Mill DRO

[Stustoys]

Bought myself a DRO(with a little help...... thanks) for my bridgeport clone and have just started to fit it.

Here is a picture(sorry for the crappy picture it is the only one I have of the whole lot) of it as it came out of the box. I got four scales so I can put one on the quill and upgraded to 0.001mm scales. It didn't come with much in the way of mounting brackets but I'm not fussed about that as I've been told its better/prettier to make your own anyway.




I found that one of the scales is broken and hopefully the replacement is on its way.

I'm starting with the easiest thing first which is mounting the readout. Should have a picture of that tomorrow(hardly exciting lol).
Stuart

[neksmerj]

Hi Stu,

More details please. Where did you get it, and an approx price if not being too nosy?

Did they supply all the mounting hardware?

Oops, you mentioned the supplied hardware was thin on the ground.

Ken

[Stustoys]

Hi neksmerj
I'll wait until the other scale turns up before I start naming names and prices etc.
Stuart

[Sterob]

Nice one Stu. I can guess who helped you buy one. He's a good lad!
I will be looking for one for my Mill one day......
A little advice. Take your time and fit the easiest ( usually the shortest, I think) scale first.
Sterob

[Dave J]

Looks good, what were are the size of the scales he sent you, HxW not length.


Dave

[Stustoys]

Hi Sterob
Yes he is.
I was going to do either the quill or Y first, as I'm still undecided about mounting the X on the front or the back. It depends on if I can make up a stop system to suit as the T slot will be interfered with. The Z will be last.

Stuart

p.s. dodged a bullet today. Turned the spindle on the mill on and the inverter made a very strange noise so I turned it straight off. I thought "well there goes $500". Walked over to have a look and a cockroachy thing climbs out of the inverter looking very unhappy. Flicked him across the shed and had a smell of the inverter, it smelt ok so I fired it up again and off it went

[Stustoys]

HxW= 45 x 29 scale. 66 x 29 scale and head.
(thats from the manual, I'll check the scales in the morning)
They only have 1 shield rubber not 2 like some others.

Stuart

[Dave J]

All of mine only have 1 shield, it's not a concern unless you are putting them on their side or upside down.
I think the 2 Shields are all talk anyway, because if something is going to get in it will get in where it opens to go around the reader head, no amount of seals will fix that.

Dave

[Stustoys]

Yeah I wasn't fussed about it. I figure if it would last a week in a workshop it should last me about 5 years lol
Stuart

[Dave J]

Does your have a battery in it?
The only reason I ask is I had one of my Miesters in the cupboard for a year and a half off my original mill and remembered reading in the Sino manual that if the system was left unpowered for more than 12 months the unit may need to be returned to the manufacturer for a replacement battery.
I contacted Miester and they told me they don't have batteries in their DRO's.

So if you have a battery backup one it's something to keep in mind if you don't use for a extended period, it will need to be left connected to power to keep the battery charged up.

Dave

[Stustoys]

I'm pretty sure the manual doesnt say anything about a battery. I'll check.
Stuart

[eskimo]

and a cockroachy thing climbs out of the inverter looking very unhappy. Flicked him across the shed and had a smell of the inverter, it smelt ok so I fired it up again and off it went

normally they fry onto the circuit board and stuff it up...your lucky

[Stustoys]

...your lucky

Indeed, Now I have to come up with a box to keep it in.

I shouldn't post late at night, I gave the dimensions of the larger scales. Mine are HxW= 32 x 22 scale. 50.5 x 22 scale and head.

I had a look see for a battery and there might be, not sure if that's a battery or not.

And here is the angle iron bracket I made last night. It was going to be 50mm wide and not an extra arm but when I put it up there to see if I had got the spacing right so the eyelet would still fit I figured "hey that looks better than my idea" lol


Stuart

p.s. I just had a thought about posting pictures this way. Is there anyone here thats on 56k? They might not like it much.

[Stustoys]

Well my replacement scale has turned up, so now I have no excuse not to get to work on mounting the DRO.
$650 all up with 4 0.001 scales. (5 if you count the broken one lol)

So the plan is now to mount the X axis first.
I'm thinking of mounting a piece of angle iron to the front of the bed using the T slot for the axis/power feed stops. Then mounting the scale to that. Hopefully I'll be able to have clearance to make adjustable stops for the axis/powerfeed.

Using a T nut about 100mm long and two bolts each end.
What thickness angle you think I should use? I'm thinking 3mm but you might be able to talk me into 5mm.
Stuart

[pipeclay]

Is it possable to mount the scale directly to the table without the use of the Angle,if not I would think that you would need to use what ever material thickness would be best to eliminate Vibration and Resinance,these 2 factors could have a bearing on the accuracy of your Readout.