One thing that TouchDRO doesn't support afaik is the absolute position marks on the glass scales. On my Aikron this lets me use the SDM tables to calibrate tools. Some of my tool holders have numbers now, I calibrate to an absolute position on power up, and then the X offset for those tools is automagically set, give or take a few microns. If it really matters, I recalibrate the tool before use. Set the SDM to the tool number and things are lined up for accurate cuts. An added bonus is that I can now easily drill from the cross slide, setting the chuck on centre is a matter of winding the crosslide to 0.000 for that tool.
This is an important point. On lathe mode, my Ditron supports an SDM tool library. It doesn't have that for a mill. But it does have a very large tool offset function that would appear to work the same. I have not used it though. I plan to get another Ditron for my lathe shortly and we will see how well the SDM tool library works then.
One of the worries I would have with a Bluetooth or tablet based system of any kind would be coordinate saving overnight or over a power failure. It's not the end of the world but it would be a royal PIA. I like the way my Ditron handles that and I especially like the multiple zero, absolute zero, relative zero, etc etc. One can even change tools and reference locations and then return to them with a few simple presses of some buttons.
On the other hand, what I don't like is support. There is no contact information in my manual, and I have not found the Ali store to give a rats butt about after sales support.
As sad as it might be to say, I think my only choice would be to buy another display or scale if mine ever goes wonky. As far as I can tell it's pretty robust though. I'm sorta treating it a bit like buying a television or a tablet. I don't buy extended warranties. I just throw the money I would have spent on that in a separate savings account with every other similar purchase and I'll just buy a new one if I ever need it. It's sorta like self insurance on electronics, gizmos, and appliances. Nothing beats the straight forward approach of avoiding repairs, arguments, and delays you get hassling with the extended warranty characters. Just go buy the latest model and move on. I usually have enough money in that account to buy other things from time-to-time. So overall I save money and my life is better for it.
That said, it would be nice to have a contact at Ditron or at least someone who I could direct questions to. I don't have that, and I miss it.
So I moved the TouchDRO stuff to my Atlas mill where it is good enough. I made my own interface, easy with the iGaging scales.
