Inexpensive DRO for mini mill

[tlevan03]

Im looking for an inexpensive DRO for my mini mill. I have the WEN mill and if any of you have any experience with them you know how bad the backlash is on the Z axis and its hard to gauge the depth. That is the only axis I feel i need to measure at this time. Theres a bunch of DRO's on amazon and ebay and I was just curious on whos using what. Thank you!

 

[alfadan]

The little iGaging scales seem to be pretty popular, though I think the display uses a battery.

Im looking for an inexpensive DRO for my mini mill. I have the WEN mill and if any of you have any experience with them you know how bad the backlash is on the Z axis and its hard to gauge the depth. That is the only axis I feel i need to measure at this time. Theres a bunch of DRO's on amazon and ebay and I was just curious on whos using what. Thank you!

 

[txvwnut]

Excessive backlash and a DRO don't play well together, especially if you forget where your number is/was at in process of your operation. TPAC tools https://www.tpactools.com/ sells DRO's at pretty affordable prices. I've also dealt with DRO Pros https://www.dropros.com/ but they are a little more pricey than TPAC.

 

[Cane]

Something like this should work. Might have to make or modify the brackets. We used to have some on the Bridgeports. I think they were mitutoyo.

 

[gte718p]

Excessive backlash and a DRO don't play well together, especially if you forget where your number is/was at in process of your operation. TPAC tools https://www.tpactools.com/ sells DRO's at pretty affordable prices. I've also dealt with DRO Pros https://www.dropros.com/ but they are a little more pricey than TPAC.

Excessive back lash is a great reason to have a DRO. It doesn't matter where your hand wheel says you are, the reader knows where the work piece or tool actually is.

I recommend the Iguageing scales and Yuri's touchdro

Yuriy's Toys

Blog dedicated to DIY digital readout TouchDRO and other hobby machining and engineering subjects.

www.yuriystoys.com

TouchDRO - Touchscreen Digital Readout (DRO) for Lathes and Milling Machines

TouchDRO is a touchscreen digital readout for manual mills and lathes. Designed, assembled, tested, and shipped from Portland, Oregon, it supports most common DRO scales and has been trusted by machinists since 2012.

www.touchdro.com

I build the older version several years ago. My build thread is here:

$120 Mill DRO

I guess it should be $180 DRO oops. You get a nice garage table out of it also. You can use the camera to document your projects or surf the web when you are not using the mill. I'm building up a RF 31 mini mill. The end state is going be a three axis CNC, but it is a slow build. In the...

www.garagejournal.com

I was very happy with it until I went full CNC.

 

[tlevan03]

Thank you for your input. I ordered one of the iGauge to see how that treats me. I may upgrade it at some point to get the other axis'.

 

[gte718p]

Thank you for your input. I ordered one of the iGauge to see how that treats me. I may upgrade it at some point to get the other axis'.

If you don't go for an integrated solution, be aware they eat batteries, even when turned "off". Either have a stock or take them out after use. If you don't it is incredibly frustrating because the batteries are always dead when you want to use them.

Are they .5 micon glass scales? No, but they worked for me.

 

[BillK]

MikroMark has them.

Digital Remote Readout 24"

Buy our Digital Remote Readout 24" for only $54.95

micromark.com