Broken Anilam DRO

My old mill has an Anilam DRO on both axes, fitted by persons unknown long before I bought it. The fore and aft one is a bit too short for the travel of the table so said persons unknown screwed a 3" steel bar into the back of the saddle which hits the column and limits the travel to just under the length of the DRO. This broke off years ago but I know how far I can take the table back without smashing the DRO out of the end of its housing. I explained this in great detail to my gormless ex assistant, now thankfully departed, but the first time he used the mill he promptly forgot, wound the table right back against the column and broke the DRO.

Basically the travelling bit of the DRO broke the end cap off the aluminium slide tube, burst out into the world for the first time to have a look round and in the process cracked the little mirrored thingy that runs up and down the glass slide. This 'thingy' was sprung loaded into a little circuit board type affair. It's not completely smashed but is cracked in several places. I cleaned everything up, figured how things went back together and re-assembled it and lo and beyold it worked for a time. However last week it had failed again. Sometimes it would register for a bit and then the readout would freeze again. Maybe it's the damp weather and perhaps another clean would affect a temporary cure but it really needs a new thingy.

What are my chances of finding a new or s/h thingy without it costing a fortune and what's the thingy's proper name? Is the thingy likely to be the same one for many models of DRO or do I need to find a model number for my DRO to make sure I get the right one?

-- Dave Baker

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Reply to
Dave Baker
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Is the scale a great chunky thing, or fairly 'slimline' & modern looking? If the former, I might have some old bits you could play with in an attempt to revive yours.

Cheers Tim

Dutton Dry-Dock Traditional & Modern canal craft repairs Vintage diesel engine service

Reply to
Tim Leech

Hi Tim,

From memory the aluminium tube the scale is housed in is about 1" wide by

1.75" high. Whether that makes it chunky or slimline I wouldn't know. I've had the mill nearly 15 years and the DRO was fitted several years before that so it's at least 20 years old if that helps. I'll measure properly next time I'm in the workshop though and also see if any model number is marked on it. I'll also remove the 'thingy' and measure and photograph it. Many thanks for the offer :)

-- Dave Baker

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Reply to
Dave Baker

The "thingy" is a linear scale. There are several types, and I'm not sure which type Anilam fitted. Never did like their stuff personally;-)

Most likely it's quadrature output but some like Heidenhains are analogue. I've repaired lots of heidenhains succesfully so you may be able to do it, if you cant find a s/h one.

Wayne...

Reply to
Wayne Weedon

Found out what it is thanks to this very helpful website

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My scale has System A on the label and the reader head has System A-10 on it which makes it an A-10 Quantum Scale made between 1983 and 1989. The box dimensions (22mm x 37mm) agree with the drawing.

According to the drawing on this page.

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the name of the bit I'm after is the 'Index Plate' inside the reader head.

Whether I'll ever find one is another matter but at least I now know what I'm looking for.

-- Dave Baker

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Reply to
Dave Baker

A fair amount of older Anilam stuff turns up on the US version of Ebay. It is, after all, a US company. I would suggest asking on RCM but you might be a bit short of mates.....

Regards

Charles

Reply to
Charles Ping

It looks as though what I have are bits of MBT scales, so probably of no use to you. I have some later ones, but they have their fate already planned

Cheers Tim

Dutton Dry-Dock Traditional & Modern canal craft repairs Vintage diesel engine service

Reply to
Tim Leech

Lol. Well amongst the Republicans maybe. Odds are that half of them are Democrats though.

-- Dave Baker

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Reply to
Dave Baker

Somehow I figure that RCM isn't that balanced. Anyway the democrats keep their heads down in case the NRA faction catch them in the cross hairs.

Charles

Reply to
Charles Ping

It used to be a good newsgroup, but is almost a complete waste of time these days if you have anything relating to metalworking.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Web:

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Reply to
Peter A Forbes

It was the first newsgroup I got involved in 7 years ago and the main one I used to enjoy participating in. We used to have some really good debates about both metalworking and engines. Then 911 happened and some of the people started to show their true colours. Calls for all the 'ragheads' to be bombed into oblivion regardless of where they were, who they were or whether they'd actually had anything to do with 911. The sentiment displayed was so vile and abhorrent I couldn't participate anymore and deleted the group from my list. I looked back in briefly a couple of years ago and also recently but half the bandwidth is still squabbling between the pro and anti Bush and the pro and anti Gulf war brigade.

America has always been a very paranoid and jingoistic country. McCarthyism, the cold war, reds under the bed, you some kinda pinko commie lovin sumbitch then boy? etc etc. Either you're for them or against them. Very little middle ground and a tendency to just lash out at anything that doesn't agree with their world view. I find it fascinating though but also disturbing. On the more cosmopolitan east and west coasts the attitudes, and the voting, is much more liberal and enlightened. Unfortunately there's a big swath of insular, isolated right wing republicans running down the centre of the country who think that America is god's own country, the only country in the world worth a damn and probably have very little idea of where any other country actually is on a map.

I've often wondered whether the internet will gradually erode this insular behaviour but if so it isn't happening fast enough.

-- Dave Baker

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Dave Baker

I suspect that, for some people, exposure to other views simply reinforces their prejudices.

Along the lines of 'nothing narrows the mind like travel'.

-adrian

Reply to
Adrian Godwin

I very rarely agree with Ower Gert without an argument but I do in this case when she says America is a young country and has a lot of growing up to do.

One thing they can't grasp is the ability to take the piss out of themselves and get away with it. Brit's and Ozzies have had much experience of this and are wiser for it.

You only have to look at US humour to appreciate this and the Simpson's about describe it all.

It's called dumbing down of the masses.

At the height of the Vietnam war ABC, CNN or someone went into Times Square, not the outback, and had a large map of the world with no names on it and asked people to point out Vietnam.

90% pointed to Australia as it was the largest country in that area. They had no idea of foreign affairs and couldn't grasp that the great US of A was fighting in some tinpot swamp.

As Dave says RCM was a good group but they can't keep on topic for more than 20 seconds, the Simpson's memory span, and then it all falls apart into guns and religion. I have no interest in guns despite being a sub contractor to Heckler and Kosh at one point but they couldn't see why we are no all revved up over guns. One guy even posted "Why if you are an engineer can't you appreciate the work that goes into a gun?"

I replied "there is a damn sight more skill , design and work goes into a typewriter but I don't see you guys getting revved up over typewriters and sewing machines" There was no reply to that one.

The funniest post I saw was one where Gunners wife had pissed off and left him for the local milkman. All the regulars were posting in telling him to move his gun collection to a safe place, with someone he could trust, so he wouldn't be tempted to go blast someone. They were more worried over his guns than anything else. I don't know what the outcome was but thank Christ he didn't let Dick Cheney hold them for him

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

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Reply to
John Stevenson

Gunner, Dave Albrecht and a few others had the 'following' (for want of a better expression) on the newsgroup to make it better, but they didn't and let things ramble on to the point where it is just a shadow of what it was when 'teenut' was alive, he was generally respected and an Englishman to boot....

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

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Reply to
Prepair Ltd

Very true Peter. The main problem is that Usenet isn't moderated and so is open to abuse. I spend most of my computer time on Yahoo subject specific groups, most of which are moderated and about 3 BBS's, again where there is some moderation. The only Usenet groups I now look at are this one and the Stationary engine group.

I must admit I did do a search on Dave Bakers post on RCM and thought it was well put. Why the cousins had to get in such a state given that most elected party's are for themselves first, country second says a lot.

If the same had been said about Gordon Brown and Tony Blair there would have been a rush for tickets..................

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

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Reply to
John Stevenson

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