How do you route your cables?

[AlexPeel159]

So in the middle of installing DRO scales on my mill but have not done anything with the cables yet. I was just wondering how people are securing the cables? More specifically I am interested in the portion where you have to leave slack in the cable to account for table movement. Do you do anything to guide the cable so it does not fall where it wants and catch on something. Thinking very loose spring or bungie. Am I overthinking this and I can just leave them dangling?

As an aside super jazzed because I just finished the Y axis scale install tonight, just got done calibrating it./ Its going to be so much easier to finish any fixtures for my other two scales with both the X and the Y working instead of just the X.

 

[RJSakowski]

The cables on my two mills and the lathe are sheathed in flexible stainless sheathing for protection. I used nylon wire guides to secure the cables to the machine frame, leaving enough of a loop to allow for total travel. The cables are routed below the table on the mills and below the ways on the lathe so they are not likely to get caught while using the machines.

I positioned the first guide close to midway on that axis travel and left enough slack to reach the end of travel in either direction plus some extra. One has been working without fail for 19 years, another for 11 years and the lathe DRO for 8 years. Here is a post about the lathe install.

Search results for query: DRO Install

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[AlexPeel159]

Really like what you did there. Those fixtures to secure the cables look great. Also never thought about anchoring them at the midpoint of the travel. That would really reduce the amount of slack at the worst point. You have given me a lot to think about.