Low cost slim glass scale

[dabear3428]

I used an angle grinder and thin cut off wheel to shorten my lathe glass scale. Stuffed some paper towels downstream of the bit being cut and it went through very neatly. Been working ever since.

with these the cutting on the glass does not give me pause, the aluminum machining of the end of the housing looks like work, and i'm lazy.
my plan on my other scales is to do like you did but with my bandsaw. i watched a lot of youtube on the subject and the bandsaw guy apeared to get the most consistent results.

 

[WobblyHand]

This idea was sent to me in videos by ToAuto when they advised how to shorten one of their scales. Here's an excerpt of that video showing removal of the small rubber tubes that hold the glass and how to remove it. They sent another video showing use of a glass cutter to score the glass and snap it.
View attachment 487766View attachment 487767

This appears to be a better option than using a saw to cut through the aluminum and glass. I'm willing to try it to get a small profile scale for the cross head. Worst that can happen is that I'm out $60

Go for it. Not going to dissuade you.

All I know is once I decided to cut it via neanderthal means, I was done in no time. I did far too much agonizing. I paid far too much attention to internet experts. They simply made this far more complicated than necessary. If I were to do it again, I'd probably do it the same stone aged way, and be done in a minute, rather than worry about getting it just so. I learned my lesson on this scale, thinking about all the details that the so called experts brought up was a waste of my time. I figured the worst that could happen was I'd have to buy another one. All I know is my 1um glass scales were cut similarly and work just fine on my G0602/G0752Z, despite my suboptimal methods.

I even printed brackets for mounting the heads and they're fine too. Been waiting for them to fail, it's been a year, and they simply show no signs of issues. At this point I'd just print more brackets rather than machining replacements, they are good enough for my use.

 

[Winegrower]

I just ordered a slim 1um scale, and just told the seller the travel length. They do the rest. We'll see.

 

[Paul Fithian]

This eBay seller is has the same units, I ordered a 170mm one from them and won't cut the 270mm one I have.

KA500 Linear Scale 0.005mm Optical Ruler Full Sealed Linear Glass Encoder Lathe | eBay

Their installation space is very small, and it is more suitable for the small scale of KA500. The cross-sectional size of the linear scale of KA500 is 18 20.5mm. The KA500 linear scale is used longitudinally, and the section size of KA500 linear scale is 43 18mm, which is more suitable for the...

www.ebay.com

Cutting one of these scales is much more involved than other types.

 

[dabear3428]

I just ordered a slim 1um scale, and just told the seller the travel length. They do the rest. We'll see.

but where is the fun in that, you are not a true HM until you have ordered 5 of these, tried to cut 4 and failed, then settled for the 5th as is.

 

[dabear3428]

This eBay seller is selling the same units, I ordered a 170mm one from them and won't cut the 270mm one I have.

KA500 Linear Scale 0.005mm Optical Ruler Full Sealed Linear Glass Encoder Lathe | eBay

Their installation space is very small, and it is more suitable for the small scale of KA500. The cross-sectional size of the linear scale of KA500 is 18 20.5mm. The KA500 linear scale is used longitudinally, and the section size of KA500 linear scale is 43 18mm, which is more suitable for the...

www.ebay.com

Cutting one of these scales is much more involved than other types.

yes i agree

 

[WobblyHand]

This eBay seller is selling the same units, I ordered a 170mm one from them and won't cut the 270mm one I have.

KA500 Linear Scale 0.005mm Optical Ruler Full Sealed Linear Glass Encoder Lathe | eBay

Their installation space is very small, and it is more suitable for the small scale of KA500. The cross-sectional size of the linear scale of KA500 is 18 20.5mm. The KA500 linear scale is used longitudinally, and the section size of KA500 linear scale is 43 18mm, which is more suitable for the...

www.ebay.com

Cutting one of these scales is much more involved than other types.

Internet myth. You can saw them to fit. I know, I did it, same kind, mounted on same lathe. You are free to do what you like, of course, but it only takes a minute, once you get the courage to do it. I've cut both the larger and smaller scales the same way. 2 for 2, so not hard at all.

The read sensors are about 20-25mm away from the ends so any imperfections in cutting simply don't matter. The end caps hide things so nothing ugly is visible.

Just trying to get you to the point of making chips sooner. Hope that helps. I wasted a lot of time on this, wished I had just cut the darn things in the beginning. Going on a year with my DRO upgrade on my G9602/G0752Z, best thing since sliced bread. Only thing better in my opinion is an ELS. Designed my own, made my own PCBs, and wrote the code from scratch, best upgrade by far. Integrates the DRO's, too.

 

[dabear3428]

Go for it. Not going to dissuade you.

All I know is once I decided to cut it via neanderthal means, I was done in no time. I did far too much agonizing. I paid far too much attention to internet experts. They simply made this far more complicated than necessary. If I were to do it again, I'd probably do it the same stone aged way, and be done in a minute, rather than worry about getting it just so. I learned my lesson on this scale, thinking about all the details that the so called experts brought up was a waste of my time. I figured the worst that could happen was I'd have to buy another one. All I know is my 1um glass scales were cut similarly and work just fine on my G0602/G0752Z, despite my suboptimal methods.

I even printed brackets for mounting the heads and they're fine too. Been waiting for them to fail, it's been a year, and they simply show no signs of issues. At this point I'd just print more brackets rather than machining replacements, they are good enough for my use.

that was my take also

 

[dabear3428]

Internet myth. You can saw them to fit. I know, I did it, same kind, mounted on same lathe. You are free to do what you like, of course, but it only takes a minute, once you get the courage to do it. I've cut both the larger and smaller scales the same way. 2 for 2, so not hard at all.

The read sensors are about 20-25mm away from the ends so any imperfections in cutting simply don't matter. The end caps hide things so nothing ugly is visible.

Just trying to get you to the point of making chips sooner. Hope that helps. I wasted a lot of time on this, wished I had just cut the darn things in the beginning. Going on a year with my DRO upgrade on my G9602/G0752Z, best thing since sliced bread. Only thing better in my opinion is an ELS. Designed my own, made my own PCBs, and wrote the code from scratch, best upgrade by far. Integrates the DRO's, too.

please post a link?

 

[WobblyHand]

please post a link?

Link to my ELS, or something else? If ELS, goto member projects and search for my area. There's a whole long thread on developing my ELS.