minimill dro revisited.

[wheeltapper]

Hi
Over in my other thread about building Nemetts 15cc engine I got slightly O.T talking about how I set up a bodge DRO on my mill.

rather than drag that one any further off topic I thought I'd start a new thread.
after some thought I came up with this.


the L/H clamp is fitted with the bolt that holds the rubber chip guard thingy on, the R/H is fixed to an existing adjustable travel stop

it seems to work so all I have to do is dig out the dremel and hack the lower moving jaw off

these things only cost £10 in lidl so I cant lose much.

cheers
Roy

[Brass_Machine]

Hack those inside jaws off on the top before you skewer yourself reaching across the table 

Nice job!

Eric

[websterz]

Hack those inside jaws off on the top before you skewer yourself reaching across the table 

Nice job!

Eric

Or worse, rip yourself wide open!   

[Troutsqueezer]

Are you able to fit your vise crosswise on the table?

[Stilldrillin]

Roy.
Today's the day! You've given me the nudge I needed...... 

New Lidl vernier, ready for cropping........




Thankfully, my mill has the table T slot. Should make adapting easier......




Just doesn't seem right, chopping up a brand new, unused piece of kit! 

David D

[wheeltapper]

Simple answer, take it out of the box, turn it on and measure something.

now its used.

wish I had a slot along the front of mine.

Roy


troutsqueezer, I can, I had to fix it to a steel plate so the holes could go in the right place.

I'll get a pic when it stops raining.

[Stilldrillin]

Simple answer, take it out of the box, turn it on and measure something.

now its used.

Nah!

Too late! 

I took it out of it's box, then angle grindered all it's pointy bits off! 

Will measure something, another day....... 

Probably.......

David D

[wheeltapper]

here's my vise, its a tilting one and the way the holes were it would only fit with the jaws across the bed which was alright for short bits. so I fixed it to a steel plate, now it goes on the other way.


after reading your question I suddenly realized the caliper would get in the way so I had a look and I think with a small clamp fitted under the vise plate it should still work.


Roy

[NickG]

I really do need this doing to my mill! Might get around to it. think will buy some longer scales and see how they pan out. I don't want to spend too much as I know the mill isn't fantastic. Would be handy on the lathe too but at least I know those dials are accurate and sensible!

[loply]

Just FYI for the OP, I made a similar thing for my lathe, see my thread:

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=5585.msg59385#msg59385

Things I learnt:

1) Tighten the gib screws on the calipers to decrease backlash

2) Make sure your clamp brackets are really stiff so as to not introduce backlash, to my amazement I had quite a bit and ended up using 5mm thick mild steel before I got rid of it, 2.5mm steel flexed by up to 0.05mm!

3) Alignment of the caliper 'body' is critical, because of the tight gibs mentioned in tip (1) any slight misalignment will cause the slidey bit to bind, thus creating stiction and various other problems, so ensure your mounting mechanism is designed such that you can align it precisely after mounting

[wheeltapper]

Right, calipers chopped and a bracket fitted under the vise plate.
Sorted.


and I cut the movable feeler off at an angle so when its not on the mill I can use it as a digital scriber.


perhaps I should be getting back to the engine now.

Roy.

[Stilldrillin]

Thanks Roy!  That was much easier than I expected....

Here's how I tackled it.

Took off the sticky label, and cleaned off the sticky stuff. It gets everywhere! 

Opened up carefully. Noting the fine thread screw, top left........




The depth probe is held on by a whisker, only........




Removed anything which didn't look like a DRO, and re assembled.......





Two existing M4 tapped holes, took a 40mm wide piece of filing cabinet.

Add a couple of magnets, and it looks/ works ok.........




Another Round Tuit, finally sorted, and put to bed........



David D

[wheeltapper]

Now that is neat.

Roy

[Stilldrillin]

Now that is neat.

Roy

Thank you, Sir!

I wouldn't have done it, without your nudge...... 

David D

[doubleboost]

Nicely modded
I have a one on the quill of my mill
The x y axis has a Newall dro which has given me no end of problems
Trouble is once you have used one they become very adictive

John