The new Anilam Wizard 1000 DRO from measurement and control specialist ACI (UK) is a groundbreaking two- to four-axis fully programmable unit for milling and turning applications that is more powerful but easier to use than its predecessor (the Wizard 900) yet costs the same. Characterised by ease of use and intuitiveness - hallmarks of the ACI (UK) Acu-Rite, Anilam and Metronics brands - the Wizard 1000 has extensive I/O capability and encoder inputs for four independent axes, making it a true two- to four-axis DRO that is unrivalled on a cost-to-performance basis. Capable of storing up to 1,000 blocks of information - which can include as sub-routines 10 PCDs with up to 99 holes each or 10 linear patterns with up to 999 positions - the system can also accommodate data for 16 tools and 10 sub-datums and, unsurprisingly, system functionality also includes automatic trigonometry calculations and hole skewing routines, for example.

Says ACI (UK) managing director Phil Goulding: 'Anilam introduced the world's first programmable DRO in 1977 and it took every one else four years to catch up.

Even today with the vast number of CNC machines in use (many with our own controls) we should not overlook the benefits of programmable readouts.

The Wizard 1000 can easily achieve time savings of 70 to 80 per cent on complicated milling and boring applications, yet costs less than a fifth of the value of a CNC system! For all its capacity, I don't think we have ever seen an easier to use product!' The Anilam Wizard 1000 is of slimline design, with diecast aluminium casing and plastic front cover, and it complements two new ranges of precision glass linear encoders (SENC 150/50 and ENC 125T/125E) as well as a number of recently introduced DROs from ACI (UK): * The Acu-Rite 100S DRO, a 'simple and affordable' low-end system that now features three-axis functionality; * The Anilam Wizard 550 DRO - a user-friendly and cost-competitive system that can be supplied as either a two- or three-axis unit for milling, turning or grinding applications, to eliminate the headache, time and cost often associated with the selection and installation of multiple application-specific DROs; and * The Metronics Quadra-Chek QC 300 gauge and inspection DRO with live video monitor for direct camera feed and additional measuring routines.