DRO on X2 milling machine

[Firebird]

Hi

There has been a few topics about fitting DRO's to machines of late so I thought I would show my latest effort.

The Dro scales I purchased from Arceurtrade ( usual disclaimer )

The little box is from my mate Julian, alias Barney dog, and has the latest software installed.

The scales are easy enough to fit with a few home made brackets.

Touch DRO is a free app that can be downloaded to any android devise

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTmfR10bJAk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTmfR10bJAk</a>

I have this set up fitted to all 3 of my mills and it absolutely transforms the machines. No more counting turns or forgetting where you are and of course no need to worry about backlash or a bit of slop in the gibs as the DRO tells you exactly where the table is.

Next job is to fit them to the old Myford

Cheers

Rich

[John Rudd]

Rich,
I had seen your X1 mill with the dro addition, quite impressive..

Any chance you could do some close up pics of the brackets etc on your  X2  please?

Did you have to machine any part of the mill for the brackets to fit?

I see you fitted the X axis to the front of the table, does this obstruct the gib adjustments or the lock up screw?

Cheer
John

[Firebird]

Hi John

I just had to drill and tap a few holes M4.

The X axis had to be fitted to the front as the table goes too far back to fit it at the rear. The alluminium angle I used as the mounting and protective cover is only fitted with 2 screws so can be removed fairly quickly to adjust gibs if nec. I extended the locking screw by brazing a caphead screw into a bit of steel tube and fitting a knurled knob. It is not nec to have the gibs tight as the DRO measures the position of the table. Just get into the habit of locking the table before every operation.

Here's a few pics

Cheers

Rich

PS.  I posted the pics with      Use.com

[John Rudd]

Rich,
Thanks for posting the photos.....The install looks good...much simpler than some I've seen....

Fortunately we have a stockist of aluminium profiles in Hull, so I'll pay them a visit for some angle later today.