Critique my FP1 DRO display installation ....

Kinda tough call on an FP1 since the usual straight bracket below the Y hand wheel seems too low as far as line of sight, operations and potential chips flying.... so tried a curved bracket normally meant for a lathe headstock mounted on the left side but curving over to the right. I thought it turned out so well I'm wondering what I must be missing ! Especially considering there just happened to be some tapped holes for the Y axis scale reader head that fit the bracket already.

All I can see wrong with it is if you have Y all the way back to zero position it's a little difficult to get a wrench in to tighten the horizontal drawbar.....but just takes two seconds to crank the Y forward a bit to solve that issue..... Thoughts ?



And FWIW, in real life the clarity of the 300S is just as good, if not better than, the last photo in all the photos...just something about digital cameras don't see it the same way the human eye does. And unlike the monochrome 200S, the 300 is perfectly clear at more extreme view angles.

And note rather than my usual soldering the DSub connectors directly to the original cables, this time I bit the bullet and ordered the official adapter cables....since they cost less than half the outrageous price of Heidenhain adapter cables....still too much, but tolerable considering the saved labor.

That is a nice looking machine! Nothing to add about the DRO install because I don't know what it should look like, but it looks good to my eye.

Nice read out and looks like a good job considering how tight the FP1 layout is.
Using the X axis gage block rail sure looks easier than under the table as mine is plus all the cables are on the far side.
I take it you have a Z axis scale on the trip dog side of the machine?
Dan

Danny VanVoorn said:

Nice read out and looks like a good job considering how tight the FP1 layout is.
Using the X axis gage block rail sure looks easier than under the table as mine is plus all the cables are on the far side.
I take it you have a Z axis scale on the trip dog side of the machine?
Dan

Click to expand...

The scales were already in place, I did the display install only....but I'm thinking all scales are on the left side. The original display was pretty old and on a separate floor pedestal that could be moved to wherever the cable lengths would allow...but I prefer the rigidity of the current setup...i.e. you can press buttons without having to support the backside of the display while doing so, for example.

Nice looking display...fills my primary requirement...It has real buttons...no F***ING membrane crap....
I like the layout.
Cheers Ross

Did you choose the accurate display because they were accurate scales.
Or are they standard interface?

Also...
This is for the alpha geek cable management.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VTz2TDr79eI

Milacron said:

turned out so well I'm wondering what I must be missing !

Click to expand...

General observation that even better if a lot more of these goods could be on flexible/ positionable mounts than generally are?

clarity of the 300S is just as good, if not better than, the last photo in all the photos...just something about digital cameras don't see it the same way the human eye does.

Click to expand...

Both screen and camera are being raster-scanned.

Old trick was to limit light in favour of longer exposure time so subject was fully "painted" for better saturation of colours, etc.

Miguels244 said:

Did you choose the accurate display because they were accurate scales.
Or are they standard interface?
I

Click to expand...

Yes. Far as I know there is no standard interface amongst DRO manufacturers. Would rather have used Heidenhain ND780 display simply because I have two extra of them already but the Heidenhain and Acu-Rite scales are night and day different in outputs.

Monarchist said:

General observation that even better if a lot more of these goods could be on flexible/ positionable mounts than generally are?

Click to expand...

This one is flexible in the sense if you loosen the display bolt you can swivel the display to face downward or lean back quite a bit as the interface between display and arm is a curved little bracket with slot in the middle for the bolt. And you can swivel the arm by loosening the bolt that holds it to the bracket. But best to get all in optimal position and tighten it down as that way you can press the buttons without concern of the display moving away from your fingers. The Acu-Rite 300S buttons require a bit more pressure to push than some DROs.

It looks like you did a nice job of tackling ability to operate the machine from both the side and front. It takes quite a bit of display movement to have it right for both operating positions. Basing the bracket off the left rear of the machine seems to be the trick. I am going to try something similar on my F5. The F4 came pre-arranged, and I don't operate that one from the side anyway, so it is less of an issue on the F4. The F5 is definitely meant for front and side operation, given that is has dual Z controls and spindle start/stop buttons.

Milacron said:

Yes. Far as I know there is no standard interface amongst DRO manufacturers,

Click to expand...

At the high end, and certainly for Heidenhain, I'm sure you are correct. For most asian imports, and I believe that includes all Accu-rites, they use a standard quadrature encoding. I currently have both Accu-rite and no name imports on my mill hooked up to both an Accu-rite DRO and a home brew Android DRO. Previously had a Korean scale(whose name escapes me) hooked up that worked fine.

Teryk

Milacron said:

tighten it down as that way you can press the buttons without concern of the display moving away from your fingers. The Acu-Rite 300S buttons require a bit more pressure to push than some DROs.

Click to expand...

There's a whole 'nuther can of worms.

- Positive enough "tactile sense" wise to be certain you accomplished what was needed, not some other thing by accident

vs

- Too-eager to jump, or too easily confused "touch" input screens that help a body get frustrated faster.

Miguels244 said:

Also...
This is for the alpha geek cable management.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VTz2TDr79eI

Click to expand...

Rush Rocks!!!

..... But what does that have to do with cable management?

Milacron said:

All I can see wrong with it is if you have Y all the way back to zero position it's a little difficult to get a wrench in to tighten the horizontal drawbar.....but just takes two seconds to crank the Y forward a bit to solve that issue..... Thoughts ?

Click to expand...

If I'd have to criticize your setup, I'd say that the curved bracket looks a little bit over the top to me.

