New DRO scale non functional, looking for solutions.

[T Bredehoft]

Solved. disassemble/reassemble read head, good to go.

DRO orderd from China, cheap, (well relatively) I finally got it. My son, who's paid for it, went by the size of the lathe, 10 by 30, then.
the vendor told him the size of the scales sent, and they were too long. Vendor said "can't change it, package sent" or words to that effect,

I saw the thread about cutting the scales, (glass) and proceeded. I disassembled the short one, cut 6 inches off, and resasembled. Ditto on the long one. Difference, I removed the reader on the short one, put it at the other end on the long one. So, I voided any warranty. (if there was one).

Here are my questions. Will any glass scale work, and if so, where's a good place to buy one, 250 mm long. Or to be exact 222 mm long.

All commments appreciated, including comments about assuming abilities.

 

[ttabbal]

You can probably use almost any glass or magnetic scale.

I had one that didn't work when I got it. The vendor suggested that I should remove the reader and ensure that it is seated properly. I took the cap off of a working one to see how it sits on the scale and adjusted the broken unit to match. It works fine now, probably just got bumped in shipping. They can be finicky if the read head isn't mounted right, so that's a good place to start. There isn't much to go wrong with them.

 

[MSD0]

I believe you can use any glass scale provided the connector and output signal are the same as the original scale. TTL is the standard output signal and the 9 pin DSUB connector is the standard interface. To determine the correct scale length, you should measure the actual travel of each axis. DRO pros has a lot of information.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Thanks, this gives me somewhere to go.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Thanks, ttabbal, I took the end cap off, slid the reader out, slid it back in and it worked. It just wanted a little attention.

 

[ttabbal]

That's good news! Happy DRO-ing!

 

[MSD0]

Thanks, ttabbal, I took the end cap off, slid the reader out, slid it back in and it worked. It just wanted a little attention.

Just make sure the surface of the scale itself is very clean. Once you get it installed, compare the reading against an indicator and make sure it’s not losing count. I’ve gotten oil and chips inside a scale before and thought I’d fixed it, only to realize (in the middle of a job) that it was losing count in certain parts of it’s travel.

 

[T Bredehoft]

compare the reading against an indicator

Thanks, I''ll check that out. Gotta move the saddle scale to the chuck side, too much impediment for the tailstock/live center.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Scale on the chuck side wanteed to interfere with the chuck. Back to the tail stock side, and up just a hair. Finally got it all working yesterday. Wish I had a buck for every time I took it apart.

 

[NortonDommi]

Saving my pennies for magnetic scales to replace the glass. X-axis keeps dropping out regardless of how clean I get it. http://www.dropros.com/ seem to have some of the best prices and they back up what they sell and the speak English which can help prevent confusion.