Hi! My Name is Yuriy ...

ycroosh

ycroosh

Active User
H-M Supporter - Commercial Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
884
Hello everyone,
Many of you don't know me and don't know what the heck is TouchDRO, therefore let me introduce myself and explain what I'm doing here:

My name is Yuriy, and TouchDRO is my DIY DRO project targeted primarily at hobbyists, makers and enthusiasts alike. It uses an Android tablet/phone for display and a wireless [BlueTooth] adapter to interface it with all sorts of scales, ranging from cheap Chinese calipers to 1-micron glass and magnetic scales.

I've been a forum member here since 2013, although I've been mostly just quietly lurking. By trade I'm a Software Engineer, currently working at Amazon Web Services on video encoding. Building stuff in my machine shop (AKA "the messy side of the garage") or tinkering with electronics are my other two favorite pastimes. This is where TouchDRO comes in: in 2012, when I started the project, commercial DROs were still insanely expensive and Shumatech was perpetually out of stock, so I decided to cobble together a DIY DRO for myself; a friend talked me into starting a blog and posting my progress there. A few months later, Hackaday featured TouchDRO on their site and within a few weeks the app went from 10 active users to over 5000 so I just kept working on the app; at the moment (according to the stats I get from Google Play store) TouchDRO has north of 350,000 installs worldwide and growing.
I look at TouchDRO as an "after hours"/hobby project. Although I sell pre-made adapter boards on my website, I work on TouchDRO more for fun than for the money. In fact, only about 0.1% of all TouchDRO setups in the wild use an adapter purchased from me; the rest are scratch-built.

This brings us to the question of why am I here, and why am I paying for the "Commercial Membership". Frankly, for two reasons:
  1. I want to support the site. I frequent several different forums and I like the crowd at Hobby Machinist. People are generally pleasant to deal with here and I don't see much of "my d**k is longer and thicker than your d**k" here.
  2. In the past, I've gotten a lot of good feedback from HM members about various ideas I had about TouchDRO. Right now I'm working on a new release of TouchDRO and having a dedicated sub-forum might make it easier to bounce my ideas of somebody without littering other forums.

All that said, if you are an existing TouchDRO user or are interested in it, this forum is a good place to tell me how much TouchDRO sucks, how amazing it is, what else you would want it to do, or simply ask questions.

Best regards
Yuriy
 
Hey @ycroosh I saw your reply to my earlier question about the DIY aspects of your gear.

IIRC you sas I need to put the board in a box right? And that the iGaging scales are a direct fit?
Lastly, can you point me at suitable enclosures?
Many thanks!
 
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Welcome Yuriy. I've gone the igaging route on my mill and have contemplated adding the TouchDRO but last I saw it was a little too much DIY for me. I grew up around electronics guys and everybody has their skill set. I learned heavy electronics is not mine. I've not seen how your TouchDRO has evolved for well over two yrs so it's great you are going to have a forum where I can check it out. There have been several threads here about solving problems with the TouchDRO scattered about so it will nice to have it all in one place.
 
mikey said:
Hi Yuriy. I think most hobby guys have heard of your TouchDRO project so you're sort of celebrity!

It's a major advantage to have someone with your experience on the forum and I just wanted to welcome you!
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Mikey, thank you for the kind words.
 
I have one of your boards on my PM 727 mill, works good for me. I went with it because I wanted to combine the quill and z axis for ease of use. I couldn't and probably will never be able to afford a four axis dro other then yours.
 
C-Bag said:
Welcome Yuriy. I've gone the igaging route on my mill and have contemplated adding the TouchDRO but last I saw it was a little too much DIY for me. I grew up around electronics guys and everybody has their skill set. I learned heavy electronics is not mine. I've not seen how your TouchDRO has evolved for well over two yrs so it's great you are going to have a forum where I can check it out. There have been several threads here about solving problems with the TouchDRO scattered about so it will nice to have it all in one place.
Click to expand...

C-Bag, a lot has changed over the last few years. I've invested a lot of time into pre-assembled boards to make them as DIY-free as I can. If your iGaging scales use Micro-USB cables, TouchDRO adapter is pretty much plug-and-play, besides the box (you still need to find one and machines a few openings). Same for the new Shahe scales with rectangular display. Glass scales need a bit of work: since D-Sub pinouts are different between different manufacturers, the kit I sell comes with pre-crimped press-fit connectors that need to be inserted into the right positions. No soldering required for any of the three. For older iGaging DigiMag scales with Mini-USB connectors you can use Mini-to-Micro adapter cable, so no soldering either. iGaging Absolute DRO Plus with Mini-USB cables is the only one that needs additional soldering.

Hope this makes sense.
Yuriy
 
Hi Yuriy,
I've been using your TouchDRO for a few years now 'down under'. Thanks very much for your support early on and for your work in general! Looking forward to reading more from you directly here.
 
C-Bag said:
Welcome Yuriy. I've gone the igaging route on my mill and have contemplated adding the TouchDRO but last I saw it was a little too much DIY for me. I grew up around electronics guys and everybody has their skill set. I learned heavy electronics is not mine. I've not seen how your TouchDRO has evolved for well over two yrs so it's great you are going to have a forum where I can check it out. There have been several threads here about solving problems with the TouchDRO scattered about so it will nice to have it all in one place.
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Jump in. I think you'll find it easy. And then you'll be thinking "How did I ever do without this..." IMO - YMMV.
 
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