Dro For Mill

[Eddyde]

I'm considering ordering one but

The scales I received are 1um, not 5um. I had the same reservation when I purchased them. This is doubly confirmed by the DRO advancing in 0.002" increments

Is the read out resiolution only in .oo2"increments? Even the 5 micron scales give a read out in .0002"

 

[joshua43214]

I'm considering ordering one but

Is the read out resiolution only in .oo2"increments? Even the 5 micron scales give a read out in .0002"

Sorry, it reads 0.0002", I miss typed. The scales I received marked as 1um, I would take a pic but I would have to remove the covers to do so.

You can set the display to just about any scale resolution (you can also set the number of decimal places). If you set the display to the wrong scale resolution, the displayed travel will not coincide with the actual travel. Mine is set to 1 1um scale.

I expect all the electronics are pretty low quality. I took extra care to make sure that the read heads stay fixed, and the scales move past them. I would not trust the wires going into the read heads to hold up for the long term if they are getting flexed each time the table is moved. The one feature the display either lacks, or I have not been able to figure out, is how to paste the result from the calculator to an axis.

 

[RJSakowski]

Josh, Try this: From the Grizzly manual. Make your calculation using the calculator. Hit the "Zero" key; the result will be subtracted from whatever position is displayed on the readout. The change is temporary and and hitting the "CE" key restores the original position. You could make it permanent by moving to 0 and hitting "CE", then rezeroing the readout.

A question for you. If you have a 1 micron scale, why have you set your readout resolution to .0002"? I would think you would at least have it set to read to .0001". The DRO Pros readouts display to .00005" when using 1 micron scales.

Bob

 

[joshua43214]

@RJSakowski Thanks! I double checked my manual, turns out I actually had the function disabled...

I also looked closer, and it is reading down to 0.0001", I just had not registered that it was doing this since I did the initial set up. Not sure now why I was so stuck on 0.0002", sometimes I just get an idea and get stuck... (I am sure there is a good reason though )
Either way, the scales are marked 1um. If I advance the table 0.0002" (for example) using a 1/10's DTI, the display will show 0.0002" movement, which is all that is important. The display does of course have a function for correcting linear error, along with shrink factors and the like. By the way, the unit did not include any mounting instructions, I used the instructions from Grizzly instead. The manual on the other hand is extremely good, not a single bit of Engrish in it, all nice clear English with examples and pictures. I suspect that this rig is actually a pirated version of one of the more expensive DRO's. The display looks suspiciously the same as the Sino.

As for using a 4 decimal place display, it is simply easier. This is just a Chinese mill, even a good Taiwan mill will only have a spindle accurate to 2/10's. One would need to move up to something pretty expensive before reading to 50 millionths is worth considering. I can count on the mill being accurate to a bit under 1 thou, so I only need to use resolution to 1/10th, any finer and I am beyond the ability of my machine and I will spend too much time hunting for 0. After all in practice, one can drill 5 holes, swap in a tap and thread the same 5 holes provided the display reads under 3/10ths of where the hole is supposed to be. No need to try to get it down to 0.00005", just locking an axis will move the table more than that, and leaving it loose puts us back up into the 5/10th's to 1 thou region of accuracy when milling.

 

[Eddyde]

They also sell Eason, Sino, and Sinpro, and other kits. I did have to call my bank to get the international purchase approved, and resubmit the order - bit of a hassle, but worth it. The money goes in escrow until I approve the sale (you have 30 days or something like that). I figured the worse case would be I was out some cash for a few weeks until it got refunded, or the display would fail and I would do the Android thing like I originally planned.

Being that you seemed to have a positive experience with the seller, I decided to take the plunge. However, I went with the Easson kit with the upgraded 1 micron encoders, $550 delivered. Dro Pros wants close to $1K for the same set up. Enough savings for me to take a chance, fingers crossed

 

[joshua43214]

Being that you seemed to have a positive experience with the seller, I decided to take the plunge. However, I went with the Easson kit with the upgraded 1 micron encoders, $550 delivered. Dro Pros wants close to $1K for the same set up. Enough savings for me to take a chance, fingers crossed

I hope it works out well. One of the things that I liked about this dealer was the "extra cost" thing for buying upgrades. Before I found them, I tried to by 1um scales from an Ebay dealer who wanted me to do the deal outside of Ebay.

Don't panic if the box arrives looking like a banana. Mine looked like DHL had used it for a cricket bat, thing was bent nearly 45 degrees. Turned out the scales where well wrapped at one end, and the bent end had all the mounting hardware and covers. The display was in a second box.
Good thing it had that "fragile glass" sticker on it

 

[Eddyde]

OMG Now I won't be able to get any sleep till it arrives!!!

 

[joshua43214]

@Eddyde
Don't forget to report back here on your experience.
I just ordered another DRO like the one I linked for my new mill that I am picking up Tuesday.
Would be really cool if it gets here about the same time I am ready to install it lol.
I'm not entirely sure what I will do with the old one. The cost of ordering the entire system is cheaper than ordering new scales. I might try to scrounge up some cheap scales and install it on the lathe, though I'd rather have magnetic scales for that (I think the display will still work with magnetic scales).
I may put up for sale here, it is sized for a PM25mv which I think is the same as a G075.
I will post a pic of the box, we can see who DHL dislikes more lol

 

[Eddyde]

Hey Joshua,

I just checked the tracking, its supposed to be delivered today!

 

[astjp2]

I found a good newall unit with microsyn scales and went with that. Now I just need to install it. Tim