292- Scales on Optimum Milling BF20L and BF20 - from "Grasshopper" & "The Master" (Spain)

Thanks "Grasshopper" and "The Master" - Spain (Madrid), for sharing their installation of mTECH scales on their Optimum Milling machine.

Thanks for providing the description in both English and Spanish. Cheers

Here is their introduction to mounting the scales:

Introduction
Photos show the procedure to mount glass scales
on a BF20L milling machine. Manufacturer is Optimum
There are several small milling machine very
similar to this, so, this photos can help the
people interested to mount glass scales
and forget the tedious turns counting of handle.

Introducción
Las fotos corresponden al montaje de las reglas
en una fresadora BF20L de la casa Optimum.
Existen fresadoras de otras marcas muy parecidas,
por lo que estas fotos pueden servir de guia para su montaje.
y olvidar el tedioso conteo de las vueltas de la manivela



Foto 11
General view Y axis(scale : 170 mm mod: JCXF5. )
Scale is fixed on the milling base and move the cursor

Foto general del eje Y (escala de longitud 170 mm mod. )
Se mueve el cursor y la regla está fijada a la base

11


Foto12
Detail right side fixation Y axis

Detalle de la fijación del lado derecho del eje Y

12


Foto13
Detail left side fixation Y axis. (It was necessary to use a little supplement)

Detalle de la fijación del lado izquierdo del eje Y (se necesitó un suplemento)

13


Foto14
Detail cursor fixation Y axis. It was used a
aluminum angle piece. Angle is formed between
the cross table and base of milling

Detalle fijación del cursor del eje Y. Se utilizó
una pieza de aluminio doblada con el angulo correspondiente a la base


14



Foto 16
General view Z axis (scale: 420 mm mod.: JCXE5 )
Scale is fixed on the column and move the cursor

Foto general del eje Z (escala de longitud 420 mm mod. )
Se mueve el cursor y la regla está fijada a la columna


16


Foto 18
Detail cursor fixation Z axis. It was used a
aluminum flat piece. It was necessary to use a little supplement too

Detalle fijación del cursor eje Z. Se utilizó una
pieza de aluminio plana para la sujección. También se necesitaron suplementos.



18


Foto19
Detail upside fixation Z axis

Detalle de la fijación de la parte superior del eje Z

19


Foto20
Detail downside fixation Z axis

Detalle de la fijación de la parte inferior del eje Z

20


Foto25
General view X axis (scale: 520 mm mod.: JCXE5
). For BF20, this scale is 320 mm and mod.:JCXF5.
In this case, cursor is fixed on cross table and scale move

Foto general del eje X (escala de longitud 520 mm
mod. ). Para la BF20, la escala es de 320 mm mod.
En este caso, se mueve la regla y el cursor está fijo a la mesa cruzada.

25


Foto22
Detail right side fixation X axis. (back point of view)

Detalle de la fijación del lado derecho del eje X (visto desde atras)

22


Foto23
Detail left side fixation X axis. (back point of view)

Detalle de la fijación del lado izquierdo del eje X (visto desde atras)

23


Foto24
Detail cursor fixation X axis. It was used the
same hole where rubber protection is fixed
originally, plus a aluminium flat piece

Detalle fijación del cursor eje X. Para la
sujección se aprovecharon los orificios de
sujección del aproteccion de goma, además de una pieza de aluminio.

24



Foto 25
Scales connected to DRO

Reglas conectadas al DRO.



Thanks for the generous photo.

263- mTech DRO 2M on Grizzly Milling model G9903 -- Dick (USA)

Thanks DIMITAR - USA (IL), DVA Metal Fabrication, Inc. for sharing with us his mTech DRO 2M on his Grizzly G9903 Milling

mTECH DRO2M with scale travel 14.6'' X 36'' is used for milling machine 9'' X 49'' table.

Dimitar :
" Thank you for feedback. I'll definitely will recommend to my friends and customers.
Great product and great price. Thanks again."

Photos from Dimitar:-

1) Grizzly G9903 Mill

2) X axis Scale installation

3) Y axis Scale installation

4) Neat cable management

5) mTECH DRO2M on Grizzly G9903 Milling machine

Thanks once again Dimitar of DVA Metal Fabrication, Inc. for sharing your photo , Cheers

208- mTech DRO 2L on Cadillac 14x42 Lathe -- Greg (USA)

Thanks Greg from USA (AR) for sharing with us his mTech DRO 2L on his Cadillac 14x42 Lathe

Greg:
" Dear dro_trader,

As you might recall, i just purchased a DRO for a lathe from you.

A couple comments:
I was very pleased with the unit and the installation kit.
The variety of screws and brackets, made it very easy to install. "

Photos from Greg:-

1) Cadillac 14x42 Lathe

2) DRO mounting
Comments from Greg
"We mounted the display on the steel truss next to the machine.
The advantage is a very solid mounting and no vibration from the machine."

