DRO PROS sells Newall, Easson and Fagor Digital Readout kits starting at only $599!

Call Toll Free now at 1-877-628-6028 for all your digital readout needs!

 

Is your Internet connection faster than dial-up? Want to see more graphics?

If so, then click HERE for the main DRO PROS website, a graphics intensive, information packed website!

 

 

FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions:

 

What is a DRO?

DRO stands for Digital Read Out. A digital readout system digitally displays a machine tools exact position on an electronic display board.

 

What can a DRO do for me?

A digital readout system can greatly simplify your work, save time, reduce costly mistakes and allow you to produce more accurate, exacting parts. Without a DRO system, an operator must count the number of hand wheel revolutions to determine exact position of a tool head against the table. For example, some milling machine leadscrews are graduated at 16 threads per inch (TPI), which means that for every turn of the hand wheel the table moves 1/16” (.0625), therefore it takes 16 turns to move the table exactly 1”. Other machines are calibrated at 10 TPI, meaning it takes 10 hand wheel revolutions for the table to travel an inch. On the Z axis, it is typical for each division to represent .002”, where one full revolution is equal to .060”. Needless to say, it can quickly become quite confusing! The bottom line is that with a digital display, the days of counting hand wheel revolutions are over. Simply turn the display on and you’re ready to go!

 

Which DRO kit should I buy?

To start with, all DRO PROS kits are quality built to do the job right. However, with that said, each kit has it's own unique advantages. We know that choosing a DRO kit can be difficult, so in our endeavor to help our customers we've developed the following chart. While we try to be as impartial as we can, our interaction with our customers and their feedback has certainly influenced us greatly in forming our "opinions". Please keep in mind that every installation is different, only you can know what's best for your particular installation.  

 

 

 

Easson  

PROS: The strongest advantage of the Easson is it's ease of use. Our most popular DRO kit by far. While the quality of the Easson is every bit as good as the others, it's price continues to be the lowest of the bunch, meaning it's also the best value DRO we sell. Another potential advantage is the display size. The Easson display is over 12" across. Because of the larger front panel, most all of the Easson's functions (ie bolt hole, line hole, centerfind etc.) have dedicated function buttons on the front. This makes the Easson a truly "walk up and operate" type of digital readout.

CONS: The Easson brackets are "universal" angle brackets. For most customers, they work just fine. They are, however, fairly basic and you may have to drill additional holes in them to custom fit your machine. Remember, you only deal with brackets once, and when your scales are finally mounted, you're done forever. So for most folks, this is not an issue. Finally, the Easson manual is thorough, but is translated. It's translated well, but not so well you wouldn't ever notice. This slight disadvantage is more than offset by the tremendous amount of video tutorials and training DVD we've released for the Easson systems, so again we would count this as only a slight negative.

COMMENTS: While Easson has been producing Digital Readouts for nearly 20 years now, Easson admittedly does not yet have the brand name recognition that Newall and Fagor do. Consequently, while the build quality is as good or better than the competition, the price remains lower, which confuses many customers as they try to equate price vs. quality. Lastly, many customers mistakenly think the Easson display is plastic, which it is not. It is cast metal and extremely durable.

WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE EASSON: You want the best quality, easy to use DRO which happens to be the most affordable and popular DRO we've ever offered.

SUMMARY: Easson continues to be the most popular, easy to use DRO system we have. If you're looking for excellent quality but also want the best value for your dollar, this is your kit.

 

Newall

PROS: Beyond anything else, Newall has brand name recognition. Aside from this, the M20 kit has some amazing advantages. With the thinnest scales we've ever seen (only .4" tall) the Newall's magnetic scales can fit where other scales can't. Depending on your particular installation, this may or may not be a deal-breaker by itself. If you run coolant, you should know the scales carry a full IP-67 rating, meaning they are impervious to grease, oils, and coolant. If that wasn't enough, the scales are magnetic, not glass, and can be easily cut to the desired length. As the reader head is a magnetic "non-contact" design, the reader head is not attached to the scale body, which means installation is much easier also.

CONS: Currently only available in 2 axis kits. Longest travel scale available is 40". Display head is easy to use, but not quite as easy as the Easson. COMMENTS: Excellent build quality, excellent manual. If you don't need a "low-profile" installation, the thin scales will not present an advantage over standard size glass scales. In day to day operations, glass scales, if properly installed, work exceptionally well and do not get contaminated by coolant. The primary advantage we can see with these scales is when mounting on a lathe where coolant is used. Often times the cross-slide leaves little mounting room to properly mount a scale shield when utilyzing glass scales. In this case, using a magnetic scale that is impervious to coolant would be a considerable advantage.

WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE NEWALL: If you have an installation requiring a low profile DRO or are mounting on a mill or lathe where the scales would get exposed to coolant, this is the kit to buy. You may also choose this kit because you recognize the Newall name and are willing to pay a little more for it.

SUMMARY: Newalls M20 kit is amazing and we're hoping to see a 3 axis kit in the future

 

Fagor

PROS: Fagor enjoys loyal brand name recognition. The build quality and packaging of the kit is first rate. The bracketry and hardware supplied by Fagor is exceptional.

CONS: Expensive. Fagor's Innova display is a smaller, more compact display, so most of the functions are accessed through a push-button menu driven system. Most users seem to find this design frustrating and difficult to use. The comment we hear most often is "Sure do need to keep the manual close by".

COMMENTS: We feel the Fagor Innova series could use a redesign of the front panel, especially adding more function buttons.

WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE FAGOR: You've used Fagor in the past and don't want to change, even if the alternative is cheaper and easier to use.

SUMMARY: Fagor is a quality built DRO, but is being challenged by many less-expensive, easier to use DRO's.

 

Once you've decided between Easson or Fagor then it's time to measure the travel on your machine. We have an excellent video called "Choosing Your Scales" which is very helpful and can be found on our Video page HERE. There's also some good information located on our Scales page located HERE. Another great resource is our DRO Wizard which can help guide you to the right decision for you - He can be found by clicking HERE. Finally, once you've measured the travel on your machine, simply order online and/or give us a call!

 

Do I need a 2 or 3 axis DRO?

There are two primary factors to evaluate when answering this question. First, consider the difficulty of installation. If the mill is a round column mill and you want to install the Z scale on the quill, you may be up for quite a challenge. However, if you're considering putting a third scale on either a square column mill or the knee, then this installation should be much easier.

 

Second, consider your budget. As a general rule, a 3 axis kit will always be more expensive than a 2 axis kit. Most computations will be performed in just the X and Y axis only, so if your budget demands a less expensive kit, the reality is that you won't really lose much by going with a 2 axis kit. The only downside is that once you've bought a 2 axis kit it's not possible to simply add a scale and turn it into a 3 axis kit as the 2 and 3 axis displays are different.

 

One suggestion we frequently make to our customers who have bench-top round column mills is to buy a 2 axis kit and then simply buy a caliper type quill readout. There are many inexpensive vendors on ebay that carry this type of conversion and it's much easier than trying to install a traditional glass scale on a quill.

 

What length scales do I need?

Scales are sized in millimeters (mm). Scale sizes range from 50mm to 3000mm in 50mm increments. The travel length of the scale must be longer than the maximum travel of your machine, specifically, there must be at least 10mm clearance on either end of the scale. For example, if the maximum horizontal travel of your milling machine is 15 ¾”, then the minimum size of your scale would be the max. travel (15.75) x mm conversion (25.4) + required clearance in mm (2 ends at 10mm each = 20). The equation looks like this:  15.75 x  25.4 + 20 = 420mm.  Since scales come in 50mm increments, you need the next size scale which would be a 450mm scale. (Please also see our web page titled ‘Sizing’ for a more detailed description of sizing).

 

Can I upgrade from a 2 to a 3 axis DRO later?

The displays are either 2 or 3 axis displays, so once you’ve bought a 2 axis display it cannot be ‘upgraded’ to a 3 axis display. Scales, however, can be mixed and matched and are not dependent to any axis. So if you think you may want a 3 axis display in the future, but your budget constrains you to buying only two scales, you may want to consider buying a 3 axis display and 2 scales for the moment. Temporarily, you’ll only have 2 scales to plug into the X and Y axis. Later, when you buy a third scale, simply plug it into the third connector on your 3 axis display and voila! – you now have a 3 axis DRO.

 

Does the DRO kit come with everything I need?

Yes, the DRO kit comes with absolutely everything you’ll need. Every DRO kit comes with a display, mounting bar, mounting hardware, operations manual, detailed installation instructions, scale protection covers, mounting brackets and power cord.

 

How do I install the DRO kit?

It is very simple and easy to install our DRO kits. By virtue of being interested in a DRO kit to start with, you already possess more than enough capability to install the kit. All necessary parts are included, further, each DRO kit comes with a very detailed, easy to follow, fully illustrated, 9 page installation manual. Please also see our webpage titled ‘Installation’ for further information.