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ACU-RITE DROs on KENT USA® Machines – Enhancing Precision and Productivity

Jul 12, 2024
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Digital Readout (DRO) systems have increasingly become more of a necessity than a luxury for many operators. They significantly enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and productivity of conventional machines, making them an essential addition to any machine shop. By providing precise digital measurements, DRO systems reduce manual measuring errors, improve quality control, and minimize operator fatigue. Through a decade-long partnership with Heidenhain, KENT USA® has fully integrated ACU-RITE DROs into its precision grinders, lathes, and milling machines. Most 2- to 3-axis machines are optionally equipped with the ACU-RITE DRO 203, which is especially well-suited for milling, drilling, boring, and lathe machines with up to three axes.

Design: The DRO 203 digital readout is built as a robust, upright unit with a splash-proof full-travel keypad, ideal for workshop use. It features a 7” TFT color screen that displays position values, dialog inputs, graphic functions, and a graphic positioning aid.


Milling, Drilling, Boring, and Turning Functions: The DRO 203 stands out with its Klartext dialog guidance, making it user-friendly. Its distance-to-go display simplifies positioning tasks; just traverse until the display reads zero to quickly and reliably reach the next position. For milling, drilling, and boring applications, the DRO 203 digital readout offers advanced features such as the calculation of positions for hole patterns, including bolt circles and linear hole patterns. It provides tool radius and tool length compensation to ensure precision and accuracy. Additionally, the DRO 203 supports both linear hole patterns and bolt-hole circles, making it a versatile tool for various machining tasks. For turning applications, the DRO 203 digital readout includes a taper calculator and the ability to switch between radius and diameter displays. It allows for freezing the tool position for back-off and offers vectoring, providing an X/Y display of the traverse path with an inclined top slide. Additionally, it features a sum display for Z and ZO, enabling axis coupling for enhanced precision and control.

Having an ACU-RITE DRO transforms KENT USA®’s manual machines into highly precise and efficient tools, ideal for both educational settings and professional manufacturing environments, ensuring consistent high-quality output and enhanced overall performance.

Features

Milling-specific features
Milling-specific features

  • Centerline calculation enables you to establish workpiece zero and midpoint
  • Bolthole pattern calculations with graphics (full and partial circles/linear patterns)
Turning-specific features
Turning-specific features

  • Instant radius/diameter conversion
  • Taper Calculator
  • CSS (option)
  • Lock axis feature
Dynamic zoom
Dynamic zoom

The currently moving axis can be geographically highlighted. In “dynamic zoom” mode, the position value is zoomed to its maximum size depending on the number of digits. This greatly improves legibility—especially from a great distance.

Installation guide
Installation guide

When you switch on the digital readout for the first time, the DRO203 supports you with an installation guide. You are led step by step through the most important settings until the device is ready for operation.

Day/night switching
Day/night switching

Depending on the ambient-light conditions at the machine, you can switch the screen of the DRO203 to a light or dark background.


 

Specifications

Application Milling, turning, grinding, boring and general purpose
Axes 2 or 3 from A to Z and Z0
Encoder Inputs TTL
Display step
  • Adjustable, max. 7 digits
  • Linear axis: 1 mm to 0.0001 mm
  • Angular axis: 1° to 0.001° (00° 00′ 01”)
Display
  • 3 Axes
  • 7-inch color wide screen (15:9)
  • Resolution 800 x 480 pixels for Position Values, Dialog Messages, Input and Graphic Functions
Status Display
  • Tool
  • Reference point
  • Operating function
  • Feed rate
  • ABS/INC
  • mm/inch
  • stopwatch
Axis Display Standard
Common Functions
  • Job Clock / Stop Watch
  • Feed Rate Display
  • Multiple Language Support
  • Absolute/Incremental
  • Near-Zero Warning with Graphics
  • Help Function
  • 16 Tool Offsets/Diameter
  • Preset and Zero Reset
  • 4 Function Calculator/Trig Calculator
  • Instant Inch/mm Conversion
  • Position-Trac™ Home Reference System
  • Linear/Non-Linear Compensation up to ±9,999 ppm
Turning Specific Functions
  • Taper calculator
  • Radius/diameter switching
  • Freezing the tool position for back-off
  • Vectoring: X/Y display of the traverse path with inclined top slide
Milling Specific Functions
  • Bolt-hole Pattern Calculations with Graphics (full and partial circles/linear patterns)
  • Centerline Calculation establish workpiece zero and midpoints
Cycles Oblique line, circular arcs; only for milling, drilling, boring:circular and linear hole patterns
Error Compensation
  • Axis error: Linear and nonlinear over up to 200 points
  • Backlash compensation: for compensation of reversal error
Data Interface USB 2.0 type C

  • For Output of Parameters to a USB Stick or PC
  • For Input of Parameters, Remote Control of Keys and Commands
Options
  • Single-Position Tilting Base
  • Multiposition Holder
  • Mounting Frame
  • Protective Cover
Electrical Requirements AC 100 V to 240 V (±10 %), 50 Hz to 60 Hz (±5 %), ≤ 33 W
Operating Temperature 0° to 45º C (32º to 113º F)
Protection EN60529 IP 40, Front Panel IP 54
Weight ~1.9 kg

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