Dro's On Budget For Mill

[Dan_S]

Could ya'll explain 1um scale,this is all new to me.What does this do for ya,what's the other choice?

um means micron 1um = 0.00003.93701" This is the resolution of the scale. You also need to consider the accuracy, repeatability, and hysteresis of the individual units.

Dropros has a good chart of the glass scales they sell part way down this page.
http://www.dropros.com/DRO_PROS_Digital_Readout_Scale.htm

 

[alloy]

Guys that have the 2 axis,any regrets vs 3axis?If you had a do over,would you go with the 3 axis? Aliexpress sure would be at the top of my budget,but if Alloy wasn't having problems I would jump on it.Maybe its just the seller that's the problem for warranty,but went to TAPCO Tools looks like they sell the same thing

For me the biggest problem was the communications. The way the seller was talking it was my fault for improper installation. I've installed a number of DRO's and every one worked out well for me. When he sent the video I realized he was saying that the scale itself was not put together properly. It was a 5 minute fix to get it working.

I have to say he kept his cool with me, I'm the one that got frustrated. So honestly I would buy from the seller again. He did communicate with me on a timely basis, just the language gap cost an extra day of my oh so short vacation. I had everything planned out and this glitch upset my apple cart.

But realizing the cost was substantially less than anywhere else and I saved several hundred bucks I would do it again.

On the 3 axis question I wouldn't go any other way. I like having the Z readout together in one unit. My Bridgeport has a 4 axis from TPAC and I find I rarely use the K axis scale, so I went with the 3 axis unit with the new mill.

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

DRO is the best thing I did for my mill, finally got around to doing it after about 10 years of owning it and what a pleasure to center work and not have to worry about slop in the dials. also great for bolt holes, Sold the mill about two weeks after the install, so when I got the new to me mill it was the first thing to be added, after the new year going to install x power feed. for the few dollars for the Z axis it was a no brainer, and I got it the exact same length as the y axis so if the Y goes I can steel it from the less needed Z axis

 

[RJSakowski]

Could ya'll explain 1um scale,this is all new to me.What does this do for ya,what's the other choice?

5x better resolution. It doesn't mean a lot for most people as we typical don't work to that kind of precision. The 5 micron scales resolve to .2 thousandths. It is only a minor annoyance when centering to not be able to set the position to .xxx5 (it will default to .xxx4 or .xxx6). If using on a lathe, it is a little more of an issue because the change in diameter is twice the scale reading but again, it is less than a thousandth.

Edit: Sorry Dan, I didn't see that we were on page 2.

 

[joshua43214]

Dang, I hadn't seen that model on Aliexpress at all during my browsing around the last several weeks.
@~$350 for 1μm - that's very decent, and just a few bucks more than (3) glass scales alone.
Do you happen to know if they use roller bearings in the heads or just rub blocks?

They use rollers.
When I found the set, I ha actually just been looking for 1um scales to go with TouchDro. I found this instead. I figured worst case was that the display would die and I would just go with the Android set up. Considering the whole rig costs the same as just two glass scales from DroPros it was a no brainer.

As for 2 vs 3 axis. On my old mil, I used the z-axis constantly because I had to raise the head frequently for tool changes. On my new mill, the z-axis is collecting dust on the bench. I will get around to installing it, but so far it has only been a minor annoyance not having it. Either way, I would go with 3 axis.

On 1um scales. The other option is the "standard" 5um scale. a 1um scales will just have better resolution, so when trying to work to 0.001" you have less problems with rounding error. It is important if you have a quality spindle on a rigid machine, and you have to re-zero the DRO as you move around a part. It is debatable if it is worth the money for 95% of us. My reasoning is that if it is not too much more, then it is worth it.

 

[Dan_S]

Edit: Sorry Dan, I didn't see that we were on page 2.

No worries my friend, it happens to me all the time.

Something else to consider, is a 4 axis system. A decent dro will let you sum the quill and knee.

 

[great white]

I am pretty electrically challenged, but have always pondered building my own. Any chance of a tutorial, there, Great white?

It's all here: http://www.yuriystoys.com/

I'm just following his lead. Gives pretty much a step by step of the process.

I imagine that I'll get around to some kind of DRO sooner or later, but right now I'm in no rush. I use dial indicators on my lathes and mills and they've worked just fine for what I've been doing.

The electronics aren't too hard either.

I'd use my dials if I could. Way too small for me to reliably see on my old Atlas TH42. DRO has nice and big digital numbers and it shows me the actual travel instead of having to account for the backlash in my old, worn lathe.

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

It's all here: http://www.yuriystoys.com/

I'm just following his lead. Gives pretty much a step by step of the process.





I'd use my dials if I could. Way too small for me to reliably see on my old Atlas TH42. DRO has nice and big digital numbers and it shows me the actual travel instead of having to account for the backlash in my old, worn lathe.

I found the touch dro was easy to build BUT the programming was a impossible for me, I had one fellow on the website walk me through it and it finally worked and worked well. good luck

 

[great white]

I found the touch dro was easy to build BUT the programming was a impossible for me, I had one fellow on the website walk me through it and it finally worked and worked well. good luck

Yeppers, saw that.

I copied the write up and have it on a word doc.

Just in case.....

 

[middle.road]

They use rollers.
When I found the set, I ha actually just been looking for 1um scales to go with TouchDro. I found this instead. I figured worst case was that the display would die and I would just go with the Android set up. Considering the whole rig costs the same as just two glass scales from DroPros it was a no brainer.

As for 2 vs 3 axis. On my old mil, I used the z-axis constantly because I had to raise the head frequently for tool changes. On my new mill, the z-axis is collecting dust on the bench. I will get around to installing it, but so far it has only been a minor annoyance not having it. Either way, I would go with 3 axis.

On 1um scales. The other option is the "standard" 5um scale. a 1um scales will just have better resolution, so when trying to work to 0.001" you have less problems with rounding error. It is important if you have a quality spindle on a rigid machine, and you have to re-zero the DRO as you move around a part. It is debatable if it is worth the money for 95% of us. My reasoning is that if it is not too much more, then it is worth it.

Oh-boy... I was just surfing the store at the link you provided in post #15 earlier, and they've got a 5μm set for only ~$290.
There is however a timer on the listing counting down and it's currently at 6 hours+ at the time of this post.
Chewing on this, the (3) Ditron scales on Ebay will cost ~$311.00 ---- *SIGH*

If only we had unlimited budgets for our shops - eh?