought a BP size mill and sold the Clausing with the DRO.   The problem for some (not necessarily wawoodman) is what happens when you take a field trip from one end of axis to the other, then back a few times.  The Shooting Star type of scale which is a ground rack of teeth, is not accurate enough to give you repeatability with better than a  couple thou.   If that is good enough, then its fine, but for what they charge you can now buy a glass scale rig from China that is considerably more accurate.  Having now used a Newall for 10 years I would say that is the gold ring, but since I bought mine they have gotten stupid expensive.  10 years later though its still works a new and has seen a lot of use.  If money were an object and buying today I would go glass scales from China or pay twice as much and get the type scales that Newall uses on the Chinese clones from DRO PROs.

Not beating up on Shooting Star, they just have been passed by with the arrival of relatively inexpensive glass scales from Asia.

cheers
michael


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## joshua43214

RJSakowski said:


> Interesting that the aliexpress link  claims 1 micron scale accuracy but the scale is labeled as 5 micron.  I have no personal experience with purchasing a DRO from a Chinese dealer but have read of issues regarding support.
> 
> Aside from that, the scale looks like a standard 5 micron glass scale.
> 
> Bob



The scales I received are 1um, not 5um. I had the same reservation when I purchased them. This is doubly confirmed by the DRO advancing in 0.002" increments (EDIT: 0.0002"). Like I said, I checked it against a verified 1" gauge block and it read dead on, I also verified repeatability of returning to a previous spot and it was always within 0.0002" no matter how far I moved the table. From what I hear, the Chinese have really gotten glass scale manufacturing down, it is the electronics that suck.

As for the rest, the whole idea of a DRO is to eliminate or minimize all the other errors from backlash and the like. In theory, if the scale reads accurately and precisely, the only error will be the actual run out of the spindle + machine flex + the error of the read head (you do lock unused axis, and take spring cuts, right?). Your buddy will not guarantee under 0.001" because that is all a run of the mill CNC will do, your buddy is probably a far better machinist than his machine. There is a reason all that stuff goes to second ops machines when high precision is needed. With care and patience, a hobbyist can mill to half a thou consistently.

For $350.00, I was not especially worried about support - all I really wanted was the scales. I figured this was an entire set up that costs slightly more than two scales from DroPros, about the same as one Eason scale, and only about $100.00 more than 3 iGaging scales. It was pretty much a no-brainer. The same store sells complete 3-axis 5um kits for less than 3 iGaging scales. They also sell Eason, Sino, and Sinpro, and other kits. I did have to call my bank to get the international purchase approved, and resubmit the order - bit of a hassle, but worth it. The money goes in escrow until I approve the sale (you have 30 days or something like that). I figured the worse case would be I was out some cash for a few weeks until it got refunded, or the display would fail and I would do the Android thing like I originally planned.


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## coolidge

I went with the Dro Pros EL400 2 axis on my lathe and 3 axis on my mill. These use magnetic scales and are made in India. The smallest/thinness scales of any DRO and the scales can be easily cut to length. One word of warning, if you are mounting the X scale to the mill table that's fine, but these scales are far too flexible to mount directly to the cast knee, base, or column of a mill. Its doubtful those surfaces will be flat and the least little bit out of flat will twist/bow these scales. Pay no attention to the instructions blabbering about grub screws and blah blah just purchase a length of aluminum bar and mount the scale on that, then mount that to the mill way easier.


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## BGHansen

I put a TPAC tools (tpactools.com) 4-axis (caliper type scale on the quill, glass slides on the table x/y/z) on my Jet JVM-830 for $485 delivered.  The unit is from mTech, similar/same as Sinpo.  Their 3-axis package is $455.  I couldn't be happier with my unit.  I had to make most of the mounting brackets which took around 8 hours.  WELL worth the time!  You'll love the addition to your shop regardless of what you chose.

