Acu-Rite scales?

[Mill Lee farm]

Hello all,
So I just took delivery of my used MSC mill today and have a question. It came with an OEM 2 axis acu-rite DRO but the head does not power on.
I’ll do some troubleshooting to see if it’s repairable but it occurred to me that 1/2 the touchDRO project is complete.

I assume these scales are compatible?
I’ll have to check them to see if theres a make etc.
Could they be glass?

Also…. I’m all apple and don't have a compatible device. Have to buy one I guess… sounds like older tablets are fine? Don’t need newer galaxy?

Is an iOS app not happening? Sounds like lots of hurdles and problems but I’m just wondering if its a definite “No”

 

[ycroosh]

Hello all,
So I just took delivery of my used MSC mill today and have a question. It came with an OEM 2 axis acu-rite DRO but the head does not power on.
I’ll do some troubleshooting to see if it’s repairable but it occurred to me that 1/2 the touchDRO project is complete.

I assume these scales are compatible?
I’ll have to check them to see if theres a make etc.
Could they be glass?

Also…. I’m all apple and don't have a compatible device. Have to buy one I guess… sounds like older tablets are fine? Don’t need newer galaxy?

Is an iOS app not happening? Sounds like lots of hurdles and problems but I’m just wondering if its a definite “No”

Well, it's hard to say. Some Accu-Rite scales are supported, and some are not. If you can find the info, check if they work with +5V and output square wave. There were some that used +/-7V, +/-1V, etc. or output sine/cosine signal. Those are not supported.

iOS is not in the cards for a few reasons. First of all, Apple made the cost of entry pretty high (the system is locked down and to allow-list my device is a lot of work and money), and second, I'm still the sole engineer, customer support, shipping department, genitor, USPS drop off driver, etc. and there are not enough hours in the year to write and support a copy of the app.

Hope this makes sense
Regards
Yuriy

P.S. And, congrats on the mill. Getting new toys tools is always exciting

 

[Mill Lee farm]

Hey thanks Yuriy!
Oh man… I really hope they’re compatible! Further research needed.

Other than finding a model number and cross referencing it, what is the best way to determine thise details? I don’t have access to an O-scope and I’m hesitant to just start to try putting voltage to anything….

Understandable about the workload! You should give yourself a raise!

Thanks for the quick response!
I’ll definitely be getting some equipment from you though as I also got a 1340 lathe that needs a whole DRO setup…. So hopefully TWO adapters

Chris

 

[ycroosh]

Chris,
So I found two manuals on their site that might be relevant:
DRO Manual - http://www.acu-rite.com/pdf/manuals/obsolete/MILLMATEmanual.pdf
Encoder Manual - http://www.acu-rite.com/pdf/manuals/obsolete/MiniMateScaleMan.pdf

If you scroll to section 4-2 in the encoder manual, you will see that they list two models - "Mini Scale" and "Mate System". Mini scales appears to be a standard 5V TTL quadrature scales. Mate outputs Sine/Cosine and needs special interpolation circuit (which is obtainable, but stupid expensive). Looks like Mini uses a round connector and Mate uses a D-Sub connector.

(Connector you can replace, so that is not a problem if you can cut wires and then solder them back)

Hope this helps
Yuriy

 

[Mill Lee farm]

Shoot! I know mine have d-sub connectors and I’m pretty sure I have the Mate… (per the manual I got)

I’ll look for any info/model #’s that are physically on the scales after I get home from work…

Looks like I may be SOL….. well… guess I’m shopping for more than one set of scales

 

[Mill Lee farm]

Just patent numbers….
But I’m pretty sure I’ve got the incompatible system

Let me know if you recognize them?

 

[ycroosh]

Can't find anything useful on this.
If you're going to get a TouchDRO unit, there is no harm in trying. If you remind me, I will include a few extra connectors (once you press in the pins, they are PITA to remove and need a special tool, so it's a "one way door"). You might get lucky after all...

 

[Mill Lee farm]

Thanks! PM sent
Galaxy Tab A8 10.5” arriving from amazon in a day or two. Decent deal at $179

 

[ycroosh]

Yep, that's a great price for it. It is my "reference" tablet.
I.e. I use it as my main testing development device, and then tweak the app to fit other screen sizes, etc.

 

[Mill Lee farm]

I’m excited!
Just placed an order for 2 V2 deluxe adapters
I talked to customer support at Acu-Rite and they were just awesome and extremely knowledgeable and helpful. (It really made me want to buy their scales…. But at around 10x the price there’s no way…)
Anyway, I went through everything we’ve been guessing at and they confirmed I’m 99% not compatible….

So now I’m looking for current recommendations for scale sources