Ditron D80 and Easson 12B DRO Kits w/ Magnetic Scales now available

mksj

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Ditron offers quite a few different DRO's, more recently they can be purchased with magnetic scales for not much more than glass scales. There new D80 display is a graphical interface which is a bit more adaptable to different types of machines. The pricing for a DRO with magnetic scales use to start at over 1K, the D80 lathe package with 2 magnetic scales is $600, the D80 mill package with 3 magnetic scales is $700. The same 3 axis with glass scales is $650, so magnetic scales would be the way to go. There are vendors in the US, UK and of course China, you may $ with the latter two.


I use an Easson 12B on my lathe with two glass and one magnetic scales, it is a great display which is now available with all magnetic scale packages. Magnetic scales are easier to install and more forgiving on alignment. Had these full magnetic DRO packages for the ES-12B been available I would have gone with one of these packages. The lathe package is $585, the mill package is $715.

Dittron D80
D80.jpg
Easson 12B
ES12B.jpg
 
I have a Ditron D80 display with 3 magnetic scales and installed it on my Bridgeport mill. When I checked the travel accuracy using my dial indicator vs the Ditron display value, the error was beyond belief. I moved the mill table .050", the mill dial and the dial indicator were spot on, my Ditron read .04567". I repeated it several times with the same results. All 3 axis were similar.
 
Sounds like linear compensation is in order. What are you suing to measure? I just checked mine (Ditron) with a 1-2-3 block and it was measuring short about .0005" Will double check tomorrow with some jo blocks.
@mksj I just bought the Ditron mag scales (1um) and the display D80 I think. My opinion is the Easson and M-dro mag scales (on the lathe) are of better quality. That's just a first impression, maybe that'll change once I start using the mill. Paid $638 shipped so about a hundred less than the Easson plus got another axis.
 
Unfortunately, linear compensation won't work in my case, the high error repeats many times as the read head travels. I paid $746 for the D80 display and 4 magnetic scales. Ditron will not help to resolve the issue. Do check your magnetic scale accuracy with a separate known accurate source. A decent dial indicator would work just fine, it's what I used. I am interested in your results if you wouldn't mind posting. Thanks
 
I use the both glass and magnetic scales on the Easson DRO and they both track perfectly to the dials and dial indicators, and I know a few other individuals that purchased the ES-12B/C with magnetic scales and they have been accurate. I wonder if it has something to do with the scale resolution or other setting within Ditron head unit. The magnetic scales that I received did give a linear tracking error report, on a 5 micron scale if I recall the maximum deviation was +/- 0.5 micron.
 
I rechecked the Ditron magnetic scales for accuracy, my x axis is +/- .002" to +/- .004" through a range of .100", the y axis is about the same. I can't use them for machining. I'm going to buy a set of magnetic scales from DRO PRO'S and try them out.
 
@T-Bone
The problems you describe kinda sound more like scale looseness problems than display/electronic ones.

You may have done this already ... but do check carefully to be sure the scale and reader head mounts are all snug and secure. For instance, try grabbing the read head and wiggling it. Any perceptible movement or or any change in DRO reading would indicate some kind of looseness.
 
I'm having a heck of a time getting mine to read consistent also. My comparator says my two gages are .0001" different but the dro says .0006. IDK.
 
@hman
The problems are definitely in the scales/head part, the display is fine. I did take extra care to mount the scales and reader head in place, they are perfectly aligned and rigid. I purchased a 12" precision mag scale from DRO PRO's and will mount it on my y axis soon. This will give me a chance to compare quality of accuracy. Here's a few pics of my Ditron scale mounting.
 

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You magnetic scales/readers are quite a bit different then the ones that I have, the resolution may be specific to the Ditron unit/scales. What vendor/who did you purchase the DRO/scales from and have you contacted them about the resolution issue? Mine came with a calibration tolerance document, it tracks perfectly to my tailstock dial over 5". They also are very tolerant of misalignment, at first I had a 0.2" head gap and they still worked fine, I then adjusted it to around 0.015".
20190316_175311.jpg
 
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