New to me ZX45 milling machine

[Susquatch]

the DRO was from selling other shop tools I don't need

I don't think the last two items on your Ali list are compatible with each other. Were you planning to use them independently? Lots of us have made quill scale mounts to adapt a suitable scale to our mills.

When I did mine, I even configured my dro to add the two Z components - table and quill so I get one Z readout on my DRO.

Thread 'Installing a DRO on a Hartford Bridgeport Clone.'

Mar 5, 2022

I started this thread somewhat in frustration at not being able to find detailed instructions on how to install magnetic scales on my Hartford Clone. So it will be a long thread asking lots of questions and dealing with lots of challenges.

The DRO is a Ditron D80 with Slim 1micron Magnetic Scales.

I will also include a few posts about how I mounted the display and probably add additional posts as I change things in future. Thanks in advance to everyone who will contribute.

• Susquatch
• Replies: 150
• Forum: Machine Talks. Mills, Lathes, Shapers, etc.

It's a long read to get to the quill install but hopefully worth the time for you.

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

I don't think the last two items on your Ali list are compatible with each other. Were you planning to use them independently? Lots of us have made quill scale mounts to adapt a suitable scale to our mills.

When I did mine, I even configured my dro to add the two Z components - table and quill so I get one Z readout on my DRO.

Thread 'Installing a DRO on a Hartford Bridgeport Clone.'

Mar 5, 2022

I started this thread somewhat in frustration at not being able to find detailed instructions on how to install magnetic scales on my Hartford Clone. So it will be a long thread asking lots of questions and dealing with lots of challenges.

The DRO is a Ditron D80 with Slim 1micron Magnetic Scales.

I will also include a few posts about how I mounted the display and probably add additional posts as I change things in future. Thanks in advance to everyone who will contribute.

• Susquatch
• Replies: 150
• Forum: Machine Talks. Mills, Lathes, Shapers, etc.

It's a long read to get to the quill install but hopefully worth the time for you.

Did you mean the metric collets and the counter bore bits or were you meaning the dro and the digital quill read out thingy? Sorry I haven't had caffeine yet and my brain isn't fully working.

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

I don't think the last two items on your Ali list are compatible with each other. Were you planning to use them independently? Lots of us have made quill scale mounts to adapt a suitable scale to our mills.

When I did mine, I even configured my dro to add the two Z components - table and quill so I get one Z readout on my DRO.

Thread 'Installing a DRO on a Hartford Bridgeport Clone.'

Mar 5, 2022

I started this thread somewhat in frustration at not being able to find detailed instructions on how to install magnetic scales on my Hartford Clone. So it will be a long thread asking lots of questions and dealing with lots of challenges.

The DRO is a Ditron D80 with Slim 1micron Magnetic Scales.

I will also include a few posts about how I mounted the display and probably add additional posts as I change things in future. Thanks in advance to everyone who will contribute.

• Susquatch
• Replies: 150
• Forum: Machine Talks. Mills, Lathes, Shapers, etc.

It's a long read to get to the quill install but hopefully worth the time for you.

I just read that entire thread there was some very useful information in there. Thank you for suggesting it.

 

[Susquatch]

Did you mean the metric collets and the counter bore bits or were you meaning the dro and the digital quill read out thingy? Sorry I haven't had caffeine yet and my brain isn't fully working.

I meant the last two Ali Express items in your shopping list. The digital quill readout and the DRO Readout Display. I don't think they can talk to each other...... As far as I know the only display that can is the TouchDRO unit by Yurih.

I don't even open CHMW till I've had coffee. Too many really sharp guys on here and too easy to miss something.

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

I meant the last two Ali Express items in your shopping list. The digital quill readout and the DRO Readout Display. I don't think they can talk to each other...... As far as I know the only display that can is the TouchDRO unit by Yurih.

I don't even open CHMW till I've had coffee. Too many really sharp guys on here and too easy to miss something.

Sorry I should have clarified I bought a 3 axis dro and the Z axis will go on the column and then I also bought a separate quill dro with a built in display similar to what a lot of bench top mills come with from factory. The quill dro is a stand alone unit that I keep calling a dro becaue I am not really sure what it is actually called. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[Susquatch]

Sorry I should have clarified I bought a 3 axis dro and the Z axis will go on the column and then I also bought a separate quill dro with a built in display similar to what a lot of bench top mills come with from factory. The quill dro is a stand alone unit that I keep calling a dro becaue I am not really sure what it is actually called. Sorry for any confusion.

