DRO for a mill.

Dr Jo · Jun 29, 2016

Mark the travel distance is the minimum length you should go for. You also need to think about where you are going to mount the scale, sometimes it is easier if you buy the next length scale up as it lets you mount the read head in a more convenient position.

The higher resolution scales are useful on the lathe cross slide where you are using it to measure diameters rather than radius, as it means you are getting measurement accuracies of 2um rather than 10um on the readout. Unless you are keeping your machines in a temperature controlled workshop you are unlikely to be able to keep to accuracies of 1um.

Which reminds me I have another Sinpo DRO setup to mount up on Sixis.

Jo

deverett · Jun 29, 2016

Nick Hulme said:
I have Machine DRO sourced SINO DROs on my lathe and mill, the mill DRO has been running constantly for around 10 years, an electrolytic capacitor failed in the Mill unit a few months ago, 70 pence and a visit to Maplin later and it's running perfectly again.
Maybe quality varies for units sourced directly form China?

- Nick

Nick
Are you an electronic guru? How did you know which capacitor had failed? Just curious 'cause my Sino DRO is working well - especially now I know how to use a few of the 'tricks'.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Nick Hulme · Jul 1, 2016

deverett said:
Nick
Are you an electronic guru? How did you know which capacitor had failed? Just curious 'cause my Sino DRO is working well - especially now I know how to use a few of the 'tricks'.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Dave,
I don't regard myself as a Guru but I did spend some of my youth building and repairing electronic stuff.

If the top of an electrolytic has bulged it's probably toast, if it's split it's definitely FUBAR, if there's any residue at the base it could also be NBG.
If you have a failed circuit of any age with no blown tracks and no sign of the escape of Magic Smoke from any of the silicon then it's worth replacing the electrolytics, you'd be surprised how often that works ;-)

- Nick

ldsgeek · Jul 2, 2016

if you don't mind doing some of the work yourself I can highly recommend going to yuristoys.com and looking at what he's come up with. Almost any type of scale can be used, the display is an Android tablet, multiple machines can be set up on one tablet. I have less than $200US into the one for my mini mill with all three axis. It can handle a fourth axis and tach as well. Bonus, you can use the tablet for internet axis right at the machine if you need it (assuming wifi in the shop), or take it from the shop for other uses.

Nick Hulme · Jul 3, 2016

ldsgeek said:
if you don't mind doing some of the work yourself I can highly recommend going to yuristoys.com and looking at what he's come up with. Almost any type of scale can be used, the display is an Android tablet, multiple machines can be set up on one tablet. I have less than $200US into the one for my mini mill with all three axis. It can handle a fourth axis and tach as well. Bonus, you can use the tablet for internet axis right at the machine if you need it (assuming wifi in the shop), or take it from the shop for other uses.

Your link is broken 'cos you've miss-spelled the domain ;-)
it's http://www.yuriystoys.com/

- Nick