The advantage of the magnetic scale is you can trim it to a specific length and chips do not effect it. The disadvantage is the cost. The person I met with at DRO said the glass scales are fine if you are the single user of the equipment, you remember not to blow chips off of the table with air and you give them a little respect. He says all of the problems with them come from people mistreating them and blowing metal filings into them. But with the proper covers and correct installation they will function just fine. I chose the glass scales because I am the sole user of the equipment and I respect what I have and I use a vacuum cleaner to clean up my chips with.
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DRO
- Thread starter Kickstart
- Start date
The advantage of the magnetic scale is you can trim it to a specific length and chips do not effect it. The disadvantage is the cost. The person I met with at DRO said the glass scales are fine if you are the single user of the equipment, you remember not to blow chips off of the table with air and you give them a little respect. He says all of the problems with them come from people mistreating them and blowing metal filings into them. But with the proper covers and correct installation they will function just fine. I chose the glass scales because I am the sole user of the equipment and I respect what I have and I use a vacuum cleaner to clean up my chips with.
That sounds like the same advice that I received but I went with the magnetic scales due to my lack of experience and not wanting to encounter any problems that I couldn't solve. The sales guy was super - no unwanted calls during my decision-making process and he even shipped it to arrive on Good Friday to my office. I had forgotten that Friday was a holiday and REALLY wanted to have the weekend to install the unit. I asked (begged) one of my staff to let the UPS guy in the back door when he came and call me right away.
I had the scales and system working in all 4 axes by Sunday evening but still needed to install the covers which I did that week in the evenings. I had to make a mount for the quill scale with the mill so that was good practice. And yes, I had to trim one of the scales too. Went without a hitch - the videos on their site are really useful.
I have to say it is much more than I expected and I haven't used NEARLY as much layout fluid since then!
) I had never used a mill before this February but I've sure turned a lot of nice scrap into swarf since then! Also added a Power Feed for the X-axis at the same time. I'm adding the Y & Z Power Feeds in February. I can tell you without reservation that it's the best $1,300 that I've spent in a long time. That 4th axis drove the price up a bit but I'm glad I have it now. Oh, it's all on a Bridgeport VS J-2 9" x 42" mill.
Ky Sawdust
Brad K.
I bought a 2-axis magnetic scale system from Dro Pros for my big mill drill. I am very pleased with Dro Pros and the 6-year warranty magnetic scales.
Unfortunately, I have found a Bridgeport that I simply can't live without, and will be installing a system on there as well, which I will be purchasing from Dro Pro.
Unfortunately, I have found a Bridgeport that I simply can't live without, and will be installing a system on there as well, which I will be purchasing from Dro Pro.
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2012
- Messages
- 19
Hi all.....I just finished an install of a 3-axis DRO on my 9 x 42 Bridgeport. Considering that I plan to use my mill strictly for hobby use, I wanted to keep the cost in check. I opted for the TDS-3i unit offered by The DRO Store.....ordering and delivery came through with zero hassle. The mounting hardware that came with the unit was more than enough to see me through the entire installation. Everything seems to work just fine on it......time will tell although as it has only been in service for a couple of weeks. Looking at the budget priced, off shore DRO's, I liked the TDS-3i because along with the position displays, it also has a LCD display that provides additional information (prompts) that can take the guess work out of inputting data to complete given routines (hole circles, etc.).
The operating manual that came with it.....pretty much useless....although comical to read. Several times in it there is reference to the entering data to the Queen and the God of the Earth....??
As long as it keeps working.....considering the very affordable cost, I will be one very happy hobbyist.
FastPauly
View attachment 107047
The operating manual that came with it.....pretty much useless....although comical to read. Several times in it there is reference to the entering data to the Queen and the God of the Earth....??
As long as it keeps working.....considering the very affordable cost, I will be one very happy hobbyist.
FastPauly
View attachment 107047Put a 3 axis DROPRO Electronica EL400 with magnetic scales on my Bridgeport about 1 year ago. Plan on putting a 2 axis DROPRO on my lathe. Once you have one you do not want to operate without it. Finding center of circles with 3 points is easy. I use the drilling bolt hole patterns more than anything.
SIR TONY WELLS Esq
Could U name few lower cost Alternatives ??
Do remember we convert some 9.1 (plus) times !!!
What would U personally recommend - glass magnetic or whatever ???
