[FunkedOut]

After spending much time on different sites, I decided to make this one my home for discussing machining topics. Hope that is good with "y'all":cheers:

So I decided to put some DRO on my SX2 after loosing track of where I was and taking off 1/16" too much. :violin:
Eventually, I will CNC this thing, so I wanted to cheap out. I bought a set of iGaging scales and took one apart. Figured I'd show some pics of the guts:



One you remove the hot glue and the mini-USB connector, you'll have access to the four white screws that hold down the scale, and the four black screws that hold down the PCB. I found that if you tighten the black screws too much, you increase drag as the encoder slides along the scale. I did not find the same to be true for the white screws. Of course, I didn't crank on either of them.



Now, in this next pic, you can see that as the scales changes direction, the scale contact is pushed in the direction that the scale is moving. There's about 3/8" of play. I'm not an expert on this type of scale technology, but my instincts tell me that play is not a good thing. The more consistent everything is between capacitance readings, the more precise the readings will be. So I decided to add a dab of hot glue on one side.



I thought it couldn't hurt. Everything seems to be working fine. The PCB does a good job of holding everything steady, so this might not improve anything. But if you look closely at the PCB where it touches the scale contact, you can see sign of rubbing, which indicates slight play. These are brand new as well, so only 5 minutes or so worth of use to test it out.

[B-RAD]

Ill be checking mine out, they will be installed this weekend. Thanks

[SCzEngrgGroup]

That contact moving on direction changes will make absolutely no difference....

[FunkedOut]

That contact moving on direction changes will make absolutely no difference....

I'm listening. Would you kindly describe the circuit?
You're absolutely right. Electrons will flood the entire bar.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I'm listening. Would you kindly describe the circuit?
You're absolutely right. Electrons will flood the entire bar.

The only purpose of that contact is to provide a ground path to the bar, which acts as a shield for the PCB under the legend strip on the bar that is the actual sensing element. The contact sliding within the housing will not prevent it from doing that, and will have zero effect on operation.

Regards,
Ray L.

[FunkedOut]

so, would i be alright to cut the length of the bar?
how about drilling a hole in the end of the bar for mounting without the brackets?

[thedave]

I have cut 2 of the bars down and it has not affected operation. I have not tried to drill a hole in them yet.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

so, would i be alright to cut the length of the bar?
how about drilling a hole in the end of the bar for mounting without the brackets?

Cutting the bar is fine. If you drill it, be sure you slightly chamfer the hole on the front side, to make sure the traces on the PCB don't end up shorted. It won't hurt anything if they're shorted, but the scale won't read correctly.

Regards,
Ray L.

[FunkedOut]

thanks for the help

[B-RAD]

I have mine mounted and haven't seen any issues with them, after re-reading your post and looking at the pictures, I agree it's not needed. Hope you got them to work ok.

[R0bbie]

The Title of this (old) tread sounds promising.
I would have expected something like this:
Attachment 260974
Or this:Attachment 260976

What do you think?
does it look better?

Regards,

Rob.