iGaging. This 'n that

[tcom]

Good evening all,

A couple of months ago I decided that fighting a milling machine with forty five thousandths of an inch backlash in the x axis screw and non adjusting dials on both axes I would mount a DRO.

Since I'm not making parts for the space shuttle I don't need a six hundred dollar unit. So DROPRO, Acurite et al., while excellent units are too expensive for my needs. Andy Jackson doesn't blink every time I open my wallet, and I am willing to spend a few bucks to make my machine a little easier to operate.

Off to the Shars catalog and eBay. Shars units looked to be identical to the iGaging products on the auction site. The latter three axis readouts priced at $135 shipped looked good.

A quick trip to YouTube and visiting everything from the sacred to the profane I thought I would give iGaging a try, in spite of one YouTuber not knowing the correct pronunciation of iGaging.

Now, I am not a xenophobe nor sinophobe. I understand how the global economy works and that inexpensive sometimes very inferior products are available from Asia. I knew I wasn't getting a Cadillac instrument at a Yugo price.

The set came and I installed all three readoutson my mill. No installation problems. The functions are bare bones. I knew that going in. THey are accurate to the extreme ends of travel, respond quickly and do a fine job for my purposes. The screens are large and easy to read. However the angle of the display has to be adjusted depending on the brightness and source of light. Not molecular biology by any means.

So, why this post? factory support and lack thereof.

In the course of mounting and fixturing a pump housing probably too large for my machine the magnetic strip mounted on the back of the table got damaged. Not mortally wounded but I had to cut off about nine inches and reinstall it, losing a lot of travel. it's fairly easy to remove on the odd occasion I need to mill a piece ten or so inches long.

So call iGaging and order a new 24'' magnetic strip, problem solved right?

WRONG!

eBay sellers' response: ''no parts''. Simple, direct, eloquent.

I called iGaging in San Clemente Ca. and was told by the rep they didn't carry service parts for the units and he wouldn't be able to break up a new set to provide one. He then added that I could get a new one and use the strip out of it. He did say he would see what he could do and get back to me. That was three weeks ago. No call yet. or......BTW he could sell me a complete unit. This guy was thinking at a level unatainable by ordinary mortals.

I then asked him what they do about warranty replacements as the product is warranted. He explained that they had a procedure and system for that. So not wanting him to reveal trade secrets I didn't ask any more questions.

In summery then for all of you who got this far and to prevent further eyestrain, here is my take on the product.

1. It is a good accurate instrument. has a good price/value relationship. It has limited functions but does everything it's supposed to well

2. It is easy to install, not bulky with a bunch of universal brackets and hardware.

3. Worth the money, IMO yes if you understand that the functions are limited there is no factory support.

My options are: To bitch and moan about it or buy a new unit. I can live with the situation until I decide to pop $50 for a new 24'' instrument which I will probably do. Even with the replacement It's cheaper than the Shars DRO and well under the no name Chinese clones of AccuRite.

I should have titled this post "parts, parts, we ain't got no stinkin parts."

Tony

[Dan_the_Chemist]

They came and I installed all three on my mill. No installation problems. The functions are bare bones.

I bought a set for my Rong-Fu mill drill - after all, putting anything better on a Rong-Fu was sort of like putting $1000 wheels on a VW bug (and I suspect it has been done). They went on well, worked fine... until I got coolant in the lowest of the three display units. My fault...

That gave me the kick in the butt to change the DRO output. Yuriy has a lovely little open source project that collects the outputs from the three linear slides into an Arduino, and then uses a cheap Blue Tooth shield to send the info to an Android Touch tablet. The project took me about 5 hours, and I'm not an electronics wizard. It's really simple. If you read the blog you will find that while every Arduino made in US/EU seems to work fine, a number of the cheap Chinese Arduino knock-offs don't work. I think you can tell which is which by looking at some secondary chip on the Arduino board (it's been a year, I forget the details). I went with the Chiduino anyway ($7 vs $25) and got lucky. Total cost was probably $50 (excluding the Tablet).

