Digital read out

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DRO providing a three axis display with pitch circle calculator, diameter/radius conversion, absolute and incremental toggle, and inch metric toggle

A Digital Read Out (or DRO) is an electronic measuring instrument and display that converts the signal generated by a linear encoder and glass or digital scale into a human readable form. A digital readout is commonly fitted to lathes, milling machines, boring mills and other manual machine tools to allow the operator to work faster and with greater accuracy.

The display unit consists of a series of LEDs, or an LCD screen, to display the current position of the encoder on each scale. Each axis, such as X, Y or Z, that is provided with a scale, will have a dedicated display area where the measurement can be read and manipulated. DRO's allow for quick manipulation between methods of measurement (absolute or incremental), and conversion between imperial (inch) and metric units (mm) of measure. Modern DRO's enable limited calculations to be performed, such as co-ordinate positioning for the machining of holes around a pitch circle.