3 or 4 axis DRO for 9x42 mill

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reidry

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I have an ailing 2 axis Mitutoyo on my home hobby '81 Bridgeport 2J and the eBay quill digital gauge has died too. Seems a good time upgrade. Ideally I'd like to spend no more than $1k.

I use the mill for all kinds of odds and ends projects on our endurance road racing cars (ChampCar Endurance Series, formerly ChumpCar), some hobby gunsmithing and anything else that comes up.

I saw DRO Pros has a Cyber Monday sale, but only on the absolute magnetic EL400 units, not the EL700. The EL700 has some nice features like the pocket and frame features and showing the position of the tool in real time with relation to the milling function being used.

I'm completely willing to be my own tech support and i am not worried about poor English manuals or manuals in foreign languages. Is there any other DRO that is available OEM direct or via Ali Express that has as rich a feature set as the EL700? Has anyone tried buying an EL700 direct from Electronica via Indiamart?

Also, am i over-rating these assist functions?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan
 
Pictures are at the end of the thread :http://www.hobby-machinist.com/thre...-on-a-9x42-bridgeport-mill.56281/#post-525753

I bought two 2 axis units and one 3 axis unit from the same seller. I learned on the first one that I needed to specify that I wanted the readout to be "english model" so the on screen instructions would have meaning for me.

A wrench fall off the mill table and hit the cable going into the Z axis reader head and it quit working. After finding high prices on a replacement scale on Ebay I contacted the seller directly by email and they drop shipped a replacement scale from Hong Kong in about a week for $100 shipped.
 
Holescreek said:
Pictures are at the end of the thread :http://www.hobby-machinist.com/thre...-on-a-9x42-bridgeport-mill.56281/#post-525753

I bought two 2 axis units and one 3 axis unit from the same seller. I learned on the first one that I needed to specify that I wanted the readout to be "english model" so the on screen instructions would have meaning for me.

A wrench fall off the mill table and hit the cable going into the Z axis reader head and it quit working. After finding high prices on a replacement scale on Ebay I contacted the seller directly by email and they drop shipped a replacement scale from Hong Kong in about a week for $100 shipped.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I installed the current Mitutoyo on my Bridgeport about 10 years ago. It's issues are internal, the 9V battery backup leaked and I had to do some "white wire" jumper repairs to the motherboard and replace the battery leads. That was a few years back, now the head unit is taking a long time to startup and sometimes fails to register one of the two scales.

Thanks for the heads up on specifying the English version. How do you communicate the length of scales, email before the purchase, email after purchase? Same question for how to communicate upgrading the scales from GS10 to GS11?

Thanks,

Ryan
 
Communicating with overseas Ebay sellers is the most challenging part of buying cheap scales. It isn't just the language barrier because most of the sellers I've dealt with read and write english, it's that they are typically drop shipping product from the factories and they have no personal knowledge of how they work or even what the technical terms mean. When I had questions about the first set I bought the seller had to forward them to the factory rep who told them the answer then they had to convert the info to english before emailing it to me.

Most Ebay sellers only give you a choice of scale lengths so if you want a 1 micron scale you need to find a seller offering them as an option. Sellers expect you to specify what lengths and options you want via private messages after you've paid.

I think the majority of home gamers are willing to spend more money for product (made in the same Chinese factories) that comes with a website and 800 number where the guy that picks up the phone speaks english. I know the thought occurred to me (after the scale mishap) that maybe I made a mistake buying direct, but it all worked out in the end after trading a few emails.
 
I have the DRO PROS EL700 on my mill setup with 4 axis and magnetic scales. Bill (William) who is a HM forum member also has an El700 on his PM 935 mill. It is a bit pricey but it is a nice unit and a feature rich display, and the display is very bright and clear (a real plus as my eyesight gets worse). It only comes with magnetic scales, setting up the spindle axis was a bit challenging, but I am happy with the setup I have. All scales are 5 micron, so you have 0.0002" resolution, and the magnetic scales seem to be very accurate from my measurement. The scales are easier to setup then glass scales, usually not a big deal except for the spindle axis. You can sum the Z and U axis, and a host of other functions. I did get the touch probe and set it up. Price wise it is relatively expensive, but probably the least expensive 4 axis model relative to say an Acu-Rite or Newall.

