DRO for 14 foot Lancing-G lathe

[specnaz]

Hey guys , we have this old lathe for big cylinder jobs and we have recently come to an idea to add a DRO that's not gonna break the budget, since our Lancing has 14feet of working area what would be the best solution for instaling any type of DRO since glass scale of that size would be next to impossible to find? Any suggestions are welcomed. Thank you!

 

[greggv]

newhall

 

[MwTech Inc]

dro pros can do up to 240"

Just a happy customer, have 3 of their systems

 

[specnaz]

dro pros can do up to 240"

Just a happy customer, have 3 of their systems

can you please be more specific?
We have Newall on our small lathe and it works good, we just haven't found anything to have long enough scale that would run for 14 feet and at the same time be out to lunch price wise

 

[Gordon Heaton]

Look here, lower right section of chart: https://www.dropros.com/Electronica...#Electronica_Magnetic_Scale_2_Axis_Lathe_Kits:

 

[4GSR]

This guy recently installed a magnetic scale readout on his planer mill.

Even though they are out of the UK, their pricing appears to be a lot less than DR pro's pricing IMO. Of course, you have to pay shipping from the UK. They do ship world wide. You will have to inquiry for teh length you are looking for. Worth a try.

 

[specnaz]

wow , pretty cool setup . but look like it's pre order only. Other DRO's that cost 2500-3000$ are simply not an option, since for that money I could buy Clearpath servos and some type of controller for much less then that and have the lathe operated as CNC or manual for DRO based on steps of the motor encoder...The kit from the UK looks affordable though

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Now’s the time to take advantage of Dollar v Pound Sterling exchange rate.
On most of the conversions we did we used a “ Trav-A-Dial “ for the table travel because the owners wanted to keep the planing function on the Plano-Mill conversion.

Regards Tyrone

 

[Peter from Holland]

Use magnetic tape Not the type that is pre/installed on a carrier but a tape you can roll up and glue to your own carrier
Even directly on the machine It is sold from a roll
You can cover it with a aluminium strip with a groove in it
MSOW type in this link as a example
http://www.jenix.co.kr/02_3_eproduct-Inc-linear-encoder.htm

Peter

 

[aribert]

Use magnetic tape Not the type that is pre/installed on a carrier but a tape you can roll up and glue to your own carrier
Even directly on the machine It is sold from a roll
You can cover it with a aluminium strip with a groove in it
MSOW type in this link as a example
http://www.jenix.co.kr/02_3_eproduct-Inc-linear-encoder.htm

Peter

Agree w/ Peter's statement above.

To expound a bit based on my experience: If cost is a major driver, I would suggest an Asian DRO with magnetic scales. Some of the companies have 1 meter sections of extrusion with coupler brkts. You would asm the sections on the lathe, adjust the alignment and then apply the magnetic tape (the magnetic tape typically will have pre-applied 2 side tape on the backside) then slip the protective SS strip into the extrusion to cover the magnetic tape. I have two Dittron/Reeson D80 DROs and if I remember correctly the read heads can be ordered with up to 10 meter long leads. My lathe is much smaller but I wanted to package the cross and compound scales inside of the slides and so I requested that my scales be shipped unassembled to be able to modify the carrier for packaging inside of the slides and the supplier had no issue with complying.

One note of caution - the 1micron scales/read heads were very finicky to get a functioning acceptable magnetic gap - the reader had to be dragging on the scale to function. I did not make that mistake twice. The 5u scale/read head work great with 1+ mm of gap between the scale and read head. I am guessing the a 5 micron resolution will be adequate for the size of lathe.

 

[Peter from Holland]

I did mill a groove in a strip of aluminium and bolted that to the machine to cover the magnetic tape Just set the vice so you can drag the alu strip through Set a endmill to the requierd depth Choose the thicknes of the strip so about 1mm covers the scale And then simly drag the strip through the vice A bit like done with wood

Peter