Craftex 701 lathe & 601 mill DRO sizes required

[LinzD]

I have a Craftex 701 lathe and 601 mill on order. I would like to put a 2 axis dro on the lathe and a 3 axis dro on the mill. For anyone who has installed dro's on these machines I would like to know what size scales are required on the different axes. I am also open to any suggestions as to brand, installation etc. I know there is some information currently in threads somewhere and I will eventually find and read them but i would like to get these ordered ASAP and getting info from those that have done it on these machines seems to be the quickest route to this end.

Thanks,
Lindsay

 

[YYCHM]

How far away is the nearest Busy Bee? I would suggest you go to the store and measure things up for yourself. Otherwise, wait until you have the machines on hand before ordering. Mounting DRO scales on a lathe isn't as easy as it sounds particularly the y axis.

 

[thriller007]

great another CX601 owner. I have the cx706 lathe so that won’t help you but I can have a look and see what size scales I bought for the CX601. I remember thinking I should have bought a the z axis and the x axis a little bigger but it was really close. I would recommend buying from AliExpress for your dro.

 

[thriller007]

I looked at my order and here is what I bought.

Travel length=250mm, total length=390mm works good but if you can add 50mm if you want.
Travel length=400mm, total length=540mm works but lots of room so add 100mm so that you have more play room.
Travel length=600mm, total length=740mm works but if I did it again I would go 40 to 100mm longer but by doing so you would be covering the drain hole so your choice.

 

[LinzD]

Thanks Thriller. Exactly what I was looking for. Trying to keep cost down so will definitely be Aliexpress.