Thread: Mitutoyo Absolute DRO

The 2 axis Mitutoyo DRO with absolute scales for $900 looks like a good value. I like the idea of not having to "find home" every time the power goes away. Does anyone have any experience with this unit? I think the model number is 174173.

If the 20+ year-old Mitutoyo DRO on our lathe is any indication of the overall value of their systems, I wouldn't hesitate. I was still able to get parts.

I haven't used one of their Absolute systems on a DRO, but the scales on two of the digital calipers I have keep working despite the abuse I give them. Solid stuff.

I installed that DRO, the KA Counter, on a Bridgeport clone several years ago and it works great and is easy to use. The manual is good too. I think I recall paying around $850 for everything, so that seems like a good price, though I'm not sure of the brand of scales we have. I can check Tuesday if you want. I'm going to install one on a recently-acquired lathe too and will probably use that same model.

I bought the KA readout + AT-715 scale packege for my mill a few years ago. At the time it was $695 complete at Penn Tool (174PM-1, I think), I see that it's up $100 more now, but it's still a great deal, and it can be set up to resolve to 0.0001" if you like. Works great for me running at 0.0002" resolution, and I haven't seen any accuracy issues up to now. I'm not sure about the absolute feature as I have never worried about that aspect of operation. It's very easy to set a zero in any case.