Bruce


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## Eddyde

I'm considering ordering one but


joshua43214 said:


> The scales I received are 1um, not 5um. I had the same reservation when I purchased them. This is doubly confirmed by the DRO advancing in 0.002" increments


Is the read out resiolution only in .oo2"increments? Even the 5 micron scales give a read out in .0002"


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## joshua43214

Eddyde said:


> I'm considering ordering one but
> 
> Is the read out resiolution only in .oo2"increments? Even the 5 micron scales give a read out in .0002"


Sorry, it reads 0.0002", I miss typed. The scales I received marked as 1um, I would take a pic but I would have to remove the covers to do so.

You can set the display to just about any scale resolution (you can also set the number of decimal places). If you set the display to the wrong scale resolution, the displayed travel will not coincide with the actual travel. Mine is set to 1 1um scale.

I expect all the electronics are pretty low quality. I took extra care to make sure that the read heads stay fixed, and the scales move past them. I would not trust the wires going into the read heads to hold up for the long term if they are getting flexed each time the table is moved. The one feature the display either lacks, or I have not been able to figure out, is how to paste the result from the calculator to an axis.


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## RJSakowski

Josh,   Try this:  From the Grizzly manual.  Make your calculation using the calculator.  Hit the "Zero" key; the result will be subtracted from whatever position is displayed on the readout. The change is temporary and and hitting the "CE" key restores the original position.  You could make it permanent by moving to 0 and hitting "CE", then rezeroing the readout.

A question for you.  If you have a 1 micron scale, why have you set your readout resolution to .0002"?  I would think you would at least have it set to read to .0001".  The DRO Pros readouts display to .00005" when using 1 micron scales.

Bob


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## joshua43214

@RJSakowski Thanks! I double checked my manual, turns out I actually had the function disabled...

I also looked closer, and it is reading down to 0.0001", I just had not registered that it was doing this since I did the initial set up. Not sure now why I was so stuck on 0.0002", sometimes I just get an idea and get stuck... (I am sure there is a good reason though )
Either way, the scales are marked 1um. If I advance the table 0.0002" (for example) using a 1/10's DTI, the display will show 0.0002" movement, which is all that is important. The display does of course have a function for correcting linear error, along with shrink factors and the like. By the way, the unit did not include any mounting instructions, I used the instructions from Grizzly instead. The manual on the other hand is extremely good, not a single bit of Engrish in it, all nice clear English with examples and pictures. I suspect that this rig is actually a pirated version of one of the more expensive DRO's. The display looks suspiciously the same as the Sino.

As for using a 4 decimal place display, it is simply easier. This is just a Chinese mill, even a good Taiwan mill will only have a spindle accurate to 2/10's. One would need to move up to something pretty expensive before reading to 50 millionths is worth considering. I can count on the mill being accurate to a bit under 1 thou, so I only need to use resolution to 1/10th, any finer and I am beyond the ability of my machine and I will spend too much time hunting for 0. After all in practice, one can drill 5 holes, swap in a tap and thread the same 5 holes provided the display reads under 3/10ths of where the hole is supposed to be. No need to try to get it down to 0.00005", just locking an axis will move the table more than that, and leaving it loose puts us back up into the 5/10th's to 1 thou region of accuracy when milling.


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## Eddyde

joshua43214 said:


> They also sell Eason, Sino, and Sinpro, and other kits. I did have to call my bank to get the international purchase approved, and resubmit the order - bit of a hassle, but worth it. The money goes in escrow until I approve the sale (you have 30 days or something like that). I figured the worse case would be I was out some cash for a few weeks until it got refunded, or the display would fail and I would do the Android thing like I originally planned.


Being that you seemed to have a positive experience with the seller, I decided to take the plunge. However, I went with the Easson kit with the upgraded 1 micron encoders, $550 delivered. Dro Pros wants close to $1K for the same set up. Enough savings for me to take a chance, fingers crossed


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## joshua43214

Eddyde said:


> Being that you seemed to have a positive experience with the seller, I decided to take the plunge. However, I went with the Easson kit with the upgraded 1 micron encoders, $550 delivered. Dro Pros wants close to $1K for the same set up. Enough savings for me to take a chance, fingers crossed



I hope it works out well. One of the things that I liked about this dealer was the "extra cost" thing for buying upgrades. Before I found them, I tried to by 1um scales from an Ebay dealer who wanted me to do the deal outside of Ebay.

