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(04-05-2012, 01:23 PM)Highpower Wrote: John,
My problem is the manual gives a description of what each function does, but no real destruction's on how to get them to work!
I've fiddled with this thing for hours on end and can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I want to utilize the reference marks on the scales in order to be able to save a set-up after the DRO is powered down. But I can't get the unit to "save" the datum points that I input, so I can't even access the reference marks. 
99% of the time I just use the basic functions, but I'm tired of having to reset everything if I need to let a job sit overnight. I just don't like the idea of leaving the display powered up overnight unattended.
I don't know - maybe I have something set incorrectly in the system set-up. I guess I'll stumble through that again and see what happens. 
Willie,
What DRO do you have?
Ed
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Hi
Lads
When i bought my 6 26 mill (second hand) it came with a Newall 2 axis DRO this proved to be very handy but unreliable.
It cost me £100 plus insured postage for a new screen
After a few weeks the display went haywire so i gave up with it and learned to count in 125 s
My daughter said she knew a bloke who was a machine maintenance man ,I had a word with him but he could not help me.
He rang me last week saying they were scrapping a mill with a 3 axis DRO would it be any use to me
It arrived yesterday after forcing the bloke to take a few quid for a drink i set about installing it
It must have been on a big machine the X axis scale was 6 feet long.
It is not finished but working
The pictures tell the story
![[Image: P3250013.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250013.jpg)
The glass scales can be cut i only had to shorten one
![[Image: P3250001.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250001.jpg)
![[Image: P3250002.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250002.jpg)
![[Image: P3250003.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250003.jpg)
![[Image: P3250005.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250005.jpg)
The studding will be replaced with steel spacers now i have it set up
![[Image: P3250004.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250004.jpg)
![[Image: P3250007.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250007.jpg)
![[Image: P3250010.jpg]](http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/john970s0/P3250010.jpg)
Not a bad deal for the price of a few pints 
John
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What the heck, the price was right and it works. Sounds like a good deal to me. 
Ed
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John,
Nicely posted, not bad for a couple of pints.
And most important it works, that always makes it a good deal.
DaveH
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04-05-2012, 09:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-05-2012, 10:00 PM by Highpower.)
(04-05-2012, 01:28 PM)EdAK Wrote: Willie,
What DRO do you have?
Ed
I've got an Acu-rite VUE that I bought about a month after I got my mill. Been using it for 3 years now and could never get the reference points to work. Not a big deal for me unless I have to shut down on a job until the next day - which I had to do again last night. Just getting too late and too tired. 
![[Image: P2170002.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/Highpwr/Shop%20Projects/P2170002.jpg)
Well, I just tackled it again, and 4 hours later - it works!!!
I could have sworn I had all the parameters right when I set it up during the original install. Looks like I missed one. Had the wrong setting for the type of reference pulse my scales use. 
Switched that and now everything works as it should. 
That took about 15 minutes.
The other 3 hrs & 45 min was spent trying to update the software in the unit that I found on the Acu-rite web site while researching the other problem. It would have been nice if they would have notified me that there was an upgrade available...
Of course no real instructions for that either, so it took 4 - 5 attempts to get the software to finally upload. Sheeze... I hope I don't have to do that again any time soon. 
Willie
John, very nice freebie install.
Even if it packs up sometime soon, it has basically cost you nothing, so a win win situation all round.
Willie,
I'm really glad you got your head around it and got it sorted.
On my Sino units, my problem isn't programming them any more, but that I have 200 memory slots to remember all sorts of datum setups.
Just remembering what each individual setup is for is the major problem.
It is definitely a case of too much information storage. Ten would have done me just fine.
One thing I do really like though, is that if I turn the machine off, even for a month or so, it remembers where it was and displays the exact position where I left it, plus also, with the machine turned off, and if I play about with the handles, when it comes on, it automatically detects and displays where it is in relation to my last settings. So all I do before shutting down is note down the 3 axis readings, and when I turn back on, make sure the readings are set to those coordinates, and I am ready to start machining again.
In all honesty, unlike what some people think, I don't class having DRO's as 'cheating', more like a modern day assistance tool, like an edge finder, power feed or dial gauge, something that helps you to achieve what you want to do more easily (sometimes).
John
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John
The bloke i got it from reckons they are a very reliable unit
Mine is 10 years old used every day (in the real world) and never been touched
I would imagine being American it should outlast some of the Oriental DROs out there
But like you say for the price i cant go wrong
John
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(04-05-2012, 11:39 PM)Bogstandard Wrote: In all honesty, unlike what some people think, I don't class having DRO's as 'cheating', more like a modern day assistance tool, like an edge finder, power feed or dial gauge, something that helps you to achieve what you want to do more easily (sometimes).
John
Seriously, do people really think DROs are cheating? They just make keeping track of position easier, It's not like they are CNC. You still need to do the Maths or at least understand it and they don't help with any of the actual cutting they just help you know when to stop.
I suppose snobbery is alive and well.
Best regards
Rick
Whatever it is, do it today, Tomorrow may not be an option and regret outlasts fatigue.
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Hi all I have an obviously uniformed newbie kind of question, 
what is considered expensive and what is reasonable?
I would like a dro for my smithy and they offer one for ( last I looked just over $700.00 dollars for a 3 scale system ) 
I believe they are the encoder type.
Jerry. 
ETC57, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun Forum since Feb 2012.
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I'm partial to DRO Pros but they're definitely not the cheapest. Prices range all over the place so I think it's a good idea to find a company that has good service after the sale.
http://www.dropros.com/
Ed
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