Lathe Modification: Digital Readout and Tach

A DRO seemed like something that could really help me out as a beginner. Always knowing exactly where your lathe was, and being able to easily measure differences had to be a good thing. Besides, adding the DRO requires the least machining of almost any mod--it's an electronics job, and I know how to do that stuff!

So, with that in mind, I went hunting articles and products on the web. There are a bunch of alternatives to choose from, but I really liked the Shumatech product. First, it's a build-it-yourself kit based around some raw circuit boards. Fun! Second, it seemed to have tons of features that only seem to come on much more expensive units. Third, I loved the idea of being able to have a spindle tachometer on the same display panel because it would be useful and would look very "factory original". The guy that first inspired me along these lines was the Micro-Machine Shop. From there I found Shumatech's site, and not long after, a great Yahoo Group focused on helping Shumatech users. Be sure to check out all these sources for information. Also, there is a nifty article on the Shumatech site about Chinese scales, which is what you'll be hooking up to the electronics.

Gathering Parts

First things first, you need to order your circuit boards and silk screened panels from Shumatech. Scott runs the place, and he produces about 100 boards at a time. When he is out of stock, there is a waiting list and you are contacted when the next batch comes in. I bought 2 boards in case I wanted a second DRO for a mill.

Next you need all the parts for the circuit board. Shumatech has what they call a BOM (Bill of Materials) that has the complete list of part numbers for Mouser. Basically, you can copy and paste the information from an Excel spreadsheet into the Mouser BOM import facility, thereby saving you a lot of typing. When I did this, the Mouser BOM tool was annoyingly buggy and slow, but I stuck with it and got the job done. It wound up costing me about $120 for the parts.

There are a few additional parts in the BOM you will need to order from Digikey.

The other thing you'll have to line up are the scales. Lots of cheap Chinese scales will work with the Shumatech. I'm going to get a set of Jenix scales, which look just like the "pro" quality DRO scales. In other words, they are somewhat protected from the hostile machine environment.

Building the PC Boards

Making a Case

Building the PC Boards

Mounting the Scales on the Lathe

Tachometer

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