Best DRO mounting for a Deckel FP2

First I'd like to say that this topic has been discussed before in earlier threads. The pictures no longer seem to be active so I am going to post again.

I'm looking for DRO mounting advice from folks that have put 3 axis DROs on their Deckel FP2s. I have a 1964 model that I've recently acquired. Any ideas or pictures (especially pictures) would be a great help. I've not picked the DRO yet but want something new and most likely made in the USA. Please let me know about your mounting experiences. Thank you.



Eric Fleming
www.flemingknives.com

Hi Eric.

I'm seconding your post. I already have a TopTen DRO with 3 scales of appropiate size.

As I have to place some holes with precision, I now finally have to mount my scales.

I have had a few thought about the subject, especially the X-axis scale. I bought a slim scale,
so I can mount it without disturbing the vertical table. I think mounting the scale onto some
distance blocks will even let me use the stops for repeat jobs.

But I'll go far to use existing holes and mountings to avoid making my 1966 FP2 into a swiss cheese.

Cheers
Erik

A 3 axis readout on the FP2 makes it so much nicer to use, but mounting the encoders isn't easy. Mine wasn't the most elegant, but I wanted to ensure the original trip dogs were accessible and functional.
For the X-axis I chose an encoder that was longer than necessary (20" / 500mm)
This allowed for a simple mounting and didn't interfere with the trip dogs.
An L-bracket on each end and a plate mounted to the cover for the reader. I used Acu-Rite scales and was able to offset it a bit from the saddle face so the table could be mounted lower if desired.

For the Y axis I wanted to mount the encoder opposite to the operator side.
I ended up mounting the scale moving with the ram and having the reader stationary. This left access to the trip dogs open and still allowed the coolant tube to use the original mounting. I milled a flat on the cover to mount the L-bracket for the read head.

The Z-axis was the easiest. It looks a bit odd as the encoder is spaced away from the machine a bit. However, the mounts were simple and I didn't block access to the oiling points or the trip dogs.
It isn't as elegant as what Ross and others have done, but it worked well and the critical overtravel dogs were left intact and I didn't need to do much machining to the machine.
The reader mounts with a little block on the Z-slide and the scale mounts in the T-slots for the trip dogs. Plus the scale isn't prone to getting covered with chips.
If you want some more detailed pics PM me.

Chris

Hello Guys,

I removed old Heidenhain 2 axis readout and installed it to their Weiler Lathe.

Then installed new Heidenhain ND 523 3 axis readout onto the 1956 FP2.

here

Deckel FP2 1956 Slideshow by doctordeckel | Photobucket

Nice pictures and explanations Chris. Greatly appreciated.

Eric Fleming
www.flemingknives.com

Hi Eric,

Here are the photos showing the Heidenhain mounting on my 1964 FP2. This appears to be an "original" factory mounting done in the 1980s, because I have seen a number of other machines of similar vintage with the same hardware. Further evidence that this was a coordinated Deckel/Heidenhain install is that the mounting hardware is all blued steel with fiduciary dowel pins and the covers have grey hammertone point that matches the Deckel paint perfectly.

The display (Heidenhain 753B) is on the operators side:





The X axis (LS803, 520mm) scale and cover are installed behind the plane of the vertical table. This is important to do, because otherwise, you will block potential setups on the vertical table.







The Y axis (LS803, 220mm) is on the same side as the stops; I often see it on the other side. It does not block the functionality of the stops but impedes access for setting them.





The Z axis (LS803, 420mm) is the clumsiest, because it partly blocks access to the lock lever for Z:



These photos and other similar ones can be found in my public album here.

A long and detailed post about repairing my DRO and the scales is here.

Cheers,
Bruce

If you mount the z axis scale on the operators side your cutters will not be throwing chips into your scale when using the vertical spindle and you do not have to deal with the hard feed stops on the Z axis.

There are already " T Slots" you can use for the Y axis and Z axis and only have to drill the mount reader heads.

Indicate scales end to end to at least .004 inch or better if using Heidenhain scales and set the distance between the bottom of the scale and the reader head to .04 inch or 1mm the this insure to limit eddy effect causing the scales to misread.

DD, I am curious, could you confirm that the mounting hardware on my mill was provided by Deckel, by Heidenhain, or by some combination of the two? Can you date it, approximately? Cheers, Bruce

Bruce looking at your machine it looks like it was factory installed.

Send me a pm or [email protected] with serial number from left hand door and I can inquire.

What version are your scales 703/704,803/804, or 903/904 ?

Regards
Don

My 2 cents is that people tend to want to have everything equal on the scale layout. For my money you want to bias the "X" axis scale as far away from the operators side as possible.
That will mean that the read head will not generally be centered on the vertical slide casting.
The reason is that when the table moves to the "Minus" direction the scale if centered, will get quite close to the "Z" handwheel.....
Moving everything toward the opposite side of the slide gives better hand clearance....

On my FP2, i cut in a nest on the underside of the "X" axis slide to get the scale up to reduce its exposed height....By doing this i was able to retain the access to the table trips by making extended clamp bolts.
Of course having a mill large enough to machine the table is needed for this approach.

Cheers Ross