Newall DRO advice needed.

[one_rod]

Has anybody ever shortened the rods on one of these?

We scrapped the last of the big manual lathes at work and I was told to salvage the DRO unit off it.
Then they realised it’s no use to the firm anymore, as all the serious turning is done on CNC now, so the boss asked me if I was interested in buying it for a nominal price.

I thought about adapting it to fit my 5 x 22” Boxford lathe.
From what I’ve been told the rods are not solid bars, but tubes filled with ball bearings.
Is this right? If so can I simply remove the end fitting, cut the tube down to some length that is a multiple of the ball diameter and re-fit the end?
Of are there unexpected snags waiting to derail my cunning plan?   

Any advice would be gratefully received.



one_rod.

[bogstandard]

O-R,

I asked the same thing about glass slides, and was told in no uncertain terms by everyone to leave well enough alone. I took one apart to see if it could be done, and actually it does look to be a rather easy exercise, but whether it would work afterwards is another thing. The slide I worked on by the way is still working fine.

Now when it comes to Newall equipment, you are talking about a totally different bit of kit.

They are one of the world leaders in this technology, and you are perfectly correct in that some of their read heads work by using balls as a datum reference. But you must realise that they are designed so that they can actually work underwater, so any breaking of seals might cause problems. In fact, by the precision they can work at, I would suspect that the units are assembled and sealed in a cleanroom environment, and I would imagine taking a hacksaw to them wouldn't do them any good.

Also to be considered is the cost of the readout to go with it, if it is the ball type, you could most probably buy a full glass scale setup, or even a couple of setups, for the cost of just the Newall display to match the read head you are on about.

Bogs

[Davo J]

John,
I think he is talking about a full system.
 
one_rod,
If you can get it cheap enough you could resell it then buy a system to suit you, as after looking at their site and reading though (below) how they are made I don't think you can cut them down.

(Newall's scale consists of high-precision nickel-chrome elements inserted into a stainless steel (Spherosyn™/SHG) or carbon fibre (Microsyn™/MHG) tube. The elements are then pre-loaded against a traceable standard in a temperature-controlled environment.)

I know you can cut down glass scales, as one bloke documented doing it.

Dave

[bogstandard]

That's a problem for me Dave.

Answering posts in the middle of the night, I tend to lose the plot.

Thanks for the heads up.

Thats twice in the same day, I must get myself sorted.


John

[one_rod]

Ok chaps,
thanks for the advice, and for taking the time to answer.

This is looking like a more-trouble-than-it's-worth job.

Dave, I looked on Newall's website but must have missed that description of the method of construction. My google-fu is not strong....

Good call about flogging it, and putting the money towards something that will actually fit. Should have thought of that myself. I'll probably get it in exchange for a few hours unpaid overtime or a bit of welding work at one of the boss's "off site" projects. Ebay here I come.



one_rod.