And would these be available in METRIC ?? We noticed the DRO PRO's have both INCH/METRIC capabilities. So that takes care of that !!!
What about installation - how easy/difficult for a rank rookie ???
At this stage we don't even know whether it would be economical to Import with SHIPPING. Need to make some serious enquiries online. On second thoughts, it may just not be worth the while to Import with all mounting hardware in Imperial sizes. Drilling won't be a chore but Tapping would be a problem. Will need a set of Taps to start with ???
To cut a long story short, we just checked our local Eng supplies cat and they have a beautiful Newall Ball-Bearing Electro-Magnetic technology DRO with SPHEROSYN TRANSDUCERS - whatever that's supposed to mean ~!@#$%^&*()
I am aware that other Suppliers carry the ACCURITE Range which we have been lead to believe is very good as well ???
Thanks in advance
aRM
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I was a "rank rookie" when I installed my DRO PRO's system with the magnetic scales on my big mill/drill and it turned out great. It just takes some time and "head scratching".
My DRO PRO's sytem works at least as well the Accurite system on my mill at work.
I looked at a lot of installations on the web ands scratched my head a lot before deciding how I wanted to do mine. It's a project, so count on spending some time. It took me a week of evenings and most of a weekend to get my 2-axis system installed, including the time to fabricate mounting bracketry. Depending on what kit you buy and what machine yuou have the bracketry may be "ready to roll". Mine wasn't.
DRO PRO's has a lot of installation pictures on a lot of different machines, look there if only for ideas.
I was very concerned about mounting the glass scales because the read head is "attached" to the scales, and alignment is more critical in my mind. The magnetic read heads need only be in "close proximity" to the scales which simplifies the installation I believe. They provide a shim for assisting proper alignment of the heads to the magnetic scales.
You may need to fabricate some of the mounting bracketry. Use heavy guage aluminum angle for this. The read heads and scales need to be mounted solidly.
You'll need a couple dfferent dial indicators, and you'll need to run the table back and forth a hundred times (exaggerating here) to get your bracketry located and aligned with your indicators. There are what's called "grub screws" on the scales to help get things "dialed in".
You'll likely need to drill and tap some holes to mount the bracketry. This will need to be done carefully. Some kits you can buy may minimize this.
You'll need to decide if you want to mount the read heads or the scales on the "moving parts" of your mill. Either way is fine, really only makes a difference to your cabling which can "sweep off your bench" when moving your table (if you have a bench mounted mill), etc.
Make sure your scales and heads are covered so chips and fluids don't get in there. The magnetic scales are impervious to coolant IIRC.
Look at:
DRO PRO's
The DRO store
Grizzly
Shars
The Little Machine Shop
My DRO PRO's sytem works at least as well the Accurite system on my mill at work.
I looked at a lot of installations on the web ands scratched my head a lot before deciding how I wanted to do mine. It's a project, so count on spending some time. It took me a week of evenings and most of a weekend to get my 2-axis system installed, including the time to fabricate mounting bracketry. Depending on what kit you buy and what machine yuou have the bracketry may be "ready to roll". Mine wasn't.
DRO PRO's has a lot of installation pictures on a lot of different machines, look there if only for ideas.
I was very concerned about mounting the glass scales because the read head is "attached" to the scales, and alignment is more critical in my mind. The magnetic read heads need only be in "close proximity" to the scales which simplifies the installation I believe. They provide a shim for assisting proper alignment of the heads to the magnetic scales.
You may need to fabricate some of the mounting bracketry. Use heavy guage aluminum angle for this. The read heads and scales need to be mounted solidly.
You'll need a couple dfferent dial indicators, and you'll need to run the table back and forth a hundred times (exaggerating here) to get your bracketry located and aligned with your indicators. There are what's called "grub screws" on the scales to help get things "dialed in".
You'll likely need to drill and tap some holes to mount the bracketry. This will need to be done carefully. Some kits you can buy may minimize this.
You'll need to decide if you want to mount the read heads or the scales on the "moving parts" of your mill. Either way is fine, really only makes a difference to your cabling which can "sweep off your bench" when moving your table (if you have a bench mounted mill), etc.
Make sure your scales and heads are covered so chips and fluids don't get in there. The magnetic scales are impervious to coolant IIRC.
Look at:
DRO PRO's
The DRO store
Grizzly
Shars
The Little Machine Shop