DRO tool heights

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Brento

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Does anyone know of a DRO that will remember a tool offset of a few tools for a manual mill?
 
The Grizzly DRO family will remember tool offset by virtue of the SubDatum points. I expect that the other clones will do so as well. The subdatum point essentially does whatever offset you wish for x, y, and z. To use as a tool offset, I would touch off an arbitrary standard or a dial indicator on a known position and zero the ABS Z axis. My personal choice is a tenths reading digital dial indicator. When the indicator reads zero, I zero the ABS z axis.
I would then touch off the tool on the known position and zero the SDMxxx z axis. I would repeat this for all the tools I planned to use, each one having a different subdatum. To shift the z axis zero, pick another point , say the top surface of the workpiece and, usiong the standard or dial indicator, rezero the ABS z axis. All of the subdatum points will track accordingly.
 
Do you know which DRO from Grizzly that is? Im actually getting the Grizzly G0704 in a month or so.
 
I found them i cant affor a 2000$ DRO lol knda sucks i wish they would make an ipad app that you can use for tool offsets.
 
Brento said:
Do you know which DRO from Grizzly that is? Im actually getting the Grizzly G0704 in a month or so.
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Here is an example of the Grizzly DRO
http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-x-20-x-16-3-4-3-Axis-Digital-Readout-for-Mills/H7848
The DRO Pros system is essentially the same, although I haven't personally verified it. Their prices are better.
http://www.dropros.com/DRO_PROS_Easson_Milling_Machine_Digital_Readout.htm
Finally, a number of members have bought DRO's from China and had good luck with them. Again essentially the same readout but not personally verified.
https://www.ebay.com/p/3-Axis-Digit...ision-Linear-Scale/868900301?iid=361710901814
 
Unless you are using something like the Tormach TTS which has a positive z axis stop, tool heights will not be precisely repeatable. The seating depth of an R8 or MT arbor will vary with drawbar tension. A drill chuck actually pulls the tool out slightly on tightening.

Prior to having the TTS system, I would touch off each tool upon loading in to the mill, the exception being operations where z axis position wasn't important. With the TTS system, I use digital height gage and digital dial indicator. I zero my dial indicator on my work and the height gage to the dial indicator and measure the offset for each tool and enter the values in my tool table.

With the CNC, the tools are automatically referenced by tool number. With my mill/drill with the Grizzly DRO, I would enter the tool offset values as subdatum points.
 
Im planning on doing the tormach system
 
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