DRO for BP Which One? 2Axis

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Kroll

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Morning guys I know this subject has been beaten to death but I need to ask.I'm not a pro,not every day user,but just a plain jane just starting out beginner doing this for fun kinda guy.I have little money in the kitty so while I have my mill apart I want to research and purchase a DRO.Guys I would love to purchase a top of the line DRO if my pockets were deep but they are not,like the song says"If devil could dance in empty pockets he have a ball in mine w/10 piece band etc"You get the point ,so my budget is around 500.00 mark but could go up little more maybe to 600. I have been looking at DRO pros and would love to get the EL400 with mag scales but I just can't drop that kind of money so I am looking at their cheaper models with glass scales w/3yr warranty for 600.00 again thats at top of my budget.Some guys here have purchase DRO's off ebay for as cheap as 300.00.Guys if your budget was very limited what did you go with,any regrets,are you happy and if possible could you point me to what you purchase?With my budget,I just don't want to make a mistake cause there's no going back.If you have some picks or links please post.
Guys my mill is a BP series#1 2hp w/42" table I believe is from the early 70's
 
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You can get a TPACtools 2 axis for $365 free shipping. The Z axis is by far the most difficult to install on a Bridgeport. I don't know what type of mill you have. I have actually used my 3 axis (with Z) more than I had thought though and am glad I got that additional axis.

If fact, I'm planning on picking up a simple one for my quill as well. TPACtools has one of these for $39. If I had know when I bought my DRO, I would have added one of these to the order as well for the free shipping.

I'm very happy with my unit and for my use don't see a need to pay more money for one.

Ted
 
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I love my 3 axis glass Chinese DRO on the Bridgeport. The Z was annoying, but there are some ways around it and I wouldn't want to be without it now.

If you can live without vendor support, and frankly we're more useful around here than most vendors, it's a good option.
 
I think the EL400 with mag scales is an excellent choice. I've had the same system on my Bridgeport for over 6 years and have had absolutely no problems. It's easy to install and believe it or not you will "grow" into many of the functions that now might seem frivolous. When I purchased mine I had no intention of using the circle interpolation functions or even the metric scale. My machine has both imperial and metric dials so I thought it was a bit of unneeded redundancy.

It didn't take long to start using features I never had in the past. I'm glad I held out for it, and didn't cheap out on something I would have kicked myself for later. Personally I would hold off until I could afford the EL400.

I had my machine over 12 years before I finally sprung for a DRO. It was just before the 2012 elections. I had a big job to complete and the phone was ringing off the wall with political adds and monetary requests. Every time the phone rang I didn't know if it was a customer, vendor, or just another politician. When I would stop the machine I had to write down the coordinates so I could continue when I returned. Too often I forgot to write them down and had to retrace my steps.

Enough was enough so I finally called DRO Pros and ordered the system. The best part was they guaranteed that if it was installed one day after the current election cycle it would minimize the political phone calls for at least 2 years. I made the purchase and held them to their guarantee. It must still be working because since then the political calls have the political calls have diminished by 90%. Best purchase I've made in years.
 
I NH other lucky. A friend who knew I just got the mill also knows a guy who restores and repairs machines. We took a ride to his shop. He had a used Heidenhhain 2 axis DRO. I got it for $400. I just finished cutting the X axis scal, as it was 10" too long. Works great.
 
I have had and installed a number of DRO's on various machines, from very inexpensive to very expensive. These days there is not much difference in accuracy between ones that sells for $300 vs. $3000. My last installations were the EL700 from DROPros, nice but expensive. At you budget level, I would stick with glass scales, merely because they are 1/2 the price of a DRO with magnetic scales. The better glass scales have double lip seals and will last a long time, there is more risk of contamination if using flood coolant. I have seen reports by others that some of the very inexpensive generic glass scales failing because of poor seals.
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/sino-and-sinpo-glass-scales.57572/

Most DRO's either work up front or fail soon thereafter because of a component failure. I have also seen people report that the generic Chinese displays getting buggy when the temperature is very cold. Service and warranty are considerations, but in that respect you get what you pay for. Aliexpress is the least expensive, there are also a few eBay vendors to consider (but often this is the same model at almost 2X the price). I always factor in the reviews and recommended vendors that others have used, see previous postings.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...216.html?spm=2114.12010108.0.0.11df52f5ZywvsJ
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-A...e-for-lathe-milling-grinding/32865869856.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-A...ptical-Linear-scale-5-micron/32870164714.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Axis-Mil...-DRO-kit-for-Bridgeport-Mill-NEW/163163966584
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...dout-including-3-pcs/1021179_32269307525.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...xis-DRO-system-and-3/1021179_32789719488.html

If you are just looking at the numbers then you might consider the first two above, if you want a bit more than than consider Ditron (D60, D80) and Easson ES-8A, ES-12B/C) are very good mid priced brands. TPAC is also very well regarded as an inexpensive well built DRO. I went with an EL700 and 4 axis magnetic scales on my mill because I had fitment issues, and also wanted some additional functions of the EL700. But I would have been just as happy with the Easson and used a separate quill DRO at 1/3rd the price.

Based on your budget
 
As mksj mentioned the magnetic scales can be cut for fitment purposes. I am not aware of any glass scales that the manufacturer says can be modified.
 
mksj said:
I have had and installed a number of DRO's on various machines, from very inexpensive to very expensive. These days there is not much difference in accuracy between ones that sells for $300 vs. $3000. My last installations were the EL700 from DROPros, nice but expensive. At you budget level, I would stick with glass scales, merely because they are 1/2 the price of a DRO with magnetic scales. The better glass scales have double lip seals and will last a long time, there is more risk of contamination if using flood coolant. I have seen reports by others that some of the very inexpensive generic glass scales failing because of poor seals.
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/sino-and-sinpo-glass-scales.57572/

Most DRO's either work up front or fail soon thereafter because of a component failure. I have also seen people report that the generic Chinese displays getting buggy when the temperature is very cold. Service and warranty are considerations, but in that respect you get what you pay for. Aliexpress is the least expensive, there are also a few eBay vendors to consider (but often this is the same model at almost 2X the price). I always factor in the reviews and recommended vendors that others have used, see previous postings.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...216.html?spm=2114.12010108.0.0.11df52f5ZywvsJ
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-A...e-for-lathe-milling-grinding/32865869856.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3-A...ptical-Linear-scale-5-micron/32870164714.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Axis-Mil...-DRO-kit-for-Bridgeport-Mill-NEW/163163966584
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...dout-including-3-pcs/1021179_32269307525.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...xis-DRO-system-and-3/1021179_32789719488.html

If you are just looking at the numbers then you might consider the first two above, if you want a bit more than than consider Ditron (D60, D80) and Easson ES-8A, ES-12B/C) are very good mid priced brands. TPAC is also very well regarded as an inexpensive well built DRO. I went with an EL700 and 4 axis magnetic scales on my mill because I had fitment issues, and also wanted some additional functions of the EL700. But I would have been just as happy with the Easson and used a separate quill DRO at 1/3rd the price.

Based on your budget
Click to expand...
If you like the lcd screen which shows a picture of the operation you are doing than the least expensive is the ditron d80 and for about $100 more there is the easson es-12b.I use a d80 and it includes a help feature so you don't have to get out the manual, instructions and procedures are in the unit : faster.
 
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