Don't panic if the box arrives looking like a banana. Mine looked like DHL had used it for a cricket bat, thing was bent nearly 45 degrees. Turned out the scales where well wrapped at one end, and the bent end had all the mounting hardware and covers. The display was in a second box.
	

		
			
		

		
	



Good thing it had that "fragile glass" sticker on it


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## Eddyde

OMG Now I won't be able to get any sleep till it arrives!!!


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## joshua43214

@Eddyde 
Don't forget to report back here on your experience.
I just ordered another DRO like the one I linked for my new mill that I am picking up Tuesday.
Would be really cool if it gets here about the same time I am ready to install it lol.
I'm not entirely sure what I will do with the old one. The cost of ordering the entire system is cheaper than ordering new scales. I might try to scrounge up some cheap scales and install it on the lathe, though I'd rather have magnetic scales for that (I think the display will still work with magnetic scales).
I may put up for sale here, it is sized for a PM25mv which I think is the same as a G075.
I will post a pic of the box, we can see who DHL dislikes more lol


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## Eddyde

Hey Joshua,

 I just checked the tracking, its supposed to be delivered today!


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## astjp2

I found a good newall unit with microsyn scales and went with that.  Now I just need to install it.  Tim


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## Eddyde

joshua43214 said:


> @Eddyde
> Don't forget to report back here on your experience.
> I just ordered another DRO like the one I linked for my new mill that I am picking up Tuesday.
> Would be really cool if it gets here about the same time I am ready to install it lol.
> I'm not entirely sure what I will do with the old one. The cost of ordering the entire system is cheaper than ordering new scales. I might try to scrounge up some cheap scales and install it on the lathe, though I'd rather have magnetic scales for that (I think the display will still work with magnetic scales).
> I may put up for sale here, it is sized for a PM25mv which I think is the same as a G075.
> I will post a pic of the box, we can see who DHL dislikes more lol


The DRO arrived today only 7 days after I ordered it.  I hooked everything up to test it out, all appears to be functioning perfectly. The quality seems very good for the price.  I will post pictures soon.


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## Ed ke6bnl

Eddyde what model did you purchase, getting ready to purchase and looking forward to your input.  There are many to choose from. I was looking at this one in 2 or 3 axis not sure
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3Axi..._77_91_80,searchweb201644_5,searchweb201560_9


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## Eddyde

Ed ke6bnl said:


> Eddyde what model did you purchase, getting ready to purchase and looking forward to your input.  There are many to choose from. I was looking at this one in 2 or 3 axis not sure
> http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3Axi..._77_91_80,searchweb201644_5,searchweb201560_9


I got the Easson 3 Axis. The transaction went very smooth. However, I ordered it from a different store then your link, so I cannot vouch for them.
This is what I bought: 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Eass...ital-readout-including-3-pcs/32269307525.html


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## Ed ke6bnl

I believe this one is the same seller for a 2 axis a little closer to my price range
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...scale-linear-encoder/1021179_32405224847.html

let us know how it goes on the install and pictures would be great good luck


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## joshua43214

My new DRO just arrived. DHL was much nicer to this one than the one I got before. I do have to say I find it impressive that if I order on Monday, it arrives the following Monday.
Now I just have to go through the whole process of figuring out mounting on my new mill...


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## Ed ke6bnl

I ordered one from your Ali seller,  may get it early next week 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## Ed ke6bnl

I just received my dro in good condition and bench tested and all works fine.  May be a week or so before I can get a chance to mount it. BUT is there any good details on how to do the setup after all is in place. The manual seems very confusing.  The scales need to be set to the correct accuracy and need to log in the type of scales used. anything else I am missing. Mine looks exactly like the Sino model


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## joshua43214

Ed ke6bnl said:


> I just received my dro in good condition and bench tested and all works fine.  May be a week or so before I can get a chance to mount it. BUT is there any good details on how to do the setup after all is in place. The manual seems very confusing.  The scales need to be set to the correct accuracy and need to log in the type of scales used. anything else I am missing. Mine looks exactly like the Sino model


