Rockford MV100/Easson Glass Scale DRO

wcunning

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Hey guys,

I have an Easson DRO kit coming in for my Rockford MV100 tomorrow afternoon.

@Brucepts, @Asm109 can you guys take pictures of the DRO scales as installed on your mills? I'm not sure how to correct for the casting draft on the column. It's *really* steep compared to the tolerances for a DRO scale mounting... Otherwise, I expect the X and Y axes to be pretty easy, but I'd appreciate the extra information that your scale setups would provide.

I ordered enough scales to install them on both the knee and the quill in addition to the table and saddle. Does anyone have any particular tips about installing a DRO on the quill? I know that it's possible at least on Bridgeports, but it seems to be infrequently discussed at best...

I'm debating between direct installation or doing something along the lines of what @Eddyde did in his thread with the carrier bars and spherical washers (https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/dro-install-on-mill-updated.46586). Does anyone have strong recommendations either way? Would it be appropriate to use heavy 80/20 extrusion for the carrier?

Thanks,
Will

Sidenote: I really, really wish I could do what Robin Renzetti (of Youtube and Instagram fame) did for mounting his scales inside his bridgeport table and knee to keep the chips and crap out of them. Unfortunately, if I actually finish rebuilding the original power feed with the parts I got from Bruce, I won't be able to fit the X axis scale around the cover plate that engages the keyed drive bushing with the drive worm. I'll just have to avoid using compressed air on my mill, but I was leaning that way already, given the cramped confines of my basement shop and lack of interest in picking up chips from the far corners.
 
You assume I have a DRO. I am old school, goin' by the knobs
 
@Asm109 I wish I could do that, but the wear in the table lead screw is *bad* in the middle and non-existent at the ends. Keeping track of that is quite a pain, more so than the price for DRO, at least for my money.

@keflaman do you have a DRO on your MV100? If you do, would you be willing to take a couple of pictures to show how you have the scales mounted?

Thanks,
Will
 
There is a lot of information on this mill in a previous posting, along with PDF files of various manuals.
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/rockford-hedwick-mv100-power-table-feed-install.65351/

It is hard to comment on the DRO install without pictures of your mill and its build configuration/drives. In general the DRO glass scale installs are straight forward, as long as they are covered there is little issue with them getting fowled with chips. The Easson glass scales are very decent (I have them on my lathe), they have double lip seals that work very well. I would direct mount the X axis scale to the table, use a standoff/spacer for the scales on the Y and Z knee axis scales if the surfaces are not parallel or uneven. You may want to use some bar stock aluminum mounted to the standoffs and then mount the scales to that, or use some blocks at either end to direct mount the scales to them. When using blocks at either end, I will often slot the mounting bolt holes and add 4 jacking screws in the corner which allows adjustment in all planes (there are also some adjustments on the scale at either end). Look at the DRO pros site for ideas, lots of install info.
http://www.dropros.com/Digital_Readout_DRO_Installation.htm

Example of standoffs on the Y axis (these are mag. scales which need a backing in this configuration) and the knee Z axis, note the 4 jacking set screws, the two securing bolts holes are also slotted allowing alignment of the head in the different planes. On the Z knee axis all the mounting surfaces were at different angles.
Y and Z axis 1.jpgZ axis.jpg

Typical X axis direct mount, glass scale would be mounted vertically.
20161030_131509.jpg
 
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@mksj I was one of the main posters in that thread :)

I'll take pictures tonight of both the mill and the DRO kit once I have it unwrapped and available and post back here with that. The MV100 has quite a lot of angle inwards, narrowing towards the top on both sides of the column, which is going to make mounting the Z-axis scale something of a challenge. I think your suggestion of mounting blocks with jack screws is going to be the right path on that axis, but we'll see.

In both @Eddyde's old thread and in your post just now, I've been confused by what you're suggesting using as the carrier bar. Do you mean just billet aluminum flat bar with no significant machining? What sort of tolerance do I need on the mounting bar is I guess the question I want to ask?

