Thread: Carbatec DRO

This is a miniature version for almost nothing
Micro Digital Read Out

Originally Posted by morrisman

This is a miniature version for almost nothing
Micro Digital Read Out

Love it!
Off to eBay I go

I had never seen the digital tyre depth gauges like this, however using one was a very clever idea. Well done!

Pete

I might have a go at that. Mitutoyo make one with a 1"/25mm range:

Mitutoyo Digital Depth Gauge. #700-105

In regards to the 1st one you listed where were you intending to use it?

They could be mounted to any part of the lathe with a bit of imagination.

You may need to make a suitable guarding arrangement to protect it from swarf and cutting fluid.

If the intention was to use it on the Longitudinal axis of the lathe you would need to make a series of mounting points as it appears they are not overly long.

Hi pipeclay,
the two units on special are 800 and 1000mm long. The picture seems to be of a much shorter version. Keeping cutting fluid out of the unit would be a problem. You can also attach this remote display to the sender:

Digital Readout Remote Display Unit : CARBA-TEC

However, I like the simplicity of the tyre gauge DRO shown above. I reckon I'll make one out of the 0-25mm mitutoyo gauge.

With the tyre gauge type where do you intend to use it?

same way as the bloke in the video in the link at post #2.

I can highly recommend this diy kit DRO that uses low cost Chinese scales:
ShumaTech : ShumaTech

I built four of them, two DRO350 and two DRO550. Sold the older 350 ones on eBay, use the newer 550's on my X3 mill and the Emco lathe. They are unbeatable value for money if one is prepared to invest some time.

The Hercus 260 I use without a DRO, mainly because I have not figured out yet how to add scales to it in an unobtrusive way. In my experience, a DRO is slighly more useful and desirable on a mill than it is on a lathe. It is particularly challenging to add a DRO to a small lathe's top/compound slide, because of the small size of a compound. Another issue is that I use the Hercus for larger jobs, and it more challenging to shield/protect scales from larger chips and coolant. Chinese scales do not like at all contamination with liquids because of the capacitive sensing system they use. You get false readings when contaminated, and have to clean them often. Maybe for a Hercus 260 it would make sense to use glass scales instead, as these come ready made with protection against chips and liquids. Chris

Yes the smaller Chinese digital things hate moisture . I wrecked one of the ALDI digital verniers by getting fluid on it, it never recovered . They were on special for $20 . Those Shuma devices look expensive .... I am trying the tyre depth device for now. Mainly for accurate screw cutting, getting depth of thread right. I always seem to make them too shallow or overdo it ! Mike

Mike, you could always use a good old dial indicator, needs no battery.

I also bougt a couple Aldi calipers last year, so cheap on special. I was after the board inside, so I took them apart. They are made even cheaper than any other chinese caliper, really low quality.... Anyway, yours is not permanently wrecked by fluid: take it apart and clean the circuit board carefully with some shellite, clean the beam too, let dry and it will work again. Be careful not to damage the display and its rubber connector strips though.

When I modify the boards to make miniature scales, I remove the dispaly and the plastic cover, saves a lot of height and lets me make low profile reading heads.

Chris

I think dial indicators are fantastic for measuring runout, but I'm not sure I like them for measuring displacement. There's no ambiguity about a digital display and you don't need to keep count of the dial rotations. Maybe I just need more practice at reading them.

Chris I also bought a bunch of those Aldi calipers last year with a view to using them on projects and agree the quality was abysmal. I've seen many other Chinese calipers and the quality is actually not too bad, excellent in fact when the price is considered. However the Aldi ones are truly dreadful.

Pete

The $3 tread depth thing arrived. What can you say ..for the money , it's great . Waiting for the magnets and away we go . I have got the 'feel' of the ADLI digital verniers to some degree ...it was a guessing game to within 5 thou to begin with... but with practice it's down to about 2 thou accuracy !!! They are ok for roughing down work , just to give you an idea of where you are. The ALDI hose clamps actually work.. $5 for a box . MIKE