DRO...

Nesse1 said:
TouchDRO is popular here. There is a dedicated forum. The owner/sole proprietor is active, and loaded with valuable knowledge. He skews toward glass scales. I went glass for the bed travel on my lathe, and mag for the cross slide, because it's smaller. I'd go glass for all, if there is room. You can find good prices via a variety of sources. Or, just buy a premade kit from china. Lots of options.
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I did not know glass and mag scales could be combined on the same DRO installation.

Is there a trick to it? Can you tell me more? Point me to documentation?
 
I seem to remember that there are a couple of different communication protocols, and both can be mixed and matched. I don't remember all the details. Check the TouchDRO documentation.
 
Most of the scales are dumb, they are simple "TTL" level quadrature outputs. (Four wires: +5V, A, B, Ground) This goes for both magnetic and optical (glass) scales.

I made my own DRO reader for my lathe, using a software quadrature encoder running on a Teensy 4.1. With the appropriate Teensy library, it was rather easy to use. I integrated the DROs with my ELS software, otherwise I would have gone with TouchDRO. Or, if you don't want to fool with anything, just buy one of the displays that the scale vendors sell.
 
I highly recommend DROs. I'm not a machinist! Just a hobbyist. I like making things and a DRO makes that a lot easier for me. My PM lathe came with a 2 axis Easson. I added a 3 axis Easson to my used Jet 9x49 mill. Z is on the knee. You will need to make brackets as you go.

Having both the ABS & INC displays available means I can save a zero point on one w/o losing it on the other. Finding center and keeping it is quick and easy. Many parts are symmetrical, so using the center of the part as reference (0,0) makes life easier. Some times using a corner as reference works best if the plans (drawings) use that. So using ABS for part center reference and using INC for corner reference saves time & mistakes. I usually keep a note pad with where I've set my references so when I come back a few days later ... The same note pad that I've kept notes on sequence of operations planning. Sometimes my references are edges of the vice or external stops. I like to machine to a zero point sometimes, rather than 2.384". Easily done with a DRO. All the rest of the functions are less often used but handy. Keep the Operation Manual handy!
 
Another vote for aliexpress, I bought some tape and encoder heads which arrived in just under a week! Working just as well as ones from the resellers, but a third of the price.
 
Nesse1 said:
TouchDRO is popular here. There is a dedicated forum. The owner/sole proprietor is active, and loaded with valuable knowledge. He skews toward glass scales. I went glass for the bed travel on my lathe, and mag for the cross slide, because it's smaller. I'd go glass for all, if there is room. You can find good prices via a variety of sources. Or, just buy a premade kit from china. Lots of options.
Click to expand...
+1 for glass scales.

I would only go with magnetic if there was limited space, and even then I wouldn’t trust them as much as glass.
 
Nesse1 said:
I seem to remember that there are a couple of different communication protocols, and both can be mixed and matched. I don't remember all the details. Check the TouchDRO documentation.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I found what I needed on the Touch DRO web site.

Sorry for the thread hijack. I was afraid if I didn't post it here the right people would not see my questions.
 
I went with the 2 axis Electronica 400 series DRO with magnetic scales for my Bridgeport. It's been on the machine 12 years and has worked perfectly. It isn't the cheapest of the bunch, but it has all the features I need, has excellent support from the company should it be needed, and came with simple enough instructions that even I could understand them. The scales have a lifetime warranty, and if I remember correctly the display had a 3-year warranty.

I didn't feel the need for a digital readout on the Z axis. Of all the table movements it's by far the least used and most accurate. I do have metric and imperial dials on all the table motions, so it isn't necessary for conversion purposes. I installed the system in 2012 mainly because of the interruptions I was getting. At the time I was getting 50 or more calls a day asking for political donations or for my vote. Often times I would forget to write down my coordinates and have to retrace my steps. Installing the DRO solved the problem.
 
A large machine I don't think the install will be to bad. But any pita they are to install will be worth it.
 
Ar risk of a subject change, the SECOND BEST addition I made to my Bridgeport (after the DRO) was a pneumatic power drawbar. Inexpensive kits can be found on eBay. I made mine just to have a project. Indispensable. Game changers. The quality of my shop life is so much better with these two additions. I wish I had a DRO on my lathe. I keep putting it off.
 
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