If you got the same kit I did, the manual should be fairly clear on almost everything. Mine has step by step examples for using all the various functions and the like. It has no Ingrish, just clear English.
I downloaded the installation manual from Grizzly since my kit did not include any info.
To enter set up, just turn it on and hold down the period button with in a second of start up. The first thing to display is resolution, mine was set to 5, change it to 1 if you have 1um scales. I was having trouble setting this on my latest DRO until I realized it was set to metric instead of imperial. Just keep hitting the up or down button to scroll through the options. You exit set up by scrolling to "quit" and hitting enter or whatever passes for it. The only thing I had to adjust was resolution and direction for the x-axis scale.
You might need some aluminum angle and strip. It is expensive to buy from Lowes, get it from online metals or something if you have the time. I also needed some longer 4mm and 5mm screws.
Plan for either a single full day or 3 days in the evening. Try to keep the readheads fixed and have the scales move. If you must move the read head, add strain relief to the wire. Don't forget to add space above the scale for mounting the cover.


The x-axis read head is bolted to the casting with a machined spacer. The x-axis scale is spaced away from the table to allow oil from the ways to bleed past.
The y-axis scale is bolted to an aluminum strip. The strip has wedge shaped spacers that have slots milled in them. By moving the spacer up and down, the strip can be aligned parallel to the axis. The base casting itself is not parallel to the y-axis, so one wedge had to be slightly thinner than the other. The read head is screwed from underneath to a piece of angle that is in turn bolted to the arm coming down from the moving part. It was a tight fit, and I had to pre-assemble it.


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## Ed ke6bnl

joshua43214 said:


> If you got the same kit I did, the manual should be fairly clear on almost everything. Mine has step by step examples for using all the various functions and the like. It has no Ingrish, just clear English.
> I downloaded the installation manual from Grizzly since my kit did not include any info.
> To enter set up, just turn it on and hold down the period button with in a second of start up. The first thing to display is resolution, mine was set to 5, change it to 1 if you have 1um scales. I was having trouble setting this on my latest DRO until I realized it was set to metric instead of imperial. Just keep hitting the up or down button to scroll through the options. You exit set up by scrolling to "quit" and hitting enter or whatever passes for it. The only thing I had to adjust was resolution and direction for the x-axis scale.
> You might need some aluminum angle and strip. It is expensive to buy from Lowes, get it from online metals or something if you have the time. I also needed some longer 4mm and 5mm screws.
> Plan for either a single full day or 3 days in the evening. Try to keep the readheads fixed and have the scales move. If you must move the read head, add strain relief to the wire. Don't forget to add space above the scale for mounting the cover.
> 
> 
> The x-axis read head is bolted to the casting with a machined spacer. The x-axis scale is spaced away from the table to allow oil from the ways to bleed past.
> The y-axis scale is bolted to an aluminum strip. The strip has wedge shaped spacers that have slots milled in them. By moving the spacer up and down, the strip can be aligned parallel to the axis. The base casting itself is not parallel to the y-axis, so one wedge had to be slightly thinner than the other. The read head is screwed from underneath to a piece of angle that is in turn bolted to the arm coming down from the moving part. It was a tight fit, and I had to pre-assemble it.



Thanks Joshua, that was very helpful, did you have to use 1 2 3 blocks to check the reading and compare them to the 123 block  and change I think they call it compensation for any difference in the readings.??


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## joshua43214

@Ed ke6bnl 
I have not bothered to do any error correction yet. I just set the hand wheel to 0, and made a full turn. It read spot on +/-1/10th repeatedly. My mill has ground imperial lead screws, so I trust them to be pretty accurate. I will check it eventually with a gauge block. If you use a 1-2-3 block, measure it first as accurately as possible. You should also overtighten or partly lock the gibs so it takes effort to turn the wheels because sag and twist can skew the reading. Keep in mind that the faces of the 1-2-3 block and the backing block must be in the same plane, and even a tiny bit of dust between them can throw off the measurement when using a 1/10ths indicator - I prefer gauge blocks for this because they have smaller faces and can be wrung together. You could maybe use the standard from your micrometer instead. It makes no sense to check a 1um scale against something that has "loose" tolerances like a 1-2-3 block. My 1-2-3 blocks are all off by a few 1/10ths in all dimensions, squareness, and parallelity. Provided you get the scales and read heads parallel to under a thou, it should be pretty accurate out of the box
I had the same unit on my old mill and it did not require adjustment. My new mill has much higher tolerances, so I expect I will fuss with it some to get it consistent with the mill's specs.
I know the display will do both sin error and compression. Sin error is clear enough to me - it compensates for the scales being out of parallel to table movement. I am not sure what the purpose of compression is.


