DRO choice

[hitandmissman]

Ok, got the new mill. Grizzly Go704 now for a dro. My question is this, glass scale or the latest magnetic? Magnetic is high priced for me(retired) but it comes with a 6yr warrenty. Glass seems to only come with a 1 yr. About $150 difference in price. I am 64 and want something that will last. What do you guys say? Brand wise I am looking at Grizzly, Shooting Star, and DRO Pros.

 

[f350ca]

I've delt with DRO PROS and Shooting Star. Nothing bad to say about either of them but had no reason to get in touch once the orders arrived. The Shooting Star as you know uses a rack and pinion driving a segmented wheel similar to the old computer mice use. I thought it could give trouble with cuttings and coolant but hasn't missed a beat in the 8 or 10 years I've had it on my Bridgeport clone. Went with glass scales from DRO as I wanted scales on the carriage, cross feed and compound on my Colchester. Think at the time they only offered 2 axis sets in magnetic. My big lathe has a Newal that again has worked flawlessly with glass scales for years.
No real advice just experiance.
Greg

 

[kvom]

I have Newall on both lathe and mill. Excellent products.

 

[gbritnell]

I put glass scales on my new Grizzly mill. I purchased them from DRO Pros. So far I am quite happy with them. I thought about the magnetic type but the reader head stuck out too far and I was pressed for space.
gbritnell

 

[d-m]

Glass scales on my Cincinnati I think 5 years now so far so good was looking at DRO pro's web site just a week or so ago, the prices look like they have gone down since I bought my 2 axes system from them.
Dave

 

[video_man]

I've had Shooting Stars on my mill (2 axis) and lathe for 12 years now, and they have performed very nicely. I had some questions early on, and found their customer service to be excellent and supportive. The new model readouts look to be even better than the originals, for (IIRC) the same price.

 

[Catminer]

Three axis Shooting Star DRO on my mill, 7 years old and on second mill. Works very well and dependable.

Peter

 

[Omnimill]

I looked at this question a while back and it seems to me that Magnetic is more durable than glass but only a bit more expensive - over here in the UK at least. I'd go with the Magnetic if I could afford to install DRO's on my Mill.

 

[Blogwitch]

Having looked at the specs between the two only a few weeks ago for a post on here, it seems that the magnetic ones just aren't as overall accurate as the glass scales, but in general the magnetic ones are easier to fit.

John

 

[vcutajar]

I use magnetic linear encoders with my homebuilt Shumatech DRO-550. I have been using them for the last 3 months with no problems till now. Yes they are less accurate then the glass scales but for me they are adequate. Glass scale accuracy is plus/minus 0.005 whilst for magnetic it is plus/minus 0.015. The thing that made me decide on the magnetic encoders is that they are so easy to install (did not have to dismantle the mill table) and being smaller I did not lose any travel on my X3 mill.

Vince

 

[hitandmissman]

Thanks to all for the replys. I do value your input. Thanks again.

 

[Omnimill]

Jim, have a look at Bills post at the bottom of this page:

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=14796.msg152542#msg152542

I don't believe Magnetic scales are less accurate than Glass ones it's just what's available in your area and how much you want to pay. Magnascales have a resolution of down to 0.001 and an accuracy of 0.003 - we're talking micrometres here not inches ...

Bill says his go down to 0.00005"!

Vic.

 

[Mainer]

The first question is, what kind of accuracy are you looking for? That might (or might not) rule out one or more of your choices. Personally, I don't care for the Shooting Star design, but a lot of guys seem to like them a lot. With the price of import glass scales coming down so low these days though, I think the S/S is being eclipsed by the greater glass-scale accuracy at the same price.

When I finally bought a DRO, I got a custom 2-axis Acu-Rite with 0.0002" resolution scales from www.candomachinery.com at what I consider a very attractive price. If you're willing to have 0.0005" resolution scales, I think you might do pretty well.

 

[titex]

If your funds allow,then Newall or Heidenhain. [Newalls will even work under water, so coolant / swarf has no effect on them]
Titex.