# Easson 12B DRO lathe install with glass and SRA M-DRO magnetic scales



## Ulma Doctor (Mar 17, 2019)

very nice work!


----------



## mikey (Mar 17, 2019)

Very nicely conceived and done, Mark, as always!


----------



## bill70j (Mar 18, 2019)

mksj said:


> Cross slide was straight forward, I use some small spacer washers to set the standoff heights. Since the reader is directly mounted the holes needed to be spot on. I may at some point add some spacers to standoff the scale further from the cross slide to allow access to the cross slide lock, but so far I have not seen any creepage/movement of the cross slide when turning.



Mark:

Very nicely done. 

You say you are thinking about gaining access to the cross slide lock using a standoff, should it be needed.  On your PM-1340GT, I remember you added a custom-made lock to the front of the cross-slide rather than using the stock lock.  Is there a reason you are considering something different for your ERL-1340?

I am asking because I used a standoff to get to my PM-1440GT's lock, but it is inconvenient in some circumstances, so I have been thinking about installing something like you did on your 1340GT.

Thanlks,  Bill


----------



## mksj (Mar 18, 2019)

Thank you for the comments. After installing the tailstock magnetic scale and seeing how well it worked, one consideration may be to go with all magnetic scales with the ES-12B/C DRO head, the total price difference would have been about $200 more. But I have used glass scales before and never had a problem, they are just a bit more finicky on the install. The magnetic scales are small enough as to not obscure the cross slide lock or the magnetic scale which comes with a sticky back and could be directly mounted to the cross slide. One would need to see if they have 1 micron scales.

Bill, thank you for bringing up that point on the cross slide lock. I have given that consideration of doing a lock on the headstock side vs. standing off the scale. Haven't really decided which way to go if needed, personally I hate fiddling with a wrench or allen key  for these locks and on my PM-1340GT they all had lever locks. I preferred the cross slide lock on the 1340GT on the headstock side because it was quick and very easy to set the degree of friction. It was really needed because on the 1340GT the cross slide shifted in position when turning, and also the ability to set the level of friction/lock. I used it constantly. So on the ERL I will probably put the lock on the headstock side if needed. The rigidity of the ERL-1340 has been impressive so far, I am getting much cleaner cuts/surface finish with much more aggressive DOC. It is a 2400lb lathe, so the additional weight does make a big difference, also very quiet with no vibration. I was doing some offset boring with my 4J chuck being significantly lopsided jaws the other day, ant the lathe was rock solid.

So far on the ERL-1340 I seem to be using the steady rest and follow rest a bit more, so I am still looking at different options. The ERL-1340 the pitch of the feed threads is different so I have not seen any  axis movement when turning/threading, this may change as it wears in.   You would think that lathe manufactures would have come up with a better solution for the lock positions given the wide use of DRO's, but the same designs have been around for a long time.
Mark


----------



## wildo (Nov 5, 2019)

mksj said:


> After installing the tailstock magnetic scale and seeing how well it worked, one consideration may be to go with all magnetic scales with the ES-12B/C DRO head, the total price difference would have been about $200 more. But I have used glass scales before and never had a problem, they are just a bit more finicky on the install. The magnetic scales are small enough as to not obscure the cross slide lock or the magnetic scale which comes with a sticky back and could be directly mounted to the cross slide. One would need to see if they have 1 micron scales.



mksj- I found this thread doing some research on the Easson scales. I have an Easson ES-12B DRO head, but I don't have scales for it. I was trying to find info about how to determine which scales are compatible, and I'm finding this frustratingly difficult. How would you determine if the magnetic scales are compatible with the Easson head or not?


----------



## mksj (Nov 5, 2019)

I contacted M-DRO/SRA (seem to be the same), I had also spoken to DRO Pros in the past and they were a bit more pessimistic as to comparability with their magnetic scales, but did not say they would not work. Some magnetic scales the pin out requires an adapter plug to give the corresponding pin out. M-DRO/SRA indicated the pin out and the signal matched the ES-12B (see chart), I verified the compatibility with them. Their magnetic scales work great, no issues. Just remember that for a  lathe you want a 1 micron scale on the cross slide.  M-DRO also carries the Easson glass scales which are very good quality. I would surmise that most glass scales would work with the Easson. If you are looking at 2 or 3 scales, M-DRO sells packages of 3 magnetic scales with a spare head with brackets for less than the cost of 3 mag. scales.


			http://www.machine-dro.co.uk/docs/mdro/console-encoder-compatibility_techincal.pdf
		









						3 Axis M-DRO Mill Digital Readout Package including 350mm, 450mm and 750mm Cut to Length Magnetic Encoders
					

3 axis mill function digital readout package with three magnetic encoders. The encoders offer a very compact profile size and can be cut to any length to custom fit the machine being installed. The package is suitable for a range of mills including smaller bench top to larger industrial...




					www.sra-measurement.com


----------



## darkzero (Nov 5, 2019)

Wildo, most DRO systems these days from China use TTL signal. I've had 2 Easson displays & both use TTL. As long as the mag scales you are looking at output TTL signal & use d-sub 9 connectors you should be good. I've never used mag scales before & wasn't away they offered then with different wiring configurations so may want to check the pinouts like Mark mentioned to be sure. Most scales these days use the d-sub 9 connectors but M-DRO offers adapters if needed.

SRA is now the US distributor for M-DRO which is great. Back when I got my M-DRO DRO display I had to get it from Allendale in the UK. M-DRO is based in the UK.


----------



## ddickey (Nov 18, 2019)

If you buy from the UK M-DRO the price is $160 less than buying in the US.
Easson 12B and M-DRO Magnetic scales.


----------



## pbiYoung (Jul 18, 2022)

mksj said:


> Just completed a Easson 12B DRO install on my ERL-1340, I opted for the stock glass scales for the X and Z0 axis for cost reasons, but wanted to use the 3rd input on the Easson 12B DRO head. When I previously looked into the use of magnetic scales a few years ago with the Easson DRO's I was told that they may not be compatible (at least the those from DRO Pros). At the time I went with the EL700 on my mill with 4 axis magnetic scales. On my lathe, I did not need all the features of the EL700 and the Easson 12B is about 1/3rd the price. The stock glass scales are 1 micron slim line scale for the X axis and a 5 micron glass scale for the Z0 axis. The installs were pretty straight forward on the ERL-1340, I almost never use any of the stock brackets that come with these DRO's.
> 
> Cross slide was straight forward, I use some small spacer washers to set the standoff heights. Since the reader is directly mounted the holes needed to be spot on. I may at some point add some spacers to standoff the scale further from the cross slide to allow access to the cross slide lock, but so far I have not seen any creepage/movement of the cross slide when turning.
> 
> ...


I am noticing from your pics that this console is able to correctly display lathe coordinates. Do you use the "Y" button to input "Zo" data ?


----------