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## Ed ke6bnl

joshua43214 said:


> @Ed ke6bnl
> I have not bothered to do any error correction yet. I just set the hand wheel to 0, and made a full turn. It read spot on +/-1/10th repeatedly. My mill has ground imperial lead screws, so I trust them to be pretty accurate. I will check it eventually with a gauge block. If you use a 1-2-3 block, measure it first as accurately as possible. You should also overtighten or partly lock the gibs so it takes effort to turn the wheels because sag and twist can skew the reading. Keep in mind that the faces of the 1-2-3 block and the backing block must be in the same plane, and even a tiny bit of dust between them can throw off the measurement when using a 1/10ths indicator - I prefer gauge blocks for this because they have smaller faces and can be wrung together. You could maybe use the standard from your micrometer instead. It makes no sense to check a 1um scale against something that has "loose" tolerances like a 1-2-3 block. My 1-2-3 blocks are all off by a few 1/10ths in all dimensions, squareness, and parallelity. Provided you get the scales and read heads parallel to under a thou, it should be pretty accurate out of the box
> I had the same unit on my old mill and it did not require adjustment. My new mill has much higher tolerances, so I expect I will fuss with it some to get it consistent with the mill's specs.
> I know the display will do both sin error and compression. Sin error is clear enough to me - it compensates for the scales being out of parallel to table movement. I am not sure what the purpose of compression is.



I have a used Bridgeport that is in the 50's, with a J head, so I am sure I will be ok if I got the results you had. The reason I brought it up was my last mill a Rockwell I put Yuriy's Touch-DRO on and part of the procedure was to set the scales to match the Readout.  Thanks again.


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## Eddyde

joshua43214 said:


> The x-axis read head is bolted to the casting with a machined spacer. The x-axis scale is spaced away from the table to allow oil from the ways to bleed past.
> The y-axis scale is bolted to an aluminum strip. The strip has wedge shaped spacers that have slots milled in them. By moving the spacer up and down, the strip can be aligned parallel to the axis. The base casting itself is not parallel to the y-axis, so one wedge had to be slightly thinner than the other. The read head is screwed from underneath to a piece of angle that is in turn bolted to the arm coming down from the moving part. It was a tight fit, and I had to pre-assemble it.


I like your approach of putting the Y axis read head mount behind the scale, nice n neat. I have the same problem with my Y and Z axis scales aligning to the castings, I am going to try alignment washers http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/121/3244/=zvwaff I've had luck with these in the past aligning linear bearings to shafts. Hopefully, I'll be able to install my DRO soon.


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## Dman1114

You guys are all enablers  ....   i just purchased this for my grizzly knee mill

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High...xis-digital-readout-and-3-pcs/1556577283.html


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## Ed ke6bnl

Dman1114 said:


> You guys are all enablers  ....   i just purchased this for my grizzly knee mill
> 
> http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High...xis-digital-readout-and-3-pcs/1556577283.html



same unit I purchased, got it in about a week and it tested ok, but may be a couple of weeks to get started on the install. if you beat me to it lets see some pictures and how dids and how doos.


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## Dman1114

Dman1114 said:


> You guys are all enablers  ....   i just purchased this for my grizzly knee mill
> 
> http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High...xis-digital-readout-and-3-pcs/1556577283.html




wow that was quick.....   ordered on the 21st....  received it on the 27th..

I started a thread for the install.   I  also bought the Igage absolute for the quill 

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/dro-install-grizzly-g1008-knee-mill.40480/


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## alloy

Yup, you are all guilty.  You made me buy this last night 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3Axi...Linear-encoder-measure-tools/32410856762.html


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## Ed ke6bnl

Ed ke6bnl said:


> same unit I purchased, got it in about a week and it tested ok, but may be a couple of weeks to get started on the install. if you beat me to it lets see some pictures and how dids and how doos.


