Time for a new DRO...

[GeneT45]

My trusty Mitty DRO has a problem with the Y-axis scale. There's at least one point where it goes bonkers, perhaps two (I think two, but I haven't found the second one yet). Yesterday I took the scale apart and cleaned it, but the bad spot I identified is still there. The wipers that prevent ingress of fluids and chips though are shot, and the scale is no longer made by Mitutoyo, so no replacements are available.

So... I've been shopping DROs this morning, rather casually since I can work around the current problem(s) pretty easily at this point. The nice thing is that it just goes nuts in the bad area(s) and doesn't seem to lose counts anywhere, so when the display is stable it appears to be accurate with my testing.

This will also give me the opportunity to add a Z axis - something I regret not doing a couple decades ago when I bought the Mitty.

My first thought was TouchDRO, but I'd really prefer a dedicated display and the price of separate scales is more than the price of a DRO with those same scales, so TDRO is probably out. I have a TPAC on my lathe that I'm satisifed with, but Ditron has a nicer looking unit on Amazon for the same price. (The unit is $455, the scales, purchased separately, are $495 - go figure.

Any feedback on Ditron, or other systems I should look at?

GsT

 

[pacifica]

My trusty Mitty DRO has a problem with the Y-axis scale. There's at least one point where it goes bonkers, perhaps two (I think two, but I haven't found the second one yet). Yesterday I took the scale apart and cleaned it, but the bad spot I identified is still there. The wipers that prevent ingress of fluids and chips though are shot, and the scale is no longer made by Mitutoyo, so no replacements are available.

So... I've been shopping DROs this morning, rather casually since I can work around the current problem(s) pretty easily at this point. The nice thing is that it just goes nuts in the bad area(s) and doesn't seem to lose counts anywhere, so when the display is stable it appears to be accurate with my testing.

This will also give me the opportunity to add a Z axis - something I regret not doing a couple decades ago when I bought the Mitty.

My first thought was TouchDRO, but I'd really prefer a dedicated display and the price of separate scales is more than the price of a DRO with those same scales, so TDRO is probably out. I have a TPAC on my lathe that I'm satisifed with, but Ditron has a nicer looking unit on Amazon for the same price. (The unit is $455, the scales, purchased separately, are $495 - go figure.

Any feedback on Ditron, or other systems I should look at?

GsT

which ever you get be sure the documentation is easy to read and use and find. Easson seems to be good that way. Dro pros has good videos.
Electronica has a nice screen. Cheapest are simple x y z measurement/readouts( just a simple counter) . More expensive do more: https://www.dropros.com/Electronica...m#Electronica_Magnetic_Scale_2_Axis_Mill_Kits: .

 

[mmcmdl]

Last system I installed was by Fagor . Way to complex for a BP in my eyes . It worked great but I just didn't need all the bells and whistles . YMMV .

 

[Ischgl99]

I have a Ditron on my mill for about the last year, it has been working well. The manual was a bit confusing on some things, but better than the manual for my Sino on the lathe. I bought the version with the tachometer, I like having that on my display instead of a separate unit.

 

[GeneT45]

Last system I installed was by Fagor . Way to complex for a BP in my eyes . It worked great but I just didn't need all the bells and whistles . YMMV .

Same. With my current DRO I use the super fancy features - absolute and incremental. Nothing else. If I had more features I might try them, but I have some fancy features on my lathe and know that if it's not something I use regularly, I'm going to forget how to use it.

GsT

 

[GeneT45]

I have a Ditron on my mill for about the last year, it has been working well. The manual was a bit confusing on some things, but better than the manual for my Sino on the lathe. I bought the version with the tachometer, I like having that on my display instead of a separate unit.

Do you recall any of the specifics about the manual being confusing? I've downloaded it, and it seems reasonable, but I haven't at all read it in its entirety.

GsT

 

[Ischgl99]

Do you recall any of the specifics about the manual being confusing? I've downloaded it, and it seems reasonable, but I haven't at all read it in its entirety.

GsT

Sorry, I got my Sino on the lathe mixed up with the Ditron on the mill. I needed to learn Chinglish for the Sino, but the Ditron is pretty good to understand. I have the Ditron D80, the bolt hole circle function is nice with the graphics showing which position you are on. It can do a corner radius as well, but I haven’t tried that yet. One thing I wish it had is setting the tool diameter to machine the outside of a box shape, it can do a pocket by telling you where to start, how much you want to step over for the next cut, end point, etc., but I haven’t found a way to set the cutter diameter to offset for external features.

 

[WobblyHand]

I only bought the scales, but I had good luck with the Ditron. You can buy them directly from the factory, although I bought them off AliExpress. Their installation manual was rather good, considering what one usually gets, with recommended installation tips.

In my case, since this was on my lathe, I integrated the scales into my ELS. So the ELS does the display. So I can't offer an opinion of Ditron's display.

I rather like the TouchDRO interface, I find the ordinary DRO mill consoles not very intuitive for some operations. I often have to consult the DRO manual to figure out a function that I don't use often.