So overall a nice unit, but a few things that you need to give consideration too. No where does it tell you that the buttons are capacitive touch screen, which is not as positive as membrane or button switches. They do not like "my" oily fingers, so sometimes it takes another one or two tries to activate a button. The display as shipped comes with a very short support arm, like 9" center to center, so almost useless because it locates the display behind the spindle handle. I machined an additional 12" arm that attaches to the 9". Evidently there is an option of an additional arm, somewhere on the site. The touch probe only does centers and distance, not edges, so you cannot accurately touch a wall to get a 0 DRO edge position. You can calculate it, but the best repeat accuracy I could get out of the probe was 0.001". It is the same touch probe that Tormach sells (32310 - Passive Probe SPU-40), although theirs has a different plug. The Tormach SPU-40 sells for $229, the DRO PROS TP-000 probe lists at $795, so if you op to buy one alone then you save a lot by going with the SPU-40 and adding a small jack that connects to pins 4 and 5 (NC passive contact). I did change probe tips to a larger ball and a shorted stiffer shaft which was an improvement over the stock break away stylus. So these passive touch probes are better than traditional mechanical edge finders, but I use a mechanical dial Hiamer which is 2-3X more accurate and does edges. In this price category, there are probably a few other DROs to also consider. I do like the graphical displays, in particular when you start using the advance milling functions.

My recommendation if you are trying to keep the budget under 1K, would be to go with a 3 axis Easson 12B/C with glass scales which run about $700-800 from US sellers (you might save $50-100 from China, but probably worth buying in the US for service and warranty) and get a battery operated spindle DRO, which is a lot less expensive and a much easier install than a standard scale. I went with magnetic so I could trim the spindle scale to fit. Magnetic scales are bit more immune to setup and contamination, so if using flood coolant probably a good choice.

EL700 installed with extended arm that I machined from billet.
20161030_131342.jpg20161030_130520.jpg

Spindle axis, all the parts I machined, the stock kit ones did not work for my install.
20161020_175240.jpg20161023_092631.jpg

Knee Z axis is mounted flat to the wall of the electrical cabinet it is on an adjustable aluminum beam for adjustment.
20161023_092935.jpg20161023_093158.jpg

Y axis uses the machined standoffs on the knee, scale is mounted to an aluminum beam.
20161030_125833.jpg
X axis is pretty much a traditional setup.
DRO - X and Y.jpg
 
Eddyde said:
I had a great experience buying on AliExpress. I got a Easson brand DRO for hundreds less than Dro Pros. The guy 'Willson' I bought from was very knowledgeable and helpful.
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I got a DRO from "Wilson" today. So did a friend on this forum. 3 axis, ANY length scales up to 1000 mm (custom made per order, over 1000mm to 3000 mm at additional price), slim scales at the same price. .0002" (.005 mm) resolution. I paid $227.80 and free freight via UPS. Other resolution scales available. Wilson can communicate well in English, and the operator's manual seems to be written in good English. Arrived today, checked it out, it works and looks good. Now to install it...
 
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Bob Korves said:
I got a DRO from "Wilson" today. So did a friend on this forum. 3 axis, ANY length scales up to 1000 mm (custom made per order, over 1000mm to 3000 mm at additional price), slim scales at the same price. .0002" (.005 mm) resolution. I paid $227.80 and free freight via UPS. Other resolution scales available. Wilson can communicate well in English, and the operator's manual seems to be written in good English. Arrived today, checked it out, it works and looks good. Now to install it...
Click to expand...

Was there any type of customs fee or taxes in addition to the price of the DRO
 
I was looking at the link above from Eddyde and see they have the ES-12C DRO with 3 GS10 glass scales for $473.80 shipped, well that is really hard to beat, I have not seen the ES12B/C at this price as complete systems from any vendor previously. A number of HM member's have the newer ES-12B or C (same model different display orientation) and they are great DROs, well worth the additional spend if you want a graphical display and easier to use milling functions. I have the older ES-12 on my lathe and it works wonderfully. You could also purchase a 1 micron slimline scale for the spindle axis on a mill or for the cross slide on a lathe.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...igital-readout-and-3/1021179_32783651186.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...id=805cd386-b2ca-4e52-a327-4a59c00f91f4&tpp=1
 
Tink said:
Was there any type of customs fee or taxes in addition to the price of the DRO
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No taxes, fees, or customs duty, and none expected. Anyway, the value is below the threshold value for goods for personal use. When this stuff comes UPS or Fedex, it might as well come from Kansas City, pretty seamless...
 
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