My aliexpress is now installed went pretty smooth and working very well, I would like to learn more on doing bolt hole with a start at X axis straight up got it working well with x to the rt. and using start at 0 and end at 360 but other starts I am confused.  but works well I am pleased with the price.


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## alloy

My DRO arrived yesterday and got the Y axis scale on.  Installed X scale and got it all dialed in and hooked up the DRO and the X scale is dead.  I can swap Y and X and the readout works, so bad scale.  No matter how I move it the position readout doesn't change. 

I just emailed the seller but even if he ships tomorrow I won't have it before the end of my vacation. It took 1 week before DHL picked up the original shipment after I ordered it, and 5 days to get here after that.

I need to make mounts for the Z scale and was going to use the new mill to do that instead of the Bridgeport.  So now I don't know if I should go ahead and make the Z scale mounts or not, depends on what the seller is going to do.  

This sure messes up my plan to get the mill finished and moved into position and put the Bridgeport up for sale


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## r.vial

I have a van Norman 22 lu made in 1943 and I want to put a dro on this what would u all go will I have to keep the cost down I will start with a cheap one.that will help me along.then get a better one.latter any help would be noce

Sent from my Z936L using Tapatalk


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## astjp2

Ebay is a viable option, buy one that will last, that way you only have to drill once.  Tim


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## TOOLMASTER

funny I don't remember ordering a boomerang.


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## cs900

alloy said:


> My DRO arrived yesterday and got the Y axis scale on.  Installed X scale and got it all dialed in and hooked up the DRO and the X scale is dead.  I can swap Y and X and the readout works, so bad scale.  No matter how I move it the position readout doesn't change.
> 
> I just emailed the seller but even if he ships tomorrow I won't have it before the end of my vacation. It took 1 week before DHL picked up the original shipment after I ordered it, and 5 days to get here after that.
> 
> I need to make mounts for the Z scale and was going to use the new mill to do that instead of the Bridgeport.  So now I don't know if I should go ahead and make the Z scale mounts or not, depends on what the seller is going to do.
> 
> This sure messes up my plan to get the mill finished and moved into position and put the Bridgeport up for sale


I know this is a bit old, but it may help other people as well. I just received one of these kits for my lathe and my Z axis scale was dead as well. I figured it was already dead so I'd try and "fix" it. Pulled the end cap off and slid the read head off the glass scale. Removed the little circuit card that's screwed to the head and cleaned the emitters and receivers with a Q-tip. Put it together and it's working wonderfully now.

Also for anyone looking to put one of these on a lathe. The way to switch it to diameter mode is to double the scale value for that axis. Manual is useless and has nothing about that. I randomly stumbled upon it.

Has anyone had any problems getting the radius functions to work? I keep getting an error on my screen after I enter all the values into the controller.


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## wayne.inspain

6 months ago I fitted some Chinese  3 axis dro's to my mill they cost £265 delivered. 5 micron scales choose your scale length up to 1 metre.
Arrived safe extensive fitting kit, instructions written in a language not spoken on this planet, or any in our solar system, far more accurate then
anything I have to measure with, loads of functions like pcd coordinates and stuff!  The scales look identical to the photos above.


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## N8TheGreat

Little old
hopefully you guys didn't let me down....just bought this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-a...7283.html?spm=2114.13010108.99999999.7.EMIKUL


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## FLguy

coolidge said:


> I went with the Dro Pros EL400 2 axis on my lathe and 3 axis on my mill. These use magnetic scales and are made in India. The smallest/thinness scales of any DRO and the scales can be easily cut to length. One word of warning, if you are mounting the X scale to the mill table that's fine, but these scales are far too flexible to mount directly to the cast knee, base, or column of a mill. Its doubtful those surfaces will be flat and the least little bit out of flat will twist/bow these scales. Pay no attention to the instructions blabbering about grub screws and blah blah just purchase a length of aluminum bar and mount the scale on that, then mount that to the mill way easier.


Yup they are good and so is customer service. I've got 'em on lathes and a mill Very happy with  'em.


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