DRO with magnetic scales

I'm looking for a 2 axis DRO for my small Dore Westbury milling machine. Since space is very limited I've decided to go for magnetic scales. Machine DRO offer a kit for £360 which seems to fit the bill, but they are the only supplier I can find who offer low cost magnetic systems. It would be nice to have someone else for comparison . Does anyone know of another supplier?

Mike

At the Bristol Show I saw this firm www.ems-i.co.uk I have no connection with the firm just reporting their presence at the show.

Mike

You beat me to it Michael. I had a long chat with one of the guys on the stand at Bristol. He was very knowledgeable, been in the DRO business for many years. Their prices seem comparable to others.

Michael

Hello Mike,

I have the Machine DRO magnetic scales and display fitted to my lathe and mill. I am very pleased with the results, the magnetic scale is easy to cut to length and is very compact. The readout is a rebadged Sino that has been around for some time. After installing the stainless steel strip that protects the magnetic strip, I applied sealant so the ends of the encoder assembly are sealed. The £360 kit looks good value considering the encoders alone would cost £334 for the pair, if you bought today you can factor in another 10% discount. I wish the kit bundle and discount had been available when I bought mine. Regards, Michael.

Thanks all.

After checking with ems and machine DRO it seems the current deal at mDRO is hard to beat.

Ordered a complete 2 axis milling package with 5 micron magnetic scales for £330 including carriage.

Mike

I purchased a 3 axis system from Machine DRO at the Bristol show on the Friday for £475. I've installed it on my Tom Senior mill. Very compact and easy to fit.

I was a bit miffed that they released the 10% discount on their website only a few days later though.

Steve.

Hi Steve, have you got any photo's as I want to fit a DRO to my Tom Senior?

Many thanks

Hi Senior Yates,

I've just added the only picture I have to an album. I will happily take more pictures for you.

Steve.

Hi Steve

Thank you for that. I have just completed making and fitting a 4" riser block for my TS. I will upload some photo's when I get a chance.

Regards

Machine DRO have a Real English manual for the Sino DRO that is worth quite a lot! If you have seen the original Sino manual with its very pronounced Chinglis language, you will know what I mean.

I have several magnetic scales from Machine DRO, and they are a lot easier to fit and take up less space than the glass scales. They are also much less sensitive to oil etc.

Kai

Hi Kai,

My system came with 4 separate manuals. Basic Function and Console set up, Milling function, Lathe function and the Encoder install guide.

Although they are in English there are a few errors. For instance the first two manuals contradict each other concerning the axis + and - convention. Very confusing for anybody who isn't familiar with it.

Also my console was supplied with the X axis +/- programmed the wrong way round. Luckily the console manual covers how to change the settings.

Steve

Hi John,

I was always taught tool to the right, tool to the back and knee up are all + on the mill. It gets very confusing in a machine shop that's running 24/7 if your co- workers are not all running the machine the same way.

I don't suppose it would matter in a model engineering workshop or a one man band workshop but it's what I have got used to.

Steve.

Hope this works.

http://concepttocad.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html

Edited By fishy-steve on 01/09/2016 09:46:25

For a horizontal axis, if the read head is mounted with the cable exit towards the left of the strip the count direction will be opposite to that if it were mounted with the cable exit towards the right of the strip. The supplier probably sets up a kit package for milling use (or lathe) and the encoder type. I would expect the direction settings to be left at factory defaults. Regards, Michael.

Hi Michael

That would explain my X axis issue.

After re-reading John's reply above it finally soaked in!

Thanks,

Steve.

Edited By fishy-steve on 01/09/2016 10:42:44

Would someone explain to me when looking at the Machine DRO site what the supposed difference is between Hobby and Industrial ,i see no price difference at all and they look the same. And what is pro supposed to be , as i would assume industrial users would use a professional system ????

A quick 30sec glance and I can see they list longer length and higher resolution encoders in the industrial section, probably more diffrences too.

J