3) X axis Scale installation

4) X axis Scale -close up

5) Z axis Scale installation

6) Z axis Scale bracket

Here is some tips from Greg:"
1. Leaving the sensor attached to the scale made it much easier to set the spacing.
2. Take your time, it took me about 15 hours to complete.
3. I had a friend hold the long scale while mounting to protect it.
4. Adjustments should be done a little at a time, moving the carriage front to back each time.
5. Have a good metric tap set"

After the installation Greg did his his job with the mTECH DRO:
"The first project we did with the display was incredible.
What took time for us to stop an measure, the display and calculator (nearby) made the math easy,
and project was right on the first pass."

Great Job !! Thanks for sharing your photo and giving tips for installation, Cheers

187- mTech DRO 2L on Global TPG-1340 Lathe -- Rolf (New Zealand)

Thanks Rolf from New Zealand for sharing with us his mTech DRO 2L on his Global TPG-1340 Lathe (also known as Jet Lathe or CO-632A)

Rolf wrote in his Feedback :
" Excellent trader prompt shipment and good value "

Photos from Rolf:-

1) Global TPG-1340 lathe overview

2) Close up with the DRO 2L

3) X axis - top view

4) X axis - side view

5) X axis close up

6) Z axis close up

Thanks for sharing your photo , Cheers

178- mTech DRO 2L on Grizzly G4003 Lathe -- Dick (USA)

Thanks Dick from USA (WI) for sharing with us his mTech DRO 2L on his Grizzly G4003 Lathe

Dick :
" Your product inpressed me it was more than I expected. Installtion went very well. I have a Grizzly Mill so I will be in touch with you soon.
Thanks Dick "

Photos from Dick:-

1) Grizzly G4003 Lathe

2) X axis Scale installation

3) X axis Scale with Z axis Scale and cover

4) Z axis Scale (Front), Z axis Scale (Rear)
Dick has choose to extend the scale installation out with a L bracket.

Thanks for sharing your photo , Cheers

165- mTech DRO 2L on Ormaskiner GK185 Lathe -- Yngve (Finland)

Thanks Yngve from Finland for sharing with us his mTech DRO 2L on his Ormaskiner GK185 Lathe (http://www.lathes.co.uk/ornmaskiner/)

Yngve on his machine:
"My lathe is an Ormaskiner GK185 Lathe. It's a pretty basic model, in other words suitable for repair works and DIY projects. "

Yngve on the installation:
"As I wrote earlier the Z-axis scale was simple to install, but the x-axis was a bit more complicated, my solution is not the most ultimate because I lost about 35 mm of clearance between carrige and tailstock, but i recon I'll manage this way. The X-axis cover is a PVC-liner so far, further on I will have to make a custom cover in sheet metal."

1) Machine Overall Look

2) X axis Photo 1

3) X axis Photo 2

4) X axis Photo 3

5) X axis Photo 4

6) Z axis Photo 1

Thanks for sharing your photo from Finland (Home of Nokia)

156- mTech DRO 3M on Capstan Lathe -- Trevor (UK)

Thanks Trevor from UK for sharing with us his mTech DRO3M on his Capstan Lathe.

His Installation is unique, as he is installing 3 axis to his lathe machine. As such, he needs to use a DRO3M console to display all the 3 axis together. By adjusting the parameter setting on the X axis resolution, it is possible to make the X axis display as Radius or Diameter counting.

Email before his installation:

"Mine will be an interesting/unusual installation as I am installing the 3 axis version on a large Capstan lathe.
This probably isn't ideal as many of the milling type functions will have no purpose on the lathe,however I need the third axis for tailstock/capstan boring so the 3 axis DRO I selected is probably my best choice.

I did consider fitting a 2 axis one and using a serial switch to switch between the third and another axis but thought that might cause problems.

I believe from the manual it is possible to alter the counting resolution for the axis I will install on my cross slide in "system settings" so that it reads radius rather than diameter? If so this will be very convenient,if not It's no big problem.

regards for now will be in touch again soon.

Trevor"

Here is his photo of the whole installation process:

1 X axis during install

2 Y axis during installation

3 Z axis during install

4 overlapping x & Z covers installed

5 overlapping axis end view

6 Y axis cover installed

7 cables clipped

8 cables tidied

9 covers and cables

10 view of readout

Email after his installation:
"As promised I am now sending you some pictures of my finished installation.Everything works fine and I am very pleased with how it all worked out.

My X and Z axis share the same measured space so I have installed one overlapping the other. It would be poor practice normally to install an axis so far away from the slide as this would introduce accurracy issues. However my machine is extremely robust and tight so in practice I have no problems on that front.

A long axis with 2 read heads would have saved the need to do the overlap if one were available.I have sheltered my X and Y axis under heavy metal sections as well as fitting the supplied covers to give them maximum physical protection in the event of a workpiece coming loose fro m the chuck or some of the larger tooling from this machine being accidentally dropped. I am very impressed with the features of the display unit.I think I have achieved an unusual and imaginative use of the 3 axis mill unit on a lathe."

For information, if you need a long scale with 2 reader head, it is available on request. But most likely, it will cost more than having 2 scales separately.

Thanks for the great photo, cheers.