Thanks,
Will
 
Hi Will,

Sorry I missed that you had posted most of that info :oops:, I just looked at the PDF's, pretty nifty mill in its day.

Yes, just some flat stock/beam that you can mount the scale to if you were to use smaller round/square standoffs at either end (see attached file as an example). It does not need to be machined, just a flat surface to mount the scale to. Even with the flat stock beam, the scale might be shimmed into alignment or use the jacking screws in the scale. If you had a larger mounting block at each end then you would probably not need the flat stock. There are some jacking screws at either end of the scale (in the corners) to set the standoff and tilt. The scale mounting bolts are also slotted so you also have a small amount of adjustment. On the glass scales you need to have fairly tight tolerances (~0.005") with respect to alignment when sweeping the scale from end to end. The glass scales also come with removable plastic spacers that keep the head in place during transit and mounting. They are to be removed when the install is complete. Make sure you also figure out the chip covers placement so it does not interfere with anything once mounted. The Easson should also have scale mounting directions in the back of the manual, I assume you ordered an ES-12B 3 axis. I have the previous gen ES-12 on my lathe and it is a great DRO, a lot of the features are more oriented to the mill.
 

Attachments

  • Anilam PGS scale en.pdf
    1.1 MB · Views: 8
I actually ordered two 3 axis kits -- two scales for the lathe with one readout and four scales for the mill, with one readout. I'll end up putting a mixing box in place to sum the quill and knee positions, but I won't order that until everything is installed and properly configured as individual axes.

As far as the mounting blocks go, that makes a lot of sense. I'll have to do some work to get them properly configured to account for the casting draft in the mill column, but that at least gives me a method to do so. I definitely have stock to make those out of, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least get a couple of milled square sides so that I check them with an indicator. My current plan is to get the X and Y on the mill over the long weekend and then use those for a bit before getting too worked up about the knee, quill and lathe scales. Honestly, X should only be a few hours of fairly simple work, but I intend to pull the table for some other ancillary work my mill needs and to use that moment with easy orientation to do the mounting holes for the scale with my Milwaukee-Bux mag drill.

Like I said, I'll get some pictures tonight, probably fairly late and we can talk about what you see in those tomorrow or the day after.

Thanks!
Will
 
[QUOTE="@keflaman do you have a DRO on your MV100? If you do, would you be willing to take a couple of pictures to show how you have the scales mounted?

Thanks,
Will[/QUOTE]

Sorry, not yet. My wife bought me the iGage 3-axis kit for Christmas and it's been sitting in the corner of my shop since then.
 
[QUOTE="@keflaman do you have a DRO on your MV100? If you do, would you be willing to take a couple of pictures to show how you have the scales mounted?

Thanks,
Will

Sorry, not yet. My wife bought me the iGage 3-axis kit for Christmas and it's been sitting in the corner of my shop since then.[/QUOTE]

I finally got around to installing my DROs a few weeks ago. I've been happy with everything so far. One odd anomaly is vibration from the machine will loosen the thumbscrew to the X-axis display when I use the mill. I made my own extension using the supplied base plate screwed to the head cover and cut to length some aluminum square tubing from a destroyed patio umbrella. It's adequate for what it is.

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Sorry, not yet. My wife bought me the iGage 3-axis kit for Christmas and it's been sitting in the corner of my shop since then.

I finally got around to installing my DROs a few weeks ago. I've been happy with everything so far. One odd anomaly is vibration from the machine will loosen the thumbscrew to the X-axis display when I use the mill. I made my own extension using the supplied base plate screwed to the head cover and cut to length some aluminum square tubing from a destroyed patio umbrella. It's adequate for what it is.

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[/QUOTE]
How is your DRO holding up on the MV100? I just purchased one of these and trying to figure out what DRO to go with.
 
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