He reached for the "manual top"—the literal cover of the unit—and felt the cold, industrial texture of the casing. Before he could even think about wiring it up, he had to understand the "top-level" basics of its operation.
Move the machine table to your desired starting point (e.g., touching off the edge of a part). Press the or Reset Y key. The display will instantly change to 0.0000 . Presetting an Axis Value
: The Mini Wizard was revolutionary for its time, utilizing one of the first microprocessors for internal memory. It relied on contaminant-protected precision glass scale encoders , a technology Anilam pioneered and continued to use due to its high accuracy and reliability in harsh machine shop environments. anilam mini wizard a163 manual top
: If you zero in ABS , it often clears the INCR value as well, but zeroing in INCR will not affect your ABS datum. Setup and Configuration
Clean glass scale scales with alcohol; verify chassis ground. Blown fuse or failed power supply Check the rear panel fuse block ( slow-blow). Internal Jumper Settings He reached for the "manual top"—the literal cover
The Anilam Mini Wizard A163 is a classic DRO that can still serve a machinist well today. Although the original manual is rare, the collective knowledge of the machining community and a few key resources can help you unlock its full potential. Whether you need to find the proper p/n 70000119 manual, configure resolution via DIP switches, or troubleshoot a scale issue, this guide provides a foundation for getting your Anilam Mini Wizard back to peak performance.
: Bright LED or VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) with large, easy-to-read digits. : Available in 1, 2, or 3-axis configurations. : 115 VAC, 35 Watts. Accessing the Setup Menu Press the or Reset Y key
Then Leo stumbled on a thread about —a strange piece of jargon. One old-timer wrote: “On the A163, to set your tool offset top, you press ‘PRESET’, then ‘TOOL’, then enter the diameter. The ‘TOP’ function is for absolute zero setting.” Leo realized that “top” was a misremembered command: the Tool Offset Parameter . The manual’s missing page likely explained how to use the TOP key to define the part’s upper Z-axis zero without entering negative numbers.
Vintage electronic components can exhibit issues over time. Use this matrix to diagnose your A163 console. Probable Cause Corrective Action Blown fuse or faulty power supply
Proper configuration is essential, especially if you are replacing scales or changing the unit's resolution.
You can configure the Mini Wizard to default to either inch or metric units every time you power it on.