Considering the very small size and height of the FP1, I think the extra effort to bring the display toward the operator was not mandatory and it just makes things less "straight" (one couldn't say better !).

This is the way I installed the display on my very first FP1, many years ago (sorry for the poor picture).



The bracket was attached to the machine in the same location as with your set up, but was not curved.
Even if kept at the back of the ram, the display was plenty reachable (and I don't think I have particularly long arms).

The fact that the keyboard was on the axis of the pivot bracket made it un-necessary to tighten it to prevent it from rotating under finger pressure (thus allowing to orientate it at will for better sight from the side or the front).
It also left the back end of the ram totally clear for drawbar operation or the mounting of the high-speed head too.

But that is because I was asked to criticize, really !

mTeryk said:

Rush Rocks!!!

..... But what does that have to do with cable management?

Click to expand...

Its Miguel.

Staying "ON Topic" is sorta hard-wired OUT! On a curved bracket, even.


On which score, I think TNB has a valid point as to straight ones (is he really French? Thot they were into curves?) and ask Milacron for counterpoint.

Milacron's French ex GF needs a top-cover and some jewelry fabbed, too, y'see.

TNB said:

If I'd have to criticize your setup, I'd say that the curved bracket looks a little bit over the top to me.

Considering the very small size and height of the FP1, I think the extra effort to bring the display toward the operator was not mandatory and it just makes things less "straight" (one couldn't say better !).

This is the way I installed the display on my very first FP1, many years ago (sorry for the poor picture).

View attachment 219546

The bracket was attached to the machine in the same location as with your set up, but was not curved.
Even if kept at the back of the ram, the display was plenty reachable (and I don't think I have particularly long arms).

The fact that the keyboard was on the axis of the pivot bracket made it un-necessary to tighten it to prevent it from rotating under finger pressure (thus allowing to orientate it at will for better sight from the side or the front).
It also left the back end of the ram totally clear for drawbar operation or the mounting of the high-speed head too.

But that is because I was asked to criticize, really !

Click to expand...

T, I like your setup,as well, but the "extra effort" involved me opening my wallet a bit further than you did.....mine is standard issue, so there was almost no effort (as mentioned, even the tapped holes to receive the bracket were already in place...but that part was just luck), yours you had to make and paint.

Your friend Rudiger uses standard issue pipe bends from the plumbing store to create his beautiful curved Schaublin and Leinen DRO mounts, but even he has to do a bit of work to make the bracket to hold this to the lathe and the Display mount...plus that pesky painting process. All I had to do is open a box and screw in some screws. Plus mine has the advantage of easily adjustable vertical tilt angle on the display at any time simply by loosening one bolt.

Looks great, and far nicer than anything of mine. But I'm sort of a wire-head, so I do have a (hopefully constructive) comment about wire dress/splices...

I get that there are probably not 9-pin shells that will mate to your OEM armored cables, and they might not be long enough to get there anyway -- and the required bend radius at the top is tighter than the armored cable will do. I'm wondering if using longer black cables all the way to the scales would have been better, avoiding the splices altogether. Sheathing the plastic cable with armor and terminating it somewhere close to the display back would be a cleaner look. (Some other DROs have factory cables in smaller armor that are so floppy you have to tie them down every 4 inches, so I think like so many other things in life, larger and stiffer is better...)

I would even consider running the original armored cables into a junction box at the base of the arm (incorporating the adaptor connectors), then running plastic ones inside the arm from the box to a grommeted hole at the top, popping out just in time to make a nice curve to the display, with enough slack to allow pivoting as needed. Not as easy as the ty-wraps, of course. But like I said, I'm a wire-nut occasionally, so all that's possibly more work than desired for the install, and it doesn't make servicing any easier.

When adaptor-based splices are unavoidable, as they may be in this case for 'reasons', staggering cable lengths to make them more widely distributed can make things less clunky, and sheathing in a woven-nylon braid can make smooth things out visually, too.

On a side note -- there's a "new" garden hose out that is a spiral metal affair that looks much like the armor wrap on the OEM cables. Might be a cheap source for uses like this, and it's readily available at places like home centers and Walmart. (We know it's liquid tight, but maybe not fully coolant-proof.)

Each time I see a new Deckel project, they put my poor Cincy to shame. Great-looking machine and display.

Milacron said:

Rudiger uses standard issue pipe bends from the plumbing store to create his beautiful curved Schaublin and Leinen DRO mounts, but even he has to do a bit of work to make the bracket to hold this to the lathe and the Display mount...plus that pesky painting process.

Click to expand...

On which approach.. essentially EVERY mount seen - field-expedient or from the factory - that uses any form of tubing at all, even rectangular, uses small cross-sections of tubing. The majority run the wiring external TO said tubing.

Tubing joins and anchors can be executed to be easily taken apart. "O" rings and flexible seals exist.

Talk me out of simply taking advantage of the unused space near those smaller tubes to use large enough tube sections that all wires can be placed on the inside of it.

Downside is it looks "fat", but so what? Free bonus should be improved resistance to vibration, no?

2 pre-Euro Francs worth

Milacron said:

But the "extra effort" involved me opening my wallet a bit further than you did.....

Click to expand...

Do I have to understand it was not "hard earned cash" you took out if it ?

TNB said:

Do I have to understand it was not "hard earned cash" you took out if it ?

Click to expand...

Moths? Or even Butterflies?

Just doing his Civic duty at providing shelter for transients:

Butterflies have invaded the Lowcountry. Here’s how to help them survive. | Island Packet

They can't ALL be Schaublins, Deckels, or exotic MHE after all.