MrWhoopee
Active Member
I was going to say that I wished they had a dollar bill next to it for scale, but the dimensions given for the machine look reasonable.
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RF45 too good to be true!
- Thread starter Johnwa
- Start date
I really did!
Wait, please tell me you didn't pay $742 for a DRO.
That's a load of money.
TouchDRO would have set you back a lot less and been more powerful
I bought an unassembled kit for $180, put it together in 45 minutes, bought a used Amazon Fire tablet for $50 and three mag scales for $250.
All in I spent under $500
Aliexpress
I am just finalizing an Ali purchase of the Ditron DRO package for my Lathe. It's the end of the 1st qtr so they should be hungry. Maybe not as good as I could do at the end of the year, but I can't wait that long. I want to put the system on at the same time as I install a 3ph motor and VFD.
I have a Ditron on my Mill, and after a lot of soul searching, I think it's best for an old man like me to have everything work the same. That way I don't have to do things differently. The interface will be the same. To me, that advantage is worth the difference in cost.
I've spent a fair bit of time evaluating the Touch system and I like it a lot. But I can't really see any compelling reasons to go that way.
I should add that one could always just move the tablet from one machine to the other and save on that cost too. Alternatively, I could just add the touch box and a tablet to my mill so both could be the same.
But again, it not like the Ditron is junk or inferior to the touch in any significant way. It's a gorgeous system that works extremely well.
If I were starting over, I might go touch. But that's a different debate.
That's an interesting way to be able to follow different discussions. I maintain a link list for that purpose. I think I like your way better. But it makes me wonder if there isn't a system method that is even easier yet.
Edit - THERE IS! At the very top of the thread above the first post there is a watch / unwatch button! My list just died.
That said, your way allows you to let other thread participants know that you are interested in their discussion which has significant value too.
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Whoops I missed that date. I thought that he ordered it at the same time as the mill.
I recall there being an issue with lost positions if the movement was too fast? Either way, I like the Ditron system. I already had it on my Emco.
What does the touch dro do differently? Can you link me to the scales you bought @DavidR8 ? I need a 65ish long scale and the prices i'm seeing are more than you'd pay for a complete milling machine these days...
What does the touch dro do differently? Can you link me to the scales you bought @DavidR8 ? I need a 65ish long scale and the prices i'm seeing are more than you'd pay for a complete milling machine these days...
This is where I got my scales.
I'm a big fan of the display on the TouchDRO. Likewise how it functions when doing things like bolt circles because the display shows you where you are in relation to where you need to be.
Check out the TouchDRO channel on YT.
Dabbler
ersatz engineer
wow. So I did a search on Ali thinking about my big lathe. I found this: gosh I don't need another project, but I'm tempted! (US$)
that's enough tape to Z and Y, and anoterh 50$ gets a second reader. Jim Dawson on the other forum recommends buying tape and doing it yourself for lathe installs. He says it is the same work, often with comperable or better results with much less cost....
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www.aliexpress.us
that's enough tape to Z and Y, and anoterh 50$ gets a second reader. Jim Dawson on the other forum recommends buying tape and doing it yourself for lathe installs. He says it is the same work, often with comperable or better results with much less cost....
Mag scales are stupid cheap right now.
That said, on a lathe Z axis I'd use a glass scale for ease of installation. Drill and tap two holes and the scale is on. If your carriage has provisions for a taper attachment there may even be drilled and tapped holes that could be used for the read head mounting.