Another Chinese Magnetic Scales Thread

jlficken said:
Well, I’m interested to see what you come up with for packages and pricing as it’s going to be 4 or 5 months before I can use my mill again so I’m not in a rush to buy a DRO kit.

I do wish it was possible to find a tablet that didn’t have a battery in it at all.
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It will be well before 4-5 months, but I am not going to sell the scales as a package (almost sure of that). It almost never makes sense to buy a set of magnetic scales. Optical scales are better in almost every regard - more reliable, more accurate, and less expensive. The only reason I'm looking into selling magnetic scales is that many smaller machines don't have space for optical scales on one or two axes. I still recommend getting optical scales for any axis where they fir, and a magnetic scale when you absolutely must.

As far as a battery goes - for decent tablets this is not an issue at all. LiPo batteries die from undercharging and overcharging, and degrade slightly with every charge cycle. A decent cell will loose 20% of it's capacity after 300-500 charge cycles. Most modern tablets never charge the battery to 100%. They show you 100% when the battery is at 95%-98%, and many are even more conservative.
If you leave the tablet plugged in, it will run off the USB port (the BMS will bypass the battery). The battery will go through a charge cycle may be once a week. My original tablet (this one: https://www.yuriystoys.com/2013/12/new-dro-for-my-sieg-x3-mill-finished.html) is still alive, charges normally, and holds the charge as expected). It's been sitting in my garage for 10+ years (until I sold the mill this summer).
 
SouthernChap said:
Depending on what you paid for them, I believe it might be quite possible they're not actually Ditron or if they are, are from Ditron's scrap/reject bin.
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I think Ditron has a store on AliEpxress, so they might be real Ditrons. That said, if the scales work, they are at least "OK". It's really hard to screw up glass scales enough to make them unusable. The worst I've seen (besides a scale being dead on arrival) was scratched glass encoder strips that created dead spots. I don't recall, but it might have been a forum member here that ran into this. Other than that, the encoder strip and the reader are commodity off-the-shelf parts now, and the technology is inherently accurate.
 
ycroosh said:
I think Ditron has a store on AliEpxress, so they might be real Ditrons. That said, if the scales work, they are at least "OK". It's really hard to screw up glass scales enough to make them unusable. The worst I've seen (besides a scale being dead on arrival) was scratched glass encoder strips that created dead spots. I don't recall, but it might have been a forum member here that ran into this. Other than that, the encoder strip and the reader are commodity off-the-shelf parts now, and the technology is inherently accurate.
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Oh, I guess I got the wrong impression (it wouldn't be the first time, I've got my ideas arse about face and I'm sure it won't be the last :oops::grin:) from your recommended glass scales page. I thought you said Sino and Ditron were mostly counterfeits on AliExpress and if you want genuine scales, best buy from them direct.
 
SouthernChap said:
Oh, I guess I got the wrong impression (it wouldn't be the first time, I've got my ideas arse about face and I'm sure it won't be the last :oops::grin:) from your recommended glass scales page. I thought you said Sino and Ditron were mostly counterfeits on AliExpress and if you want genuine scales, best buy from them direct.
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Ditron sells direct as well as via AliExpress. I bought my Ditron scales from AliExpress, via Ditron's official factory store, and the rep there told me they also sell direct to the consumer.

I'd be wary buying "Ditron" scales from other suppliers on AE, as they could very well be thirds or rejects. I bought a different brand scale which didn't work out for me (physical size just wouldn't work) and all I got from them was the scale and a couple of worthless chrome plated plastic brackets. With the Ditron, I got an actual manual, written in English, that covered their various products and very helpful instructions on installation (and some worthless brackets). With brand X, there was zero documentation. The brand X glass scale did work, but it just couldn't fit on my lathe. I must of ordered the wrong thing...
 
SouthernChap said:
Oh, I guess I got the wrong impression (it wouldn't be the first time, I've got my ideas arse about face and I'm sure it won't be the last :oops::grin:) from your recommended glass scales page. I thought you said Sino and Ditron were mostly counterfeits on AliExpress and if you want genuine scales, best buy from them direct.
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Oh, you're not wrong in general. A lot of Ditron and Sino branded scales on AliExpress are fakes/ QA rejects. I'm sure some are not...
I was making a more nuanced comment:
The scales that I list on the recommended scales page are there based on the assumption that whoever is reading it is looking for "good scales that will work reliable and don't cause headaches". Very few stories that end with "... I bought scales on AliExpress" start with "I was looking for good quality DRO scales ...". With that in mind, if the scales show up at carl0s's doorstep, power up and show some readings - it's already half of the battle. If the readings don't stop randomly - great. Thus, my statement that they are "OK" :)
 
Now that I think about it, the scale I'm using on my mill isn't even ditron branded. Who knows what brand it is. I cut the cable off the shattered accu-rite scale to make an adapter, changed the dip switches inside accu rite III box to match the resolution and it works fine. I did buy a full Ditron kit for my lathe but I haven't fitted it and it's been in the garage for at least 18 months. I have bought the Touch DRO TDA420 for the mill and will hopefully get it fitted in the next 6 months

Just had a look thru my emails. It was SNSNTDRO Official Store https://campaign.aliexpress.com/wow...AAAXPo&_currency=GBP&_lang=en_UK&fromApp=true
 
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