DRO for Vertical Mill or Lathe - Info & experiences

[tjb]

Happy to report: Success on the installation!

Given this was my first attempt at installing a DRO, I'm sure I wasted a lot of time designing, measuring, fabricating, re-measuring, re-designing, etc. Probably a little overkill on the adage, 'measure twice, cut once', but in the grand scheme of things, I'm glad I did. I made a couple of design changes in the process that are vast improvements over my initial ideas. Finished wiring the unit into the lathe about an hour ago, and just thrilled that everything works as it should.

One mishap: While troubleshooting the wiring, I managed to knock the monitor off the lathe and onto the concrete floor. I'm now the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind monitor with a slight, unobtrusive chip on the plastic casing in the upper right corner. (Eat your hearts out.) But look at the bright side. I can attest to the tolerance level on a crash test. And I am emancipated from the bondage of worrying about that first scratch or ding. Life is good.

No pictures yet. Need to clean my shop first.

And a special thanks to all those who loaded this thread with wise counsel, sage advice, and helpful opinions:
Dan, thanks for guidance in ordering. Hadn't heard from you in awhile. Hope your installation is going smoothly.
Bob, thanks for the recommendation. It's a good choice, and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.
mksj, as always, your observations and technical recommendations are invaluable.

Only thing left is to butcher a little metal.

Regards to all,
Terry

 

[middle.road]

*GADS*, it's been a week already? Working well - used it extensively over the weekend to get out a side job. Makes it so much easier.
Still haven't got around to the 'Z' installation - yet.
Did add an 8" extension to my Jota arm arranangement. Discovered that the cables could stand to be about 12" longer.
Need to change that around a bit. I managed to clean up all the cables and runs. I've got them semi tied down until I'm sure.
Took a piece of 1/8"x1w aluminum and using some 3M double-sided tape stuck it to the top of the 'X' scale as a temporary guard/shield until I come up with something better and can make a run to metals supermarket.
One issue that arose is that the florescent 4'er that I have above the mill 'drowns' out the display. Had to temporarily put a piece of cardboard for a shade on top of the display.
Need to double-check my 'Y' mounting. And get replacement wipers from Wilson...

 

[tjb]

I did the same thing with double-sided tape on my lathe's x-axis. Because of the configuration, mounting the guard in the normal fashion just wasn't going to work. I used the same guard provided, but just stuck it to the top of the scale with the tape. I think I'm going to leave it that way. It works.

Been working on cleaning, cleaning, cleaning; moving the lathe (long story, don't ask); and mounting the monitor today. Almost done with fabricating a mount. Mine didn't come with a mount, so I'm starting from scratch. Should finish tomorrow.

I think I'm gonna like it.

Regards,
Terry

 

[middle.road]

Replacement wipers arrived yesterday, along with two end caps. Packages extremely well.
These end caps looks much better than the ones that came on the scale.
They never did answer my question as to where I could purchase additional wipers for the 2nd set of grooves...

Really enjoying having a fully functioning DRO. Still haven't got the 'Z' mounted though. -hehe

 

[tjb]

Replacement wipers arrived yesterday, along with two end caps. Packages extremely well.
These end caps looks much better than the ones that came on the scale.
They never did answer my question as to where I could purchase additional wipers for the 2nd set of grooves...

Really enjoying having a fully functioning DRO. Still haven't got the 'Z' mounted though. -hehe

That's good news, Dan.

Anxious to hear how the mounting goes on the z-axis. I'm VERY pleased with the 2-axis setup on my lathe. It's kinda like a microwave. (For you younger hobbyists, that means: "Once you've used it, you wonder how you ever lived without it.")

Hope I'm wrong, but I think there's a possibility I may be nearing the market for a 3-axis on my mill. Lately, the x-axis has been acting up. Occasionally, it will show a reading that is way off from what I know it to be. It never happens (so far) when I'm actually moving the table on that axis; only when it's on but standing still. And it's always off by exactly 0.395". In addition, two or three times, the readout has shown 'Error' on the x-scale. If I turn off the DRO, hold my mouth right, stand on one foot, and turn it back on, I'll get a 'zero' reading and all is well. Hopefully, it's trash/coolant accumulated on the scale. If not, I might as well get a 3-axis. If that happens, I may be picking your brain on the z-axis mount.

Regards,
Terry

 

[middle.road]

(breaking out the feather duster here...)
(18) months later...
Where were we? I still don't have my 'Z' installed.
Did you get one for your mill and I've missed a thread?
How's the lathe DRO working?
Seeing the new LCD panels and I want one.

That's good news, Dan.

Anxious to hear how the mounting goes on the z-axis. I'm VERY pleased with the 2-axis setup on my lathe. It's kinda like a microwave. (For you younger hobbyists, that means: "Once you've used it, you wonder how you ever lived without it.")

Hope I'm wrong, but I think there's a possibility I may be nearing the market for a 3-axis on my mill. Lately, the x-axis has been acting up. Occasionally, it will show a reading that is way off from what I know it to be. It never happens (so far) when I'm actually moving the table on that axis; only when it's on but standing still. And it's always off by exactly 0.395". In addition, two or three times, the readout has shown 'Error' on the x-scale. If I turn off the DRO, hold my mouth right, stand on one foot, and turn it back on, I'll get a 'zero' reading and all is well. Hopefully, it's trash/coolant accumulated on the scale. If not, I might as well get a 3-axis. If that happens, I may be picking your brain on the z-axis mount.

Regards,
Terry

 

[Winegrower]

Possibly this is making a point about the Z axis on a mill. X and Y are indispensable but for me, I would probably never get around to installing a Z either. In fact, I put on a quill DRO ( fancy digital caliper type) awhile ago. The battery has been dead for 6 months, haven’t missed it.

 

[tjb]

(breaking out the feather duster here...)
(18) months later...
Where were we? I still don't have my 'Z' installed.
Did you get one for your mill and I've missed a thread?
How's the lathe DRO working?
Seeing the new LCD panels and I want one.

Man, that's ancient history! Yes, I did get the DRO for my lathe, and it's been great. I am waiting on shipment of another lathe which will already have DRO installed. I have X and Y DRO on my mill, but like our friend, Winegrower, I have a digital quill reader (Mitutoyo) instead of Z DRO. Works fine, so I've never even considered the Z scale.

Regards,
Terry