New Beta Build - This one is for lathe owners

[ycroosh]

Ho Folks,
I just pushed another update to the beta track. This one has some more tweaks and features, mostly for the lathe mode.
In no particular oder, they are:
Tachometer readout now can show cutting speed, in addition to RPM. If the app is set to metric mode, the units are meters per minute; in imperial mode they are surface feet per minute. The calculation is based on the absolute value of the X axis. I.e. you'd need to set the absolute dimension to the diameter/radius of the part, and the DRO will show real-time cutting speed as you move the cutter.

Tachometer output can be derived from an RPM sensor, but if you don't have one, there is now an explicit "Direct Entry" mode, where you can just tap the readout and enter the RPM. If your lathe (or mill) has fixed pulleys, there is also a way to enter the list of fixed RPM values, and then select from that list:

You might have noticed that the Y axis is showing up after X and Z. This is intentional - in lathe mode Y can be used for the tailstock, etc., so I moved it into the third slot.
Another new addition is the "Measure Dimension" dialog (along with a way to set up a caliper input, which is separate from the main outputs). For now the main use is to directly set the diameter (i.e. I have a caliper connected to the DRO. Once I take the first cut, I can measure the diameter, and tap "set dia" to set the X axis value). In the next release this will be used to measure threads (using thread wires). The code for thread measurement is about 1/2 done, but I haven't figured out the user interface yet.

Other tweaks:
* Added the angle measurement function to the lathe mode. It's useful for measuring/confirming tapers, or cutting arcs (for those with mild masochistic tendencies).
* Reworked the main screen layout to render better on small devices
* Fixed a bunch of dialog sizing issues
* Reordered function strip buttons in lathe mode to move commonly used buttons to the left

All of these changes are in the basic version (the screenshots show TouchDRO Plus because my test adapter is a TDA-420).

Hope y'all like this
Regards
Yuriy

 

[Razzle]

Awesome features. I intend to add a tailstock scale to my lathe. I also really like the defined rpm list. Fantastic feature to add to my 1947 Logan 820. Thanks again Yuri.

 

[MidniteMachinist]

Awesome features. I intend to add a tailstock scale to my lathe. I also really like the defined rpm list. Fantastic feature to add to my 1947 Logan 820. Thanks again Yuri.

Do you have a Z-axis scale on your lathe? If so, I highly recommend adding a second read head to that scale, and attaching it to the tailstock base. You can sum it with the quill scale, and then you don't have to worry about losing position if you retract the tailstock to clear chips.

I did this on my mini-lathe, and it's been awesome.

 

[ycroosh]

Do you have a Z-axis scale on your lathe? If so, I highly recommend adding a second read head to that scale, and attaching it to the tailstock base. You can sum it with the quill scale, and then you don't have to worry about losing position if you retract the tailstock to clear chips.

I did this on my mini-lathe, and it's been awesome.

This sounds like a great idea.
Do you have any photos of your setup?

 

[MidniteMachinist]

This sounds like a great idea.
Do you have any photos of your setup?

I actually made a video series about it! Skip to about 18:30 in part 3, to see the final result and testing.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

It works great. Definitely up there with my favorite mods to my lathe. I have iGaging scales on my lathe, but there's no reason you couldn't add another read head to a glass scale, and achieve the same result.

 

[NegativeK]

I've planned on getting TouchDRO for a while, but features like this are just getting me more and more excited.