Appologies are not necessary here and especially not to me.

OK, that's kinda what I thought.

You do realize that most DRO boxes will add 2 inputs to get one output...... You should be able to get a 4th scale, install it on your quill, and then set your DRO to add the quill and the column to get a total Z. It's a wonderful improvement in Z measurements.

There is nothing horrible about those sliding stick units. Normally, they work quite well. However, many users report that they are not as reliable as a magnetic or optical scale.

It would have been a lot easier to install a sliding stick system on my quill. But I wanted to combine them to get one reading so I went the extra mile. I'm ever so happy with the results.

But you are not the only one to go that way. I almost did too. I think most guys who did go that way are happy. I just like to get all my readings in one place and I love the convenience of a Z readout that takes both my quill and my column into account in the same reading for total Z.

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

Appologies are not necessary here and especially not to me.

OK, that's kinda what I thought.

You do realize that most DRO boxes will add 2 inputs to get one output...... You should be able to get a 4th scale, install it on your quill, and then set your DRO to add the quill and the column to get a total Z. It's a wonderful improvement in Z measurements.

There is nothing horrible about those sliding stick units. Normally, they work quite well. However, many users report that they are not as reliable as a magnetic or optical scale.

It would have been a lot easier to install a sliding stick system on my quill. But I wanted to combine them to get one reading so I went the extra mile. I'm ever so happy with the results.

But you are not the only one to go that way. I almost did too. I think most guys who did go that way are happy. I just like to get all my readings in one place and I love the convenience of a Z readout that takes both my quill and my column into account in the same reading for total Z.

I just had a look and the display I have only has 3 inputs. The display arrived today but the scales won't be here until Monday. I am assuming in order to do that I would need a display that has 4 inputs? I had originally wanted to do a setup like what you have but in the end I went this way mostly because of price. The cheapest option is more that enough to meet my needs and allowed me to get it and start using it a lot sooner. I do very basic milling. I think what you have is super cool. Would yours be considered a 4 axis Dro?

 

[JustaDB]

Instead of using the quill gauge, why didn't you go w/ a 4 axis DRO?

(I see the question has already been asked. Didn't read the whole thread before I posted the question)

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

Mill base is done now it is rock solid, level and most importantly it sits at a comfortable working height.

Now I have moved onto installing the DRO. And that veryu quickly turned into a side project of making a wrench for the collet chuck. My accusize collet chuck came with flats to hold the chuck but no wrench to hold it with. The mill doesn't have any form of spindle lock and the gearing isn't quite low enough to be able to really tighten the collet nut. So first order of business is to make a wrench to hold the chuck so I can tighten the collets. Then I can mill all the brackets for the DRO installation. That is until I come across another side project that needs to be done in order to finish the DRO.

So far I am absolutely loving the aliexpress cutters I ordered a few weeks ago.

 

[Jswain]

Mill base is done now it is rock solid, level and most importantly it sits at a comfortable working height.
View attachment 52621

Now I have moved onto installing the DRO. And that veryu quickly turned into a side project of making a wrench for the collet chuck. My accusize collet chuck came with flats to hold the chuck but no wrench to hold it with. The mill doesn't have any form of spindle lock and the gearing isn't quite low enough to be able to really tighten the collet nut. So first order of business is to make a wrench to hold the chuck so I can tighten the collets. Then I can mill all the brackets for the DRO installation. That is until I come across another side project that needs to be done in order to finish the DRO.

So far I am absolutely loving the aliexpress cutters I ordered a few weeks ago.

Love it!!!

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

I have a dro question I am hoping someone can answer. I am slowly working away at installing the dro the Z axis is done and I am working on the X axis. This is where I have run into a snag. the scale has a .007" curve to it over 24". Or at least the aluminum extrusion housing the glass scale does. I have checked this with a dial indicator as well as a 24" straight edge and feeler gauges. Is this enough of a deviation to be concerned about? Basically the dial indicator is set at zero at one end and as I run the table down the indicator slowly drops to -.007" in the middle and then rises slowly back to zero at 24". I noticed when taking apart the scale to cut it down that the read head seems to be spring loaded and looks like it could handle a bit of deviation and still be held tight to the glass scale. Or is that just wishful thinking?

