DRO & CNC

[FMC1959]

Hi, new to the forum and looking to get into machining. For now looking and learning, I am hoping to get a new or used mill in the near future. Ultimately, I would like it to be CNC, be it a machine that comes with it or a package I install down the road.

My question is if you have a CNC machine, is there a need for DRO? Wouldn't the exact DRO info be available on the PC or CNC screen and thus make it redundant? Are there any operations that you could not use the info from the CNC and the DRO could be a benefit?

Thanks

 

[Bob Korves]

Hi, new to the forum and looking to get into machining. For now looking and learning, I am hoping to get a new or used mill in the near future. Ultimately, I would like it to be CNC, be it a machine that comes with it or a package I install down the road.

My question is if you have a CNC machine, is there a need for DRO? Wouldn't the exact DRO info be available on the PC or CNC screen and thus make it redundant? Are there any operations that you could not use the info from the CNC and the DRO could be a benefit?

Thanks

You are correct, the DRO would be redundant with CNC. However, until the CNC is installed and operational, you will be working with dials, which are a perfectly useful and acceptable way to run a machine. My own geezer opinion is that all machinists should use dials long enough to be competent with them before working with digital. Many millions of machinists have done excellent work without the option of electronic aids. All that is really needed is competence and practice with backlash, addition, and subtraction.

 

[FMC1959]

Thank you Bob, you are confirming what I suspected. Your point about using and learning with dials also makes sense. Convenience is good, but learning the bare basics is good.

 

[darkzero]

My own geezer opinion is that all machinists should use dials long enough to be competent with them before working with digital.

My thoughts exactly. When I purchased my own lathe & mill I did not purchase them with DROs. One for the very reason you mentioned and cause I wanted to go with something different than what was offered with the machines.

Also when I took the conventional machining courses at my local CC, some machines did have DROs but I specifically used the machines without. Everyone should know & be comfortable using dials in case a DRO is not available on a machine you may use or fails. Although I don't have any CNC experience I have a similar opinion that one should know conventional machining before learning CNC.

 

[Eddyde]

...all machinists should use dials long enough to be competent with them before working with digital. Many millions of machinists have done excellent work without the option of electronic aids. All that is really needed is competence and practice with backlash, addition, and subtraction.

+1, I totally agree. You won't appreciate the DRO/CNC unless you've cranked out some parts manually by dial...

 

[jmosley]

I have a optimum bf20 mill with DRO and a tormach 770 CNC. I use the mill often to prepare stock or to finish the reverse side of parts, or to make jigs for woodwork. - it’s very useful. I used the small mill for a year without a dro and I got to the point where I could be highly accurate but adding the dro helps tremendously. It’s nice to be able to use dro to divide or multiply distances, it can save offsets, convert units, and on and on. Not having the dro taught me about backlash. Having the dro taught me about the importance of machine rigidity - made me buy a bigger cnc than I would have otherwise. Having the manual mill taught me how to feel speeds and feeds on the cnc.


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[Cadillac STS]

If buying a manual mill with plans to go CNC be sure to get one that has a pathway to a ball screw retrofit, a mill that there is already a retrofit kit for instead of finding yourself with a mill that has no known kit and you working up your own system.

Go with a servo CNC system and not stepper motor system. The servo system has feedback as to where the screws are, steppers only step.

If buying manual with plan for CNC can skip the DRO.