Okay; what's the best setup on a PM 25 that would benefit the newb/hobbist? I'm talking about Power Feed, DRO, ect. I'm on a budget minded constraint so bear that in mind. Need some cash left for the Tooling. Here's how I'm thinking: PM25 with DRO AND X Power feed and not a CNC situation. I've managed to sell some other stuff and have approx. $2500 to plunk down. BTW, what are the advantages of DRO without CNC?
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Couple of Questions about a PM 25MV
- Thread starter Capt45
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You will not go wrong with a DRO. The power feed is also nice. If I had to choose one over the other the DRO first because you will not have to keep track of handwheel turns and a lot of operations are much easier such as finding center, bolt patterns, etc. The DRO will help a lot if you are just starting out by taking a lot of the math out of the equation, you will have enough to keep track of with out that. I think the PM25 is also a good choice.
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I'm pleased after four years of usinlg my PM25 with installed DRO and home built X feed. Its done what I asked of it with no problems. I'd hate to go back to hand powered feed, although I did a couple of cuts 8" long with hand feed....
I've owned my PM-25 for just a year now and I'm very happy. I don't have a power feed and have never thought that I needed it. I have made some changes that make it more user friendly for me, though.
I added a power feed to the head, eliminating the hand crank. It's basically a windshield wiper motor powered by 12DCV.
I changed the X and Z locks to knobs that make them easier to use than the supplied ratcheting locks that seemed to catch on everything.
I changed the Y locks to a cam type system where a pull on a lever locks both simultaneously.
The quill DRO is not backlit so can be hard to read, so I removed the chip guard and used the rod for it to create an adjustable light that shines on the screen. The light is nothing more than a single diode that is powered by the same 12DCV power supply as the head motor.
I bought a piece of Plastiblocks 1" sheet and cut it to size to lock the quill for changing collets and tools. This eliminated the use of the spanner wrench, which made a world of difference.
Locktite the quill DRO screws. There are 4 of them with 2 being behind the faceplate. If they come loose, like mine did, your readings will be way off. Keep a supply of CR2032 batteries on hand for this DRO. It's easy to walk away from the machine and forget to turn off this DRO.
I added a power feed to the head, eliminating the hand crank. It's basically a windshield wiper motor powered by 12DCV.
I changed the X and Z locks to knobs that make them easier to use than the supplied ratcheting locks that seemed to catch on everything.
I changed the Y locks to a cam type system where a pull on a lever locks both simultaneously.
The quill DRO is not backlit so can be hard to read, so I removed the chip guard and used the rod for it to create an adjustable light that shines on the screen. The light is nothing more than a single diode that is powered by the same 12DCV power supply as the head motor.
I bought a piece of Plastiblocks 1" sheet and cut it to size to lock the quill for changing collets and tools. This eliminated the use of the spanner wrench, which made a world of difference.
Locktite the quill DRO screws. There are 4 of them with 2 being behind the faceplate. If they come loose, like mine did, your readings will be way off. Keep a supply of CR2032 batteries on hand for this DRO. It's easy to walk away from the machine and forget to turn off this DRO.
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- Dec 27, 2014
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X and Y DROs, yes, the quill DRO is all that's needed. the head moves up and down but not while machining. I used a windshield wiper motor for the Head, too, and a power seat motor for the X. both 12V.
I made a "dog clutch" from a 1/2" drive socket, to connect the motor to the X lead screw on the left. Half inch shaft coming from the motor, hex nut pinned to the lead screw. hardware to hold the two together, soft ware to adjust speed.
I made a "dog clutch" from a 1/2" drive socket, to connect the motor to the X lead screw on the left. Half inch shaft coming from the motor, hex nut pinned to the lead screw. hardware to hold the two together, soft ware to adjust speed.
I have the 3-axis DRO that you can order with the machine. I ordered it that way after recommendations from a friend and now I wouldn't want to be without it.
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- Mar 21, 2013
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I had a 3-axis DroPros on my PM25 and loved it. Using dials/counting turns is so 19th century. 
I used the quill dro once or twice when machining a pocket/plunge cut, but the rest of the time I moved the head and not the quill because I found it to be more accurate. The quill mechanism had too much slop in it. But this was an older PM25, not the new one. YMMV.
I used the quill dro once or twice when machining a pocket/plunge cut, but the rest of the time I moved the head and not the quill because I found it to be more accurate. The quill mechanism had too much slop in it. But this was an older PM25, not the new one. YMMV.