DRO ?'s from a new guy

[animal12]

hey there folk's , found this site after a search for a home brew DRO . I would like to make one for my HF Mill using the cheap calipers that most places sell . I am a old school guy , no smart phone & was wondering if you offer a kit that has the 3 axis display , or maybe a mate to a laptop .
thanks for letting me in & thank's in advance for any input 
animal

[Eskimo2k]

Animal,
I think Yuriy has a post around here somewhere that has some recommendations for cheap tablets that are bluetooth enabled that work well with TouchDRO.
I believe that the Kindle Fire was one of his recommendations.

TouchDRO is strictly an Android app, you'll have to download it (for free) from Google Play, so there is no version for any kind of PC.

The kits that Yuriy sells are for the controller that connects to the calipers. Very nice kits. The controller transmits the reading from the calipers to the tablet using bluetooth communication, so bluetooth is a must.

From my personal experience, the tablet touchscreen is a HUGE win for milling work. It is such a pleasure to use this app. I really don't want to go back to counting handle cranks EVER!

[9t8z28]

If you dont mind me asking, what cheap calipers were you looking at?  I would recommend that if you do use the cheap calipers you get two 12" and one 6" caliper to modify for the HF mini mill.  It will make the modification so much easier since you will have more scale to better place the mounts. I actually purchased a 12" caliper from Harbor Freight and attempted to use it to test if they would be worth using instead of iGaging scales.  I determined that the cost and effort to modify them wasnt worth it since you can buy the basic iGaging scales with controllers for a little more than the cost of the calipers.  You do wind up ditching the iGaging controllers for Yuri's controller but once again there isnt much cost difference.  To add I got a 7" Android tablet for $40 off of Ebay.  It was brand new and I've been using it daily for 4 months with no issues.  It runs off of the latest android software.  I am trying to remember the name of the tablet.  I will post the name of it later when I go look.  
Also, if you get the stainless calipers and you attempt to drill them for mounting purposes, they are a hard material to drill.  I didnt have much luck drilling them with the carbide tipped masonry bits but others say they will drill through it.  If your going to cut off the jaws of the calipers I recommend you use a fiber cutoff wheel like what you would use on a dremel or an angle grinder.  
To add: I just thought of this as you said you wouldnt mind using a laptop, but I'm pretty sure they make Android tablets that come with a keyboard or you can add a keyboard to an Android tablet.  
I have pics of my iGaging scales, Blu-Dro and Android tablet on my HF mini mill.  Let me kwow if you want to see my setup.  I also recently purchased and installed the Little Machine Shop larger table and solid column.  I added my scales and modified them slightly different for this setup as well.

[animal12]

• DIY DRO with Arduino and Android from this wed site . I need to so some more digging , I didn't see the part about the tach , I think that could come in handy once I do a Tread Mill motor conversion. any tips from the experianced folk's appreciated 
  
  
• tks
  
  
• animal
  
  
  

If you dont mind me asking, what cheap calipers were you looking at?  I would recommend that if you do use the cheap calipers you get two 12" and one 6" caliper to modify for the HF mini mill.  It will make the modification so much easier since you will have more scale to better place the mounts. I actually purchased a 12" caliper from Harbor Freight and attempted to use it to test if they would be worth using instead of iGaging scales.  I determined that the cost and effort to modify them wasnt worth it since you can buy the basic iGaging scales with controllers for a little more than the cost of the calipers.  You do wind up ditching the iGaging controllers for Yuri's controller but once again there isnt much cost difference.  To add I got a 7" Android tablet for $40 off of Ebay.  It was brand new and I've been using it daily for 4 months with no issues.  It runs off of the latest android software.  I am trying to remember the name of the tablet.  I will post the name of it later when I go look.  
Also, if you get the stainless calipers and you attempt to drill them for mounting purposes, they are a hard material to drill.  I didnt have much luck drilling them with the carbide tipped masonry bits but others say they will drill through it.  If your going to cut off the jaws of the calipers I recommend you use a fiber cutoff wheel like what you would use on a dremel or an angle grinder.  
To add: I just thought of this as you said you wouldnt mind using a laptop, but I'm pretty sure they make Android tablets that come with a keyboard or you can add a keyboard to an Android tablet.  
I have pics of my iGaging scales, Blu-Dro and Android tablet on my HF mini mill.  Let me kwow if you want to see my setup.  I also recently purchased and installed the Little Machine Shop larger table and solid column.  I added my scales and modified them slightly different for this setup as well.