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Latheasaurus Rex our first lathe a Voest DATR 1.5

kilohertz

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Location
Slightly left of Vernon, BC
We finally landed our first lathe, an old Voest DATR 1.5, for us a monster as we had been looking at old SB etc which were half the size, but it crossed my path yesterday, the price was right and I happened to have my flat deck trailer on the job site so I left work early and picked it up, brought it home for my son and he is thrilled. He has been wanting one for a while now to continue his pursuit of his machining interest, and I am all for it. One of the tools I have never owned.

It had been in service at the machine shop it came from for many years and when they rearranged the shop, found they didn't really need it anymore, so with a fork lift, plopped it on my trailer and away I went. Has a 3 jaw chuck on it, and a 300lb 4 jaw with lifting eye they also gave me. My son will be cleaning it for the next few days, remove all the chips, give it a good wash with Diesel and a brush to remove the grunge and provide a little lube to all the nooks and crannies that haven't seen movement in a while, then go through it and give it some proper maintenance. It currently has a 460 3ph motor on it, I will need to change that to a 208/220 3 phase, which I should have around here somewhere, then I will use the Baldor 15H series VFD I have on my log splitter to drive it, should work pretty well.

Here are a few pictures of it as she sits on the trailer. Oh, and if anyone has documentation for this in a pdf, please PM me and I'll give you my email, we received nothing with it, and it would help us figure it all out. Thanks!!

Cheers
 

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Progress today....cleaned off all the old chips, complete wash with Diesel and a brush, freed up some stuck things and am now working on the motor and wiring and how I am going to power this.

This motor sure looks original to the lathe, but the shop said it was 460VAC, name plate on the front door says 220VAC, name plate on the motor is missing but under where it was is a stamped number. I am guessing that the motor could be set for either? Attached pictures show the motor and wiring box on the motor. Could someone let me know how to wire this back to 220VAC? Probably to do with the brass jumpers.

Cheers
 

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What a nincompoop! All I had to do was turn the cover over. :rolleyes5: So now I need to determine if my Baldor 15H VFD will have enough oomph to power this, otherwise, I get to build a 3 phase rotary converter. :crazy::)

Cheers
 

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All I had to do was turn the cover over.
If it has an overload relay (very likely), you'll have to change the heater coils in it. The motor will draw roughly twice as much current when wired for low voltage as it does for high voltage so heaters for the higher expected current will be needed. I had to do the same when I re-wired my K&T 2CHL from 460V to 230V. Once you determine the type of overload and the type of heaters you have it is a fairly simple matter to figure out which ones you need and they will probably be easy to source unless the manufacturer used some non-standard overload relay.
 
As I am completely new to this, could you tell me where the heater coils/relay is and what they are for? This machine came from the factory wired as a 220VAC machine according to the front plate label, so perhaps when it was converted to 440, they didn't change the heaters. As I am going to be driving this with a Baldor 15H series VFD, will it matter? I don't see anything resembling a relay inside the unit.

Thanks for explaining.

Cheers
 
[C]ould you tell me where the heater coils/relay is and what they are for?
The overload relays serve to protect a piece of equipment in case of a high current draw (for a sustained period). Essentially, the overload relay is somewhat like a circuit breaker in that it disconnects the load when a high current condition occurs.

The traditional overload relays use "heaters" that operate on the principle of resistive heating. The resistance of a particular heater is designed to generate a pre-determined amount of heat in the overload condition, causing the relay to open and disconnect the equipment from the power source. The heaters are rated for specific "full load ampere" levels so if your lathe has heaters for 15 amps full load, for example, drawing 15 amps or more for a sustained period will generate enough heat to trip the relay.

As I mentioned, a motor will draw approximately twice as much current at 230 volts as it will when powered by 460 volts. Consequently, if the previous owner changed the heaters to match the full load current at 460 volts you will find that the overload relay will trip frequently when operated on 230 volts.

If you trace the wiring of your lathe, you should find the overload relay between the main contactor and the motor. If it has a coolant pump, it may have its own overload relay.

The URL below is of a typical website that sells overload heaters. Your overload relay's heaters should be small modular units with two contacts. Most will have an identifying number which indicates (directly or indirectly) the current rating. You should be able to determine the type of overload heaters you have and, given the identifying number, you should be able to determine the current rating. If you are fortunate, the motor will still have a nameplate that gives the "full load current" for 230 and 460 volts. Armed with all of this information you should be able to determine the proper overload heater for your lathe.

If you have difficulty, you might be able to make progress by taking a picture of your overload relay and sending it to the customer service rep of a website like I've given and asking for their help. They will need to know the full load current of your motor or they may be able to help you if you can tell them the horsepower rating of the motor.

Thermal Overload Heaters, For All Your Overload Heaters

The attached photo shows an Allen-Bradley N29 heater that is rated for 8.03 to 8.56 amps. This is what I put in my K&T 2CHL mill which has a 3HP motor. I chose this based on the current rating shown on the motor nameplate for 230V.
 

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Don,

Thank you so much for the explanation, it makes sense now, so I will have to have a closer look at the whole machine tomorrow and see if I can find these tucked away somewhere in the cabinet. I really appreciate the description you gave, and I'm sure others will find it of value as well. This ultimately is to protect the motor? If so, and it's not in my machine, will I need these when I connect the VFD or will it have it's own protection?

Thanks!
 
First off I am NO electrician but a machine like that normally has 3 contactors ,one main power and one each for forward and reverse.. Those contactors have coils ,you need to see what voltage they are .You may have a transformer to provide the correct voltage for them many times they are low voltage units. If so most Likely need wires switched on the transformer. This info applies to native 3 phase or rotary converters. Most VFDs bypass all factory switches-contactors etc.
 
