Traveldial

[maico]

Does anyone know who carries the traveldials or someone have one for sale?

[The Doctor]

http://www.southwesternindustries.co...surement.shtml

[Michael Az]

I got one on ebay some months back that was new in the box for $325. I can't imagine doing without it now. I like it better than dro.
Michael

[rockrat]

Michael - What is it about the traveldial that you like over a DRO?

[MikeHenry]

They're pretty pricey new from SWI ($600-800?) but some patience on Ebay can yield a nice used one for $150 or so. Make sure it has the base and the tensioning jig is nice to get for those models that need them. The jig is $35 or so from SWI but I managed to cobble up a barely usable one from sheet metal and scrap for at least that much in effort <g>.

You'll also need a couple of spherical washer sets, which can be had from McMaster-Carr if they don't come with the one you get.

Mike

[MikeHenry]

Rockrat,

I like the TAD on a lathe when turning or threading to a shoulder with power feed as it's easier for my eye to track the analog dial arm than digital display. I can usually disengage the feed within a couple of thou with the TAD. On a DRO I can be as much as 20-50 thou off. Other folks don't seem to have that problem, though, so YMMV.

Mike

[rockrat]

MikeHenry - I see said the blind man (as he put the car in drive). I was just curious.

We have TVD's on the lathes at work. They are ok. Setting zero is a bit more than I care for. But that is a minor gripe. If you don't keep them clean, they skip around. That has bit me on the tail more than once. If something bumps it, I worry that it is off.

The cnc system that they have (prototrak) which runs from TVD's is nice but God help you if it skips or gets bumped. The control thinks that the table stalled and it will take off at a high rate and bust eveyrthing in its way, including the TVD pickup.

As for buying them, eBay would be my first choice as well. I can't see paying almost $800 new and only read one axis.

rock-

[The Doctor]

BTW, I have just recently completed cleaning and repairing my first Trav-A-Dial, which I hope to get mounted to my lathe sometime soon. I took lots of pictures of the reassembly process, and will probably be putting up a web page detailing the cleaning and reassembly process sometimes in the next few weeks. I also have copies of the few small pieces of literature about mounting and calibrating the Trav-A-Dial's people have sent me. So, if you buy a used one and it won't turn completely, or if you find a mounting specifications are a little hard for you to figure out yourself, just drop me an e-mail and I will send you what I do have.

I would also give a warning to all of you who own Trav-A-Dial's. Actually several warnings.
First warning -- keep the wipers in good condition, it only takes a few tiny specks of metal to screw these things up nicely.
Second warning -- if you notice that your Trav-A-Dial skips or seemed to hang up at any point, don't try to finish the job you're on before you fix the problem. Immediately remove the Trav-A-Dial from your lathe, and tried to move the wheel through at least 6 inches of travel with your finger. If it binds up at any spot, put it in a drawer and don't use it again until you take it apart and clean it, as I will soon be able to instruct you on. The first Trav-A-Dial I had a part would only move about 4 inches in either direction, then it would lock up completely. Upon disassembly, I was surprised at what a tiny amount of metal actually made its way inside and caused it to quit functioning. There were only a couple tiny chips in there, yet one of the gears was missing half the tooth. As it is fairly lightly loaded, I don't think that will cause of much trouble, but there was a worse problem a few teeth over. One of the gears appears to be made out of diecast zinc, and it had a piece of yellowish metal actually embedded into the gear tooth. It was embedded so tightly that I could not pull it out with a pick, I ask it had to dig at the tooth with the blade of a utility knife. This may have changed part of the tooth profile enough to affect its accuracy in that area by a few thousandths of an inch. I will not know that for sure until I get to compare it to a dial gauge about every five thousands of travel over 6 inches, a testing process I am really looking forward to:-( So let that be a warning, if you try pushing your Trav-A-Dial once you got pieces of metal in it causing it to bind even a little, you may end up doing serious damage to it. Remember, they do not sell parts to these things. And I really doubt there are any home shops that are capable of making parts to a high enough accuracy to make one of these things work right ever again. So, if you damage even the smallest part beyond use, your Trav-A-Dial becomes a parts machine. Then you have to look on eBay once again and end up paying anywhere from $50 to sometimes over $200 for another workable Trav-A-Dial:-( Don't let this happen to you!

Ed

[Jim Caudill]

Hey Doc!, Remember me? I'm the one that sent you a unit last fall(?). The one that would only go short distance in either direction before jamming?

[Michael Moore]

As Michael points out for some things an analog display is much better than digital.

If you've got a panel of analog gauges you can set them so all the needles point straight up when in the normal position, and a quick glance will show anything that is out, where with the same number of digital gauges you'd have to actually read and process the numbers. And if the gauge is actually in motion a digital display can be pretty useless.

I'd like to see someone who makes DROs include at least one axis of a linear display, whether LED bar graph or just a row of small LEDs. If you could set a zero point and then have it delete elements of the display as you come down to zero you'd have your nice analog display. Maybe include the option of several different resolutions? .100, .050, .010 or .001?

It doesn't seem like that would be too hard to implement if someone knew their electronic stuff (which I don't).

cheers,
Michael

[This message has been edited by Michael Moore (edited 08-07-2005).]