Hi guys,
I finally got all 3 Ali Express DRO's installed yesterday-- and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have helped me do this project. I'm a "newbie" so the project gave me practice at milling (brackets), measuring ( Making sure scales were parallel), etc. etc. It took me 2 weeks!! Probably would have taken you guys 2 days-- but at least it's done and it works. I took pics but don't see the need to upload them unless someone requests more "Ali Install pics" -- there are already a lot out there.
A few notes for other new guys who might be contemplating this:
Ordering the correct scale length: on their website they say:
"After you place order, pls leave a massage with the travelling length or total length of X, Y, Z scales that you need, thanks". I took them at their word and just sent them the actual mill travel distance in mm, and they added a little "cushion" of about 1.5 cm of additional sensor travel on each end. This worked out just fine.
I received a scale that was erratic--read sometimes and flashed without reading other times: Wilson Huang at Aliexpress was actually very responsive and helped me take apart the erratic "x" axis. He responded to my questions by email or using the Message Center on Ali Express website within 24 hours and extended the warranty 60 days. The problem with my "x "scale actually turned out to be not the scale, but a tiny bit of plastic on the plug that plugs into the monitor that was not cut off after the plug was removed from the mold or however it was made (this prevented the plug from seating correctly in the female plug on the display)-- now it works reliably. As others have noted-- the plugs are pretty cheaply made--we'll see how they hold up.
The red plastic packing between the reader and scale: held in place by 4 tiny phillips head screws-- the guys on this forum were a great help-- but here's some add'l info: remove only the two screws that attach the reader head to the scale until the scale is completely installed, then install the scale/reader and use the red spacer as a guide--it is just the thickness of the space you need between the reader and the scale- then remove the second set of tiny screws that attach the red plastic to the reader and remove the red plastic thing. I found out during the install that one end of this red spacer prevents the reader from traveling an extra cm to the end of the scale-- so you have a bit more travel than you think if you just consider the reader travel with the red spacer in place--.
Protecting the glass scale inside each unit: I had to mount my "z" axis in such a way that oil/chips/etc. will fall directly on the reader head and can easily get inside the scale and onto the glass scales that are etched with the .005mm marks that the scales read. The supplied cover does not protect against this in my case. The only way I could figure to protect this is with a rubber mat over the area were the stuff falls down onto the reader/scale. I hope this doesn't become a problem!
More on glass scales: had I known there was so much fuss about keeping the glass scales on these things clean-- I might have opted for magnets scales-- I suspect they're not so sensitive to dirt/dust that WILL find it's way onto the glass eventually. BTW-- does anyone know if the glass scales can be cleaned??
Once again THANKS for all the help on this forum-- don't honestly know if I would have bought a DRO direct from China if I had not had the help available on this forum.
Best regards,
Bob