Glad to see you found something in your area. Those old Southbends would certainly have been better than nothing
but I think you'll really be happy with the Voest. The ones I have seen have impressed me.

Having a "bigger" lathe may be a little intimidating at first but you'll quickly adapt. The phrase: "You can make small parts
on a big lathe but you can't make big parts on a small lathe" has been said many times but it still holds true. Making small
parts painlessly on a big lathe is, in large part, about workholding. Trying to hold really small parts in a big honkin' 4-jaw chuck
isn't fun but if you equip your machine with a good collet chuck a lot of problems go away. You can always downsize tools if
necessary. The other big problem with using a big lathe to make small parts is that your maximum RPMs may be somewhat
limited but you can work around that as well.

You still haven't told us where in B.C. you are...
 
What a nincompoop! All I had to do was turn the cover over. :rolleyes5: So now I need to determine if my Baldor 15H VFD will have enough oomph to power this, otherwise, I get to build a 3 phase rotary converter. :crazy::)

Cheers

You should build the RPC anyway. They can be rugged as a box of rocks, not a great deal more complicated nor especially expensive, and can power-up way more than just the one small lathe.

It isn't a T. Rex, BTW. Velociraptor on platform tennis-shoes, rather. Note the raised-height.

:)

A VFD when you do not HAVE to is "too much like work" to bypass all the OEM controls so the VFD gets connected directly (and ONLY) to the primary drive motor, and then.. have to provide interface back TO the original controls, or at least near-to their POSITIONS, else adapt to some other placement of remoted controls off the VFD when... you don't even need the variable-speed feature of the VFD, anyway - only the phase conversion.

Better to save the VFD for some other application that derives greater advantage from the variable speed feature as well as the phase conversion. A milling machine, for example. Or even a drillpress, where drill/hole diameter dictates best RPM.
 
There is another long time member of this site who has a " Voest " lathe I think. It may not be the same model as yours but I'm surprised he hasn't commented on this machine. Maybe he's on holiday ( vacation ).

By the way I love the " non-slip " chuck guard. Very handy if you want to stand on top of the lathe to get a better view.

Regards Tyrone.
 
I acquired a DATR 1.5 several years ago without a motor and gearbox. Running it on a VFD which takes the place of the six speed gearbox. I am in the Langley area. There are manuals floating around on the internet.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments, the funny and the serious.

I probably have all the components to build an RPC, in various locations around the property, and will build one this fall, but to get this going quickly, (remember 16 year old's patience) the VFD is already at hand and connected to power and I just need to wire it to the motor, it has soft start and stop, completely programmable, has the local keypad, and for me, electronics guy, would be much faster to build a remote stop/start/FWD/REV etc remote for it, than to build the RPC. For now we can just use the built in keypad, which he knows how to use as it is on my log splitter.

I also just remembered the previous owner told me the "brakes" don't work on the lathe, so it takes a w while to spin down, the VFD should solve that.

I'll be puttin' on the coveralls and goin' in this morning to see what's under the covers and panels of this beast, find the relay and heaters, contactors etc. The chuck guard is off and stored for now, the base looked original, the checker plate, not so much.

Thanks again, more as the day progresses. A new dozer just arrived here yesterday so will be going through that today as well.

Cheers

Here is a picture of the type of VFD I have.
 

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Thanks everyone for the comments, the funny and the serious.

I probably have all the components to build an RPC, in various locations around the property, and will build one this fall, but to get this going quickly, (remember 16 year old's patience) the VFD is already at hand and connected to power and I just need to wire it to the motor, it has soft start and stop, completely programmable, has the local keypad, and for me, electronics guy, would be much faster to build a remote stop/start/FWD/REV etc remote for it, than to build the RPC. For now we can just use the built in keypad, which he knows how to use as it is on my log splitter.

I also just remembered the previous owner told me the "brakes" don't work on the lathe, so it takes a w while to spin down, the VFD should solve that.

I'll be puttin' on the coveralls and goin' in this morning to see what's under the covers and panels of this beast, find the relay and heaters, contactors etc. The chuck guard is off and stored for now, the base looked original, the checker plate, not so much.

Thanks again, more as the day progresses. A new dozer just arrived here yesterday so will be going through that today as well.

Cheers

Here is a picture of the type of VFD I have.

Mechanical brakes are easy to refurbish.

VFD won't "brake" worth spit compared to a 4Q DC Drive, but ennyhoo.. no need to be worrying about contactors or heaters, then. VFD bypasses all of that, just 3-wires to the motor + PE.
 
Woo hooo it works!

Wired the Baldor VFD directly to the motor, wound it up slowly and we have a running lathe! yeah! :) Figured out a lot of the functions, but still need some help with a few things which I will detail later. It's a little loud, not sure if it's normal, I guess square cut gears aren't as quiet as helical or bevel. :D:rolleyes5: The VFD is a delight, ramps up slowly, decels just perfect. Runs at 5.2A and 230VAC 1800 RPM, peaks at 6.5A on ramp up and down. Gotta love VFD's!

Anyway, I made a quick video, hope the link works, let me know.

Cheers

[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/qswhqyfitnutc8t/IMG_5404.mpg?dl=0[/video]
 
Thanks Peter, Yes I noticed that too. My VFD has FWD and REV and it will turn either way, and yes, noisier actually going the correct direction, also the noise greatly different depending on spindle speed. We need to check all the oil levels to ensure they are correct. I can see oil through the inspection windows but probably long overdue for a change.

BTW, what is the modern recommended oil for the gear boxes in these lathes? The 1962 manual mentions oils not available here? Non detergent? Synthetic? Hydraulic?

Thanks
 








 
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