I just got lucky on ebay and want to pass on a good deal to others looking for glass scales. DRO PRO is selling off some new old stock glass scales that are nice cheap. I just purchased 3 this morning. Go to ebay and type DROPRO and their listing should pop up. These are complete kits with covers and all hardware included a 1 year warranty through Dropbox. Prices you can't beat by a good company. I guess they used to sell these in their store.
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Glass scales
- Thread starter Oldseabee
- Start date
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- Feb 26, 2021
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Thanks for the suggestion. BTW, it's "DROPROS". Gotta add the S, or the search won't find them.
I'm thinking about ordering one for my lathe. My total carriage travel is 775mm, so I assume the 800 would be good?
I'm thinking about ordering one for my lathe. My total carriage travel is 775mm, so I assume the 800 would be good?
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2013
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- 884
You should check the documentation for the scale. In most cases 800mm means total travel (actual length is about 100mm more), but some creative sellers started listing the scale dimension and the actual travel is buried in the fine print. DROPros are a reputable outfit, so I wouldn't expect such tricks from them, but better check than be sorry...
Regards
Yuriy
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- Feb 26, 2021
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Found some documentation. The stated length is measuring length. So the 800 should be good for my application. These units are too large for my cross-slide, though. I need a smaller magnetic scale for that, I think.
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Got my scale today. A couple of questions...
The blue plastic piece on one end of the assembly is shattered. I took it off. It seems to be a cheap device to hold the head steady during transportation. Is this assumption correct?
Second, the read head tilts fairly significantly to the side, relative to the scale itself. There seems to be some degree of spring force resisting straightening it out. I think I can force it into a parallel arrangement with the scale during mounting, but I'm wondering if this is how it's supposed to be?
The blue plastic piece on one end of the assembly is shattered. I took it off. It seems to be a cheap device to hold the head steady during transportation. Is this assumption correct?
Second, the read head tilts fairly significantly to the side, relative to the scale itself. There seems to be some degree of spring force resisting straightening it out. I think I can force it into a parallel arrangement with the scale during mounting, but I'm wondering if this is how it's supposed to be?
Last edited:
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The blue plastic is also used to set the correct spacing between the pickup head and the scale. The pickup head and the scale should be parallel. I woulde be concerned about possible damage to the pickup head.
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- Dec 18, 2019
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The read head might be damaged. But I think you can check that by testing it. The read head is held in place with some interesting looking ball tipped springs inside the unit. I had to pull my scales apart to replace the read head.
On my mill, there is no plastic spacer (on the X axis). The read head is held in the correct place (parallel and level) via the mounting to the mill.
On my mill, there is no plastic spacer (on the X axis). The read head is held in the correct place (parallel and level) via the mounting to the mill.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2019
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They can have 4 or 5 wires. +5V, GND, A, B and optionally Z for the TTL level scales. Z is an absolute reference mark on the scale. I suppose there is also the cable shield, making it 5 or 6 wires...
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- Feb 26, 2021
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After posting this thread it occurred to me that the plastic spacer is likely an alignment aid. I can piece it together for that purpose, I think. Regarding damage, I messaged the seller to see what they have to say. Regarding testing, I'm not sure how to do that just yet. I'm on the bottom of the learning curve at the moment...