DRO Z axis

I'm in the process of selecting a DRO kit for my Warco WM16B milling machine. How useful is having DRO on the Z axis, when this machine has a digital depth readout for the quill? It's not a question of saving money, I'd just be interested in your thoughts.

Magnetic or optical? I'm erring towards magnetic.

Cannot comment on optical as I haven't tried it. My machine is fitted with the common type of DRO consisting of a solid steel bar with a cursor / read head sliding along it (magnetic ?). Both quill and Z axis are so fitted. I use the quill readout a lot and the Z axis one much less so partly because I don't altogether trust the Z slide (it moves a couple of thou in X and Y when I lock it). However, after a while and if there is a lot of swarf about this type of DRO starts to misbehave (mainly X and Y axes) and needs to be stripped and cleaned. However I have found that the 2 inch square, clear plastic tubing that forms the packing in which curtain rails etc. are supplied can be cut in half along its length to form an effective barrier to swarf. It is flexible enough to allow the buttons on the read head to be depressed. Some form of bracket needs to be made to support the shield at its extremities.

How useful is having DRO on the Z axis, when this machine has a digital depth readout for the quill?

My mill has all four. I rarely use the quill, except for drilling or awkward-to-reach jobs. But my machine has a knee, not a fixed table. It most definitely needs the vertical, as that is most important when horizontal milling.

Edited By not done it yet on 31/10/2021 16:49:18

That depends if you either intend to do any imperial measurements or you have a big casting that needs touching off from the table.

My Champion 20V mill now has all four. When I first fitted the DRO I went for X Y and Z but to be quite honest I didn't find a great deal of use for the Z readout. As standard the mill has a digital readout for the quill but the display is not that easy to read. I have recently found a design for combining the Z axis and quill readouts so I have bought an additional read head unit and can now display the result on the main DRO display. This I find really useful and it is making good use of the Z axis display on the main screen.

Peter

I too have all 4, I tend to use the Z more than the quill. Yes you can read the quill, but can you control it accurately? I know I can't. Yes I have a fine feed on the quill, but there is so much play in the feed that when not under load it drops.

I don't regret getting the Z, and it is much cheaper to buy a 3 axis compared to replacing a 2 axis with a 3 axis.

Adrian

I fitted a 2-axis DRO to my Bridgeport; nothing on Z or the quill. I don't miss them in the least, 2-axis is fine for everything I need. On the very few occasions I need accurate Z I use the axis dial which is good for a thou or so.

Andrew

My SX2P doesnt have an extendable quill, the spindle is fixed so I went with a 3 axis DRO.

I use the Z axis DRO all the time and my DRO set is budget, I dont have an all singing and dancing display for the 3 axis just a simple readout for each and I have found the Z more than accurate enough for the work I have done to date.

Ron

Better to have it than not

I have the small Chester 16V milling machine and I bought and fitted the standard X, Y & Z axis kit after seeing the advert on this site (the Z is on the movement of the head). I use the Z axis readout almost as frequently as the X & Y.

I am going to fit a simple quill device next year to help with drill depth settings.

Phil H

I have fitted 3 axes DRO to my Dore Westbury and I wouldn't be without it.

Backlash? Forget it!

Best wishes

John B

I have a 2 axis on my raglan with a cheapo scale on the Z seems to work for me.

It's a bit like buying a car without electric windows. I do not miss them. But if you had them then you would not want to be without them. I use the Z axis dro all the time. Once you have it then it's the norm. Without it you say i do not need it. It's a one upmanship thing.

Steve.

I have a mill/drill (no knee) and I have an Easson 3-Axis DRO with the z attached to the quill. (4-axis DRO's are also available that combine the movements in the quill and column).

Raising and lowering the head on the column is not as accurate as using the quill which has a geared reduction knob for movement. The travel in the spindle is adequate for most milling operations.

The Easson DRO has a function for milling a curve in the horizontal and vertical direction and needs its own z-axis scale to calculate the required movements.

If you already have a readout on the quill, an option is to get a 3-axis readout and x and y scales only. Add a 3rd if required later.

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 01/11/2021 02:59:34

My Centec 2B has a knee and a quill and after fitting a 3-axis DRO I thought it was complete. There were many times, though, when I found it tedious drilling and tapping blind holes. So much so that I spent considerable effort to fit and install a quill DRO - and a depth stop. Not easy on a Mk3 head. I'm very pleased I did though.

Hi Bo'sun,

I also have a WM16B so for once I can speak with some form of qualification.

The quill "DRO" is nice but it turns itself off and in doing so forgets where it is, so all moves have to be relative, this is a big deal compared to a real DRO which is continuous and allows clever functions.

The worm drive on the quill is lovely, so its not a big deal, but I shall be fitting a Z--axis to match my factory installed X & Y as time allows.

It has been pointed out that a "proper" DRO on the quill connected to work with the main axis DRO is a good thing, the electrics seem a bit expensive but I see the logic. It would allow use of the fine-feed on the quill rather than the courser Z-axis for small adjustments whilst still maintaining continuous accurate read out.

Thanks for all the advice and comments,

I've pretty much decided on a Machine DRO 3 axis kit with magnetic encoders. Being magnetic, is there an issue with attracting ferrous chips? I'm guessing it's OK, because there are plenty of them out there.

You will not be disappointed, the M-DRO kits come with good instructions making installation quite straightforward. The magnetic encoders come with an aluminium cover to protect them and I have had no issues at all with any ferrous chips interfering with them. The magnetic encoders are so much neater than the optical ones and can be easily trimmed to length to make a really tidy installation. Enjoy.

Peter

Thank you Peter. Here goes some more money from under the mattress.