Hey guys

I have just fitted 3 DRO bars on my X2 using the fignoggle plans - but I don`t like how the actual displays are everywhere! I want to get a 3 axis DRO display and while reasearching into it I found the shumatech, which seems like a nice project.
http://www.shumatech.com/

but being realistic, I`m not going to need all the functions and I simply want a display so that I can see all the readings together. I have seen a few on ebay but they seem quite pricey and after looking into the shumatech DIY kit, I`m sure there must be another sort of cheaper kit or even plans for a self built one.

Am I asking for too much? I just can`t afford to be paying £60 for a display that with a bit of effort I already have on each of the bars and likewise the shumatech is giving me more functions but at £130!

Advice welcome.

Chris

The Shumatech is about the best deal for a DRO, I've built one (http://www.hossmachine.info/projects.html#DRO).
The Yadro (http://www.yadro.de/dro/mill.html) could be about $85 US (http://www.hobbymetrix.com/yadro/yadromain.htm) if you have the cables and case to mount the parts into
and an old PC or Laptop that it outputs to.
The Yadro UK prices (http://medw.co.uk/index.php?page=YADRO+UK+Prices)are here.
Hoss

If you don't want to build one CDCO (http://www.cdcotools.com/) has a DRO for $189.

If you don't want to build one CDCO (http://www.cdcotools.com/) has a DRO for $189.

Hoss, do you know if that comes with the cables? I tried to email them but their email box is full? lol!

I was looking at this one as well:

http://www.shars.com/products/view/2416/Three_Axis_Electronic_Digital_Display

Thanks,
Dave

OK thanks for your replies. I am obviously being tight fisted - I just presumed after paying only $100 for the DRO bars with integrated displays and all the readout stuff - I presumed a simple screen to collate the readings on would be much cheaper..... For the price of the displays, I may as well go for the shumatech.

Chris

Yes the CDCO DRO comes with a power adapter and 3 cables 1 for each axis. Its a decent system.

Yes the CDCO DRO comes with a power adapter and 3 cables 1 for each axis. Its a decent system.

Thanks for that, do you have a picture of yours?

May I ask the outer dimensions of it and what type of mounting system it uses?

Thanks for your time-
Dave

Mine currently isnt installed, my whole x2 is on ebay as I just bought a house with a basement so I bought a bigger mill. I can get you the dimensions tonight when I am home. It has 8 small "coin" magnets glued on the inside of the back panel so that you can stick it to a metal surface if you want, other wise that back plate is bare and has room on the inside for bolt heads if you wanted to attach a flange or arm mount to it if that makes sense

This might be a silly question: I just purchased 3 cheap chinese scales (which I haven't received yet), is it possible to detach the character LCD from the PCB and relocate it?

I'm in a similar spot as mnbylcr2, I don't need any of the functions of the DRO besides having the display conveniently placed

Now that is an idea! I`m glad I`m not the only one thinking that the displays seem an awful lot of money when you already have displays there, just not conveniently placed!

Perhaps one for the electronics forum? Dyne - please keep me posted when you find a solution. I`m sure with the DRO bar alone being only $30, the displays can`t be that expensive!

Chris

I doubt those coin cell batteries in the scales would power the LCD 3 feet away.

Now that is an idea! I`m glad I`m not the only one thinking that the displays seem an awful lot of money when you already have displays there, just not conveniently placed!

Perhaps one for the electronics forum? Dyne - please keep me posted when you find a solution. I`m sure with the DRO bar alone being only $30, the displays can`t be that expensive!


Hopefully someone who knows a bit more about the subject can chime in, I don't know if extending the connection from a few millimeters to a couple feet would work or not.

Heres the measurements of the CDCO DRO: 7.5" x 4.15" x 1.5"

Heres the measurements of the CDCO DRO: 7.5" x 4.15" x 1.5"

Thank you sir, very much appreciated for all the info-

Dave

Not a prob, if you need to know anything else just let me know!

I just got my scales today and cracked one open. There's probably no way to extend the LCD from the scale; there's no actual physical wire connection between the circuit board and LCD. It must send the signal to the LCD panel using inductance or something.

You sure there arent surface mount "solder tabs" on the back of the LCD that are touching the board?

I found these Remote Display Units at tresnainstrument.com (http://www.tresnainstrument.com/others.html) that might be worthwhile.
Building a Shumatech would still be cheaper but these are simple and ready to go.
Found a single unit with scale on Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/Electronic-Digital-Scale-Unit-with-LCD-Display-system_W0QQitemZ400032554470QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d23cc5de6&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A4%7C294%3A50) so there may be more.
Hoss

You sure there arent surface mount "solder tabs" on the back of the LCD that are touching the board?

yeah, there's actually what looks like a black rectangular piece of plastic between the LCD and circuit board but it does not look like there's any sort of metal connection (either on the black piece of plastic or the lcd)

The black strip between the display and the pcb is alternating strips of conductive and isolating material. There are a lot of connections to the display, so simply trying to extend it will not work. The safest way to extend the display IS to use the remote modules that the data port was originally designed to drive.
Of cause the main advantage of the DRO350 over these remote displays is the fact that it's LED, so can be seen even in the back of a workshop if you have bright light on the machining area.

-----
http://medw.co.uk - Home of electronics for Model Engineers

EMC2 has a read out screen and will read encoders. EMC2 is free. It might be a bit of a job to be the first one to get it all together with the chinese scales, but it should work. EMC2 works with glass scales used on Crusader M retrofits, so it should read and put put for the cheap chinese scales

EMC2 has a read out screen and will read encoders. EMC2 is free. It might be a bit of a job to be the first one to get it all together with the chinese scales, but it should work. EMC2 works with glass scales used on Crusader M retrofits, so it should read and put put for the cheap chinese scales
You would probably need YADRO to convert the chinese scales to something that EMC2 ( or Mach3 ) can read, but I believe a couple of people are working on modules to take the data and make it available in both.
Of cause once you have YADRO, you can simply use it's own display program ;)

EMC2 has a read out screen and will read encoders. EMC2 is free. It might be a bit of a job to be the first one to get it all together with the chinese scales, but it should work. EMC2 works with glass scales used on Crusader M retrofits, so it should read and put put for the cheap chinese scales

Not sure about the others but the reason I'd like one of these remote DRO's is I have the digital scales set up on my manual 9" South Bend lathe, not a CNC.

Dave

i have chinese dro's on my mill.
these are not realy menth for cnc because there data lags behind the actual position.
i managed to write my own cnc program that works around this.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BertMLemon
mostly the flex in the endmill and aluminium is larger then the error of the table.
and the dro's are realy great for manual opperation.