DRO on Enco Mill/Drill (RF30)

[tcweb]

I'm working on the DRO for my Enco branded mill drill. Yep, there's a dozen posts out there for people doing the same, but the pictures are not always that great, and many chose the magnetic scales, not glass, so I wanted to get some pics out there and ask some questions.

X-axis is about as straightforward as you can get - I re-used the dovetail nuts that held the table stops. Drilled 2 holes (M5 - don't ask - the rest of the mill is all Metric, so I figured I'd keep it all metric) for a thick piece of angle that I turned into a mounting bracket for the read head. Done, works.

Y-axis - I found two flat spots on the carriage, so I drilled and tapped (again M5) and hung a piece of 3/16" aluminum bar, which I previously marked and drilled for the scale to mount, as well as some M5 (or M4, I forget) for the chip guard. That bolted on, and seems solid.

Now the fun part - mounting the read head somewhere. As you can see from the first pic below, I mocked up a piece of angle, just to see how things might fit. I'm thinking about milling a block of aluminum (I have plenty of 6061 cutoffs to work with) at a 5 degree angle to mate with the casting. Then use a piece of angle to give the read head some adjustment capability. Any issues with my plan? How crucial is it that the read head be perfectly horizontal when mounted? I can probably get it within 0.5 degrees with no issues. (casting irregularities may be fun).

Lastly the Z-axis. There is a ring that clamps around the spindle. Seems I can take that off, drill and tap for some sort of aluminum plate/bracket, and extend it back or off to the side. I don't want to risk bumping the scale or read head when I raise/lower the head, so I'm undecided which side it should go on. I lean toward the LEFT side. Any ideas appreciated here.

The Kurt vise looks a bit out of place, right? I refurbished it, it's not new. (couldn't justify a new one...)

Thanks in advance!

-Tom

 

[rock_breaker]

Tcweb
Thanks for your pictures and post. I currently have a battery powered digital read out on the Z axis of my Enco mill and have bought a DRO kit for all three axis. The batteries fail in the winter.
On the Z axis I built a bracket that is held in place by the depth of cut stop bolt and the "imperial/metric" gage on the bottom of the spindle. At the top I have a "U" bracket that is bolted where the sheet metal cover is fastened. I placed additional bracket pieces so the Chicago Tools scale could be bolted on with out putting stress in the vertical bar or read out. I believe I can mount my glass scales on this bracket with some modification.

With respect to the "Y" axis were you able to get the readout mounted so it fits squarely in the scale? I have a power feed on my mill so there is there is some extra considerations I need to resolve. I am currently thinking of mounting The "X" axis on the back of the table.

Have a good day

Ray

 

[tcweb]

Here are some pics during the install of the Y axis.

My DRO kit came with a plastic spacer for the read head. I left that in place until things were snug, then removed it. I'm hoping that is designed to be the right spacing. The scales seem to be working OK.

Ray: Would love some pics of your Z axis.

-Tom

First pic: drilled and tapped the holes in the casting after mocking it up. Used a transfer punch to get close.
Next pic has the angled block installed. Next pics show that I was close, but there was a gap between the read head an my bracket.

So...decision...take it off and fly cut some more? Bah, spacers! Used two washers and a spacer that came with the kit. If anyone has any thoughts on this plan (good or bad), I'm open.

Last pic shows the completed assembly. Don't ask about the extra 2 holes, let's just say...they are for future use. (sounds better than saying I changed my mind halfway through the build, right?)

Now, I just need to figure out how to tell the Chinese DRO to reverse my X-direction.

Time to start planning the Z-axis.

 

[tcweb]

OK, maybe this will help someone later. The Chinese DRO units (Mine shows model GCS900-3DB) have a setup mode.
On mine, the manual (yep, it's not completely useless) shows that you press the "." key when you first power it on. That takes you into a setup mode.

I was able to flip through the setup options using the up and down arrow keys. One is "direction". Press the X axis key, to toggle the direction. (there are only 2 values, 0 and 1). I was also able to remove the 5th place after the decimal point. Yeah, like these scales could actually read down to 1/100,000 of an inch! Tenths is way more than this mill can do, I'm sure.

So far, we are in business. Time to ponder my Z-axis. Any other RF30 or enco (or jet, or PM, or any of the dozens of clones) users have some good pics of what they did for the Z-axis scale?

-Tom

 

[tcweb]

Another question: should I be using split washers, tooth washers, or just some blue locktite? Or some combination...Just don't want anything to vibrate loose. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[rock_breaker]

Hi Tcweb,
I would use tooth washers .
I went to the shop for pictures, will try to attach them, title is Z axix photo

 

[tcweb]

Ray, that’s is a really simple and slick way of mounting a scale without major mods to the mill. Nice!

I will have to see if it can translate to the larger glass scale and reader.

Tom

 

[rock_breaker]

Tom
To answer your first question about mounting the z axis I believe as you said to the left, however my FWD-REV switch is in that area but I think the Z axis adjusting wheel creates more hazard.
IMHO the glass scale could be mounted except the brackets may have to be longer. The belt safety guard will be my limiting factor at the top. My mount is built using 1/8"x1/2" strap. The two brackets are welded to a vertical strap to maintain rigidity.

 

[tcweb]

I am close to having z-axis connected. See attached, along with some details. I had access to a cutoff cast aluminum plate 3/4" thick. I made a wood mockup, traced/scribed it onto the aluminum plate, rough cut with a bandsaw, then did some cleanup on the mill. Got to test out the fly cutter I made a while ago.

I was worried about rigidity, but this piece is freaking solid. My last challenge - join this piece to the read head with some aluminum angle.

Question: can the quill spring be tightened? Is it as simple as rotating the spring housing (assume counter clockwise) to increase tension?

-Tom

 

[tcweb]

Another general RF30 question: the spindle has some rotational slop. Can I just replace (resize) the set screw that prevents the quill from rotating, so there is less slop? I'm thinking a brass screw of the proper size for the slot would be best.