The thing has a nice display, methods to calculate center, bolt circles, list of points, etc... It's still not top of the line, but it's a lot better than those three little iGaging displays.

The link is http://www.yuriystoys.com/p/android-dro.html

and here is a picture of what the DRO looks like on an Android Tablet. The phone in the front displays limited info/capabilities on each screen, but a 10" tablet allows you to get pretty much everything on the main display.

[JoeLee]

At $135 shipped for the complete unit, it's not worth it for any company to provide parts. It's a throw away world, just replace it.

JL.............

[RB211]

I like my 350$ Chinese glass scale dro. Have no qualms about having it over a unit that costs 2 to 3 times as much.

[J Tiers]

At $135 shipped for the complete unit, it's not worth it for any company to provide parts. It's a throw away world, just replace it.

JL.............

I read it (rightly or wrongly) as $135 for the entire set of 3.

But they sell the individual axes as well. I do not think the readout is separate from the strip, I was under the impression those are hardwired together, no plugs/sockets, in which case the strip would not be available separately, you would have to buy the readout and the strip.

If they DID have the pieces separately, you could probably buy the strip for $60, the readout for $35, or the combination for $50, so doing that is probably the best idea anyway.

[tcom]

You are correct. It was for all three axes.

The lead is hard wired into the pick up and plugs into the LED. Consequently everything is interchangeable.

When I replace the x axis strip I'll have a spare LED and pick up in case something fails which I doubt will happen. As I said in the OP it's not a big deal, given the machine it's on, overall cost of the DRO and the class of work I do.

Still would be nice to be able to get replacement parts but not worth losing sleep over.

And........ THe young man I spoke with at iGaging didn't have an attitude. Quite the contrary, he was polite and friendly. He doesn't make company policy so it's not his fault there are no service parts available.

Tony

[JoeLee]

I read it (rightly or wrongly) as $135 for the entire set of 3.

But they sell the individual axes as well. I do not think the readout is separate from the strip, I was under the impression those are hardwired together, no plugs/sockets, in which case the strip would not be available separately, you would have to buy the readout and the strip.

If they DID have the pieces separately, you could probably buy the strip for $60, the readout for $35, or the combination for $50, so doing that is probably the best idea anyway.

I wasn't sure either. I was guessing it was for one axis, $135 for 3 shipped is unbelievably cheap.
Providing parts for something of that value would be like BIC providing parts for their disposable lighters.

JL....................

[tcom]

Yep. A good deal for what they do. taylortoolworksllc is the eBay seller. They are still available.

tc

[Tundra Twin Track]

Providing parts for something of that value would be like BIC providing parts for their disposable lighters.

JL....................

Very well said,that's the way too much stuff is.

[fixerdave]

Yeah, I went down that route too.

One sensor fell apart. I had originally thought I had crushed it, but it turned out the plastic went funny. Just crumbled to the touch. I considered that it was reacting to cutting fluid but the others are fine, so just a bad batch of plastic. So, I bought another short one just for the sensor when they were offering a free shipping deal. Problem solved. Then, I had a bar fail, just a spot where it jumps on the readout. I presume this was caused by some swarf melting into it... but I couldn't see anything even under a microscope. Luckily, it was the short axis so I just used my now spare bar. Problem solved.

The real problem with these are, in my opinion, that they are cheap enough that the owner doesn't care. They are often, as in my case, mounted without the care and attention to detail that the more expensive scales get. Thus, being exposed, they fail more often. And, yeah, cheap enough that even warranty repair and the required shipping for this make just ordering new the most viable option.

I suppose that logic carries up the food chain... for some of us, a cheap mill doesn't "deserve" top quality accessories nor attention to detail. It's all use and abuse. Cheapness amplified by user indifference. I can attest to that. Nothing wrong with that though, it's just a choice. Beaters typically get more use than museum quality.

Then again, if I were to do it again, even my cheap lathe/mill would get a better DRO, and I'd take the time to mount it right. Someday. Once you start using a DRO, even a cheap one, it's hard going back to the dials.

David...

