Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] DRO or not

J. Malte Stoeckhert wrote:

>Hi there,
>
>I'm considering to get into machining and trying to figure out if
>adding DRO makes sense at all or a later CNC upgrade is the way to
>go/wait...?
>
>

It depends on the machine, what you intend to do with it, etc. If you
want to do precision
work, a DRO is the minimum gear you need. I tried to do some low
precision work without
anything but leadscrew dials, and had major problems. I got an old
optical readout that
was the forerunner to the DRO, and it made an enormous improvement in
accuracy. Screws
actually fit right through the holes without filing anymore! Wow!

But, CNC is much better. What you design is what you cut. And, you
quickly start doing
things with angled cuts and arcs that are a BEAR to do without CNC. If
you do even a
modest number of identical parts, then CNC brings even more benefits.
Once you get
the CNC program right, then you can turn out more parts very easily.

Jon