How I mounted up my inexpensive IGaging DROs, to my lathe using 3M VHB mounting tape.

Just a couple quick comments - Rubbing alcohol may contain Glycerin, which may affect adhesion - look for 90% or higher to reduce the amount of Glycerin. Also, you can find the VHB tape in small quantities at auto parts stores - I've even bought it in the tire and lube section of Walmart. they call it trim tape or something like that.
 
Rubbing alcohol & isopropyl are not considersd to be the same. Well the main ingredient in rubbing alcohol is isopropyl but they were meant for different applications. Never knew or heard that rubbing alcohol had glycerin in it though but it would make sense. Isopropyl from the drug store is 91%, rubbing alcohol is 70%. I commonly use 99% isopropyl but for electronics. I thought the other ingredient was just water. I also use a lot of denatured alcohol for cleaning & I think it would be better to use than rubbing alcohol.

Is this 3M VHB stuff removeable or is it considered to be a permanent adhesion & is it very thick? I already installed a DROs on my lathe & mill (glass type) but I'm interested in it for a different application. I wonder how it would hold up to exposure to cutting fluids &oils?
 
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Is this 3M VHB stuff removeable or is it considered to be a permanent adhesion & is it very thick? I already installed a DROs on my lathe & mill (glass type) but I'm interested in it for a different application. I wonder how it would hold up to exposure to cutting fluids &oils?

3M has a lot of info on their VHB products. There are quite a few different types available.
You can start here: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Adhesives/Tapes/Brands/3M-VHB-Tape/
 
would rare earth magnets affect the scale performance?

I've mounted iGaging sales to two axes of my SX2 mill using rare earth magnets. I placed the ends of the scales next to existing bolts in the mill so they will not shift either way. Works fine ... the magnets do not affect performance at all.
 
I must admit, I watched 3m's video on this tape and was impressed. But it's tape. There's not wiggle/stretch when any pressure is applied against the item the tape is holding? I'm a nut & bolt, meat & potatoes kind of guy so I'd really like to know how this holds up after extended use.
 
I have been using 3M VHB tape for years under some pretty harsh conditions and it seems to hold up very well. For mounting scales it seems to work fine with no creep.

Below is a picture of my Y axis mag scale, it has been installed for about 8 months and it is continuously soaked in way oil and sometimes cutting oil. Seems to be holding up just fine. There are some solvents that don't agree with it, and Xylene seems the be the best solvent for removal.

yscale.jpg
 
There are a lot of reasons for not wanting to drill screw and tap your cheap DROs to the lathe. My reasons were that I didn't want to drill and tap holes because moving the lathe away from the wall to get to the back side seemed like way too much work to install $70 worth of DROs that may not even pan out to be good enough. If I was installing a DRO that was pricier, I would do it "the right way". If these inexpensive DROs turn out to be quite impressive over the long haul then I'll endeavor to mount them up more permanently.
:allgood:

Here's some photos of how the IGaging DROs are mounted up to my lathe and the process I'm using. I'm using 3M VHB (very High Bond) Tape. You can get it on amazon or Ebay. I went on the 3M site for surface preparation and temperature recommendations. Ideal temps are 68-degrees Fahrenheit. The surface must be thoroughly cleaned and degreased. I first cleaned it with purple power, you can use some other spray cleaner. Then i followed that with automotive wax and grease remover. The final step is to wipe it with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). I'm not sure, but I think you can use denatured alcohol too. I used isopropyl because thats what it said to use in the directions.

The tape is temperature and pressure sensitive. I only keep my shop heated to around 60 degrees, so its a little too cool. So what i did was warm up the area where the bonding is to take place with a heat gun. Don't use a torch or you can cause all kinds of tempering and burning issues. Even with the heat gun, you have to be careful not to overheat any of the areas. Especially don't overheat the painted areas, as you can burn and strip the paint. I am also clamping all the bonding surfaces and periodically heating up the areas around them to activate the adhesive and to give the adhesive a good chance to ooze into all the micro-pores. I didn't sand the the surfaces but, i read that it can be beneficial to do so. I also read somewhere that if the surface is powder coated that there is a special tape for that surface. Apparently this stuff doesn't like to stick to powder coat.

So far this thing has been clamped up for about 10 hrs overnight. I'm gonna give it a full 24 hrs because of the shop temperature, heating the areas periodically with the heat gun, just to be sure it's not gonna come apart.

I was able to use the existing brackets that came with the DROs by doing a little creative reworking of the brackets.

Every lathe is a little different, some of the older lathes don't have too many flat and square surfaces to mount things to, so if you have one of those, this tape method may not work at all. On my SB9 I 'd be able to mount on the back side, no problem. But the cross slide is a different story, I'd have to lay the scale flat next to the cross slide. No matter what lathe you're mounting to, you're going to have to get a little creative making or reworking the brackets.

Anther method that might work is to use an epoxy putty such as PC7 to mount them up.

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This is a picture of the lathe with the clamps on it clamping down all the mounting points.

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The cross slide clamped up.

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The back side clamped up.

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A closeup of the back side mounted to the carriage.

Marcel


Will all of those clamps get in the way of using the lathe ? sorry

fixit
 
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These DRO's are really great. I'm in the processes of adding them to my Summit mill. I'll try and post some pictures as progress goes along.
 
These DRO's are really great. I'm in the processes of adding them to my Summit mill. I'll try and post some pictures as progress goes along.

You going to use tape to mount yours, Pops?
 
No, Splat.
I used 6-32 screws to secure mine. I have a used milling machine that already has several holes in it from a previous owner. Will try to add pictures if I can figure it out. Have been a member of this forum for a while but haven't done much posting.

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Real easy to install. They can be cut to length too. Just have to make sure everything is lined up and nice and square so there is no binding. Will probably add them to my lathe as soon as I get the mill done. Have a Craftsman 12" lathe. It had a 54" bed but I'm in the process of putting two beds together to make it twice as long. Have some gun barrels to work on.
 
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