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Target of opportunity

Mounting bar

Trueing the reader head

Reader cable changing

Swapped

Set screws

Drilling & tapping

Checking scale for parallel

Reader head mounted

Spacer guides removed

Scale cover

Cables routed & clipped

Cable routed & clipped

Cable routing

I didn't want to drill holes in the table for mounting the scale. The coolant drain plug was removed, drilled and tapped for a 1/4" bolt. It was then screwed in, a bit past flush and will be used to mount the aluminum bar that will attach to the scale.

Holes being drilled in the 3/8" X 2" aluminum bar that will have the scale and protective scale cover attached to it.

The mounting pads on the die-cast reader head did not sit flat on the mounting angle bracket. It was gently clamped in the vise and carefully milled flat.

The cable exited from the head, on the wrong side for my mounting. Here, I'm removing the four screws that hold the cover on.

The cable has been swapped, the wires tucked so they don't get pinched, and the cover is ready to be put back on.

There are two small slotted head set screws that hold the cable and the plug for the unused hole. They need to be loosened to remove the cable and plug, then tightened again, when things are in the proper holes.

Holes for the reader head angle bracket have been drilled and tapped.

Scale was checked and set for parallel on two axes.

The reader angle bracket has been fastened to both the table carriage and the head. Notice the red plastic spacer guides that hold the head in the proper position relative to the scale.

Once everything is tight, the red plastic head spacers must be removed, as they have been here.

The protective cover for the scale is shown in place here. This pic also shows a better view of the aluminum mounting bar that I used to avoid drilling holes in the side of the table.

Both the X & Y cables, along with the cords for the power feed have been bundled and tied to the table carriage.

The threee reader cables and the power cable for the table power feed are shown here, tied to the Z-Axis bracket and clipped to the column with a bracket I milled. I mounted a 6-outlet strip on the back side of the mill, to power the accessories.

Cables and power to the readout are routed along the mounting arm. I had a choice of running the bottom bunch of cables either horizontally or vertically. I opted to run them straight back, as I was concerned about chips bouncing off a vertical run and getting to the backside of the Z-Scale.