[Tundra Twin Track]

Does any body build a cheap DRO with a 48" scale?

[MattiJ]

Does any body build a cheap DRO with a 48" scale?

Define cheap.
Aliexpress is quite good source for cheapo for DRO's but shipping is going to be killer for over 40" scales.
3-axis DRO + 3pcs max 40" scales is something like 250usd including shipping and its more like "proper" DRO unlike iGaging.

[CPeter]

Sorry to highjack this thread.

This is my three axis setup. It is the Igaging Absolute series. I had one of the original ones and these seem much better. There are some quirks, like you can't change the way they read. right to left or left to right depends on how you mount them and that is the way it is. Another PITA is that they time out rather quickly, but they do remember where they were so you just push the on button and continue on.






I made my out mount for the readout. the plastic arm might work for one, but was too flimsy for three.



"Z" axis mount. On the "Z" axis, the pickup moves and the scale is fixed. I sacrificed the stop rod and replaced it with a piece of ½" 12L14 and a mounting block for the pickup.



"Y" axis mount. the pickup is fixed and the scale moves. The "X" & "Y" axis scales and pickups are covered with a piece of aluminum angle.



"X" axis scale and pickup.

Not the best, but for the price, more than I need for the work I do and a big help. I have tested them against a dial indicator and they seem dead on.

The mill has been converted to 3 phase with a VFD and remote control for speed and fwd/off/rev. Another big improvement. Making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. A used Bridgeport would have been about the same price, but too heavy for my floor.
CPeter

[tcom]

First off I wouldn't have considered a DRO if I had a machine that had the ability to zero the dials. Until I installed the DROs I had never used one. Simplifies every operation especially when there is a lot of back lash in the screws.

I had the same experience mounting three on the plastic arm. Two seem to work OK. I made a shoulder bolt, bushing and locknut to secure it to the mill. I can move it back and forth out of the way of the crank handle and angle it so I can see it better from the right side of the machine. Late afternoon light hits the LEDs just right and it's hard to see the numbers. Swinging the arm forward gets the readouts into the shadow and the numbers are easier to read.

I mounted the LED for the Z axis on a plate bolted to the pan under the spindle drive. Can look up and find my Z axis position quickly.

Very nice install of the instruments. Very professional looking and well protected.

I didn't know until recently that iGaging made an Absolute version. I would have gotten it rather than the ''Plus''. I will probably replace my X axis instrument with the Absolute version.

I worked in a shop in the late sixties and would have thought iGaging DRO technology was other worldly. We did get along well with mag backed long travel dial indicators, a ton of tips, extension legs for the indicators along with shop made indicator holders that only the maker knew how to assemble and use.

Working in a job/production shop you learned quickly how to find your position quickly regardless of the backlash and slop in the table. It seemed like every shop had an old dog machine that got used for the 911 job with tight dimensions that had to be out by five because all the other machines were being used on bigger emergency jobs. THen yours sat on the loading dock for three days waiting for customer pick up because they felt the delivery charges would break them. Loved every minute of it.

[fixerdave]

Sorry to highjack this thread.

This is my three axis setup. It is the Igaging Absolute series. I had one of the original ones and these seem much better. There are some quirks, like you can't change the way they read. right to left or left to right depends on how you mount them and that is the way it is. Another PITA is that they time out rather quickly, but they do remember where they were so you just push the on button and continue on. ...

As Dan_The_Chemist noted, if you get overly annoyed with the stock readouts, you can replace them with an Android tablet, an Arduino, and a fairly simple circuit. That will get you closer to a real DRO. Not that expensive, not that hard, but another $70 or so, depending on the tablet you run with it. Then, you're at $220 or so... and that glass scale system is $350, and you don't need to solder decoupling caps into your sensors, and, and... Like I said, I did it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

On the other hand, I quite like having an Android tablet mounted next to the mill. It's easier to read the tap-drill charts, there are some great metric/imperial converters, etc.. Manuals for my bikes and other vehicles, a huge reference library actually, and music or audio books. So, adding that $50 to the cost of the DRO isn't exactly fair.

David...