 

[jcdammeyer]

I have a dro question I am hoping someone can answer. I am slowly working away at installing the dro the Z axis is done and I am working on the X axis. This is where I have run into a snag. the scale has a .007" curve to it over 24". Or at least the aluminum extrusion housing the glass scale does. I have checked this with a dial indicator as well as a 24" straight edge and feeler gauges. Is this enough of a deviation to be concerned about? Basically the dial indicator is set at zero at one end and as I run the table down the indicator slowly drops to -.007" in the middle and then rises slowly back to zero at 24". I noticed when taking apart the scale to cut it down that the read head seems to be spring loaded and looks like it could handle a bit of deviation and still be held tight to the glass scale. Or is that just wishful thinking?

Does the scale display give you an indication that there's a problem?

 

[DavidR8]

I have a dro question I am hoping someone can answer. I am slowly working away at installing the dro the Z axis is done and I am working on the X axis. This is where I have run into a snag. the scale has a .007" curve to it over 24". Or at least the aluminum extrusion housing the glass scale does. I have checked this with a dial indicator as well as a 24" straight edge and feeler gauges. Is this enough of a deviation to be concerned about? Basically the dial indicator is set at zero at one end and as I run the table down the indicator slowly drops to -.007" in the middle and then rises slowly back to zero at 24". I noticed when taking apart the scale to cut it down that the read head seems to be spring loaded and looks like it could handle a bit of deviation and still be held tight to the glass scale. Or is that just wishful thinking?

I would do a series of calibration tests over the length of the scale to see if the curve has any effect on accuracy.

 

[Susquatch]

Magnetic scales have a specified tolerance. I don't know about glass.

But it will always bug you and you will never trust it. Personally, I'd just put a center support on it and call it done. The X axis is long and could use another support anyway. Since it dips toward the bed, you could just mold one out of epoxy (I used 2-part wood filler) and then just shim it 7 thou. If it's a tight fit, just shim it.

 

[DavidR8]

I have a dro question I am hoping someone can answer. I am slowly working away at installing the dro the Z axis is done and I am working on the X axis. This is where I have run into a snag. the scale has a .007" curve to it over 24". Or at least the aluminum extrusion housing the glass scale does. I have checked this with a dial indicator as well as a 24" straight edge and feeler gauges. Is this enough of a deviation to be concerned about? Basically the dial indicator is set at zero at one end and as I run the table down the indicator slowly drops to -.007" in the middle and then rises slowly back to zero at 24". I noticed when taking apart the scale to cut it down that the read head seems to be spring loaded and looks like it could handle a bit of deviation and still be held tight to the glass scale. Or is that just wishful thinking?

Can you share a picture of how the x axis scale is mounted?

 

[Megar arc 5040dd]

Here is a pic of how it is mounted. The read head is not yet mounted since I am still trying to fin tune getting the scale into the right position. The direction that it is slightly bowing in is in and out not up and down. In other words I would need to put a shim in the middle between the table and the scale. I'm not super keen on doing that glass doesn't like to bend and the last thing I want is to break the glass scale inside.

What you can't see is that currently there is a .020" shim between the scale and the table at the far end. Sadly I don't really know if that is needed at all or if it is the right amount. Since the scale is effectively an arc then two points will always measure the same. Shimming the end out just changes where the to points are that measure the same on the indicator.

I haven't yet tested to see if it actually makes a difference on the display or the accuracy. I will do that one I have decided its exact location and mount the read head.

 

[DavidR8]

If I understand correctly, you have a scale that bows away from the table at one end by over .020” but bows in -.007” in the middle or thereabouts. Given that the near end of the scale in the picture is fixed and not shimmed how is the scale getting closer to the table in the area where it’s -.007?

 

[Susquatch]

Given that the near end of the scale in the picture is fixed and not shimmed how is the scale getting closer to the table in the area where it’s -.007?

He said earlier that it came that way from the factory.

 

[Susquatch]

In other words I would need to put a shim in the middle between the table and the scale. I'm not super keen on doing that glass doesn't like to bend and the last thing I want is to break the glass scale inside.

I appreciate your concern. But 7 thou is nothing. You won't break it. Bottom line is that you can't fix that any other way without putting your read head onto a mechanism that moves it in and out to follow the scale. That's ridiculous. So you have to straighten out the scale.

 

[DavidR8]

He said earlier that it came that way from the factory.

What came that way? The table or the scale?
Just re-read the whole thread and I didn't see anything.