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Weiler Matador Lathe

Weiler Matador Lathe Continued on Page 2

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Weiler LZ330   Commodor   Ergodor   Matador

220, 250, and 280 Series   Weiler LZ280 & LZ300

Weiler LD-220, MD-220, LD-250, LDS-250, LDT-250, MF-220,
RDT-260, LZT-280N, LDT-250/6 & Variants

Handbooks and Parts Manuals are available for Weiler lathes

If you can provide high-resolution photographs of a Weiler
Lathe, the writer would be pleased to hear from you


Long enjoying a fine reputation as a maker of high-quality lathes - together with a limited range of small milling machines - the Weiler Company concentrated, over several decades, on a relatively limited range of conventional smaller models including simple plain-turning bench, production capstan and toolroom-class screwcutting types. Versions included the Weiler Primus   Weiler Praktikant   Weiler Praktikus  Weiler LZ330, Commodor   Ergodor   Matador  Condor together with a series of precision plain-turning (in toolmaker, second-operation and capstan types) and screwcutting lathes that included the HP, LZ, LD, MD, MF and RD.
Starting life in the 1950s, the Matador began as the LZ280 and LZ300; by late in that decade the improved and larger LZ330 had been introduced followed, in the mid 1960s, by the LZ330 (though at the time the earlier models, including the LZ280, were still being offered as less costly alternatives). Finally, the LZ330 became two lathes, the "Condor" and slightly smaller "Matador" with a lower centre height, 150 mm (5.9") against 165 mm (6.5") and 500 mm (19.7") instead of 800 mm (31.5") between centres. Constructed to DIN-8605 toolroom standards, both versions were modified from the LZ330  in respect of both spindle speeds and the screwcutting and feeds gearbox - the latter abandoning the traditional Norton quick-change-type (with its sliding tumbler working along an open slot along the front) to be replaced by a sealed, all-lever version. This tidying of the design was also reflected in simple, clean lines enhanced by machine-finished or plated control levers and further improved by the use of tight radii along the outline edges.
With 150 mm (5.87-inch) centre height and admitting 500 mm (20 inches) between centres, the Weiler Matador lathe had its bed formed as a very deep and heavy one-piece box-type casting in Meehanite cast iron. The wall were strongly braced by diagonal ribs with sufficient clearance for easy chip removal. The bed was normalised before machining with the double Vee and flat ways flame hardened (to Brinell 450) and ground to within an accuracy of 0.005 mm (0.0002").
Buyers of both Matador and Condor were offered a choice of two drive systems, the
Type W and Type VS. Intended for use by toolmakers, the Type W used a mechanically operated, infinitely variable-speed mechanism that, with a 7 : 1 drive ratio and fitted with a 2-speed, 1 - 2 h.p. motor, gave stepless spindle speed changes (on 50 Hz) from 28 to 350 r.p.m. in backgear and from 160 to 2000 r.p.m. in direct drive. The Type W is easily recognised by the large drum control wheel fitted to the front face of the strand immediately below the headstock. The Type VS, intended to be more efficient for general work and production processes, was equipped with an interesting oil-bath-lubricated, pre-selector gearbox that, when driven by the standard-fit single-speed 3 h.p. motor, gave spindle speeds from 30 to 620 r.p.m. in backgear and 170 to 3550 r.p.m in direct drive. Mounted in the same locations as the control for the Type W, the speed control for the VS consisted of a speed selector dial to right and the engagement lever to the left.
The variable-speed system was mounted, via vibration-absorbing rubber bushes, on a heavy cast-iron base-plate that could be adjusted vertically to tension the final drive belts. In all other respects the two lathes were virtually identical as to their mechanical construction and were supplied on an integrated, robust braced sheet-metal cabinet stand with a large central storage cupboard with locking doors, the drive system in the left-hand section and the electrical switchgear in the right.
Final drive to the spindle on both machines was by twin, matched V-belts with the headstock pulley arranged to run in own bearings - the drive being transmitted to the spindle though a sliding, internal-tooth clutch. With this system the spindle was relieved of all belt loads and isolated, to a large extent, from vibrations set up within the transmission system. As genuine, matched sets of belt pairs now appear to be unavailable, (and a pair of ordinary belts can cause noise and vibration), today the solution is to use a belt of the accurately made
T-Link type.
Continued below:


Weiler Matador Type W with a mechanically operated, infinitely variable-speed drive

Continued:
Divided into three sections the left-hand section of the headstock held the mechanism through which the changewheels and power-feed shaft were driven; the central part isolated the twin spindle-drive V-belts from oil contamination while the right-hand compartment contained the hardened and ground headstock gears, 5.7 : 1 "backgear" and the lubricating-oil bath. An oil-level inspection window was provided.
Electrical control of the motor's stop, start and reverse was by a lever pivoting from the apron's right-hand face - the rod it operated being connected to a switch within the right-hand cabinet leg; unfortunately, the front face of this leg was also the location for the electrical controls, non of which appear to have been duplicated near the headstock. Should the operator have been involved in an industrial-quality accident, not having immediate access to an emergency stop button would  have seriously impaired his or her chances of survival. If you own a Weiler, arranging a kill switch on or near the headstock - or as a minimum one between the stand legs - would be a wise precaution.
Fastened, together with its drive motor on a cast-iron base plate and "cushion" mounted within the stand under the headstock, the wide Vee-belt driven speed-variator unit was of the traditional mechanical "expanding-and-contracting" type where one pulley was actively opened and closed (by a drive carried from the operator's handwheel along a flexible shaft) - with the other spring loaded.
Backgear, at a ratio of 5.7 : 1, was by hardened and shaved gears lubricated by an oil bath while the spindle, bored through 1.5" (38 mm) was forged from a manganese-chrome alloy steel, completely case hardened (not just the nose) and finish ground along its length. It ran in super-precision, double-row cylindrical roller bearing at the front and two adjustable combined thrust and angular-contact bearings at the rear - the makers claiming the spindle nose would run concentric to within 0.0025 mm (0.0001").
Just one spindle nose was offered, to DIN 55022 in a size 5 with a bayonet flange, the large  No. 5 Morse taper allowing the fitment of a step down sleeve to take collets retailed by either a simple draw-bar or quick-action lever closer.
Completely enclosed, the screwcutting and feeds gearbox incorporated the leadscrew reversing mechanism (so obviating the need to include this in the changewheel drive) and drove both the usual leadscrew for screwcutting and a separate shaft to drive the sliding and surfacing feeds. All gears were mounted on hardened and ground shafts running in bronze or ball bearings and the box could generate a generous 90 rates of feed together with 48 English threads from 2 to 80 t.p.i., 30 metric from 0.2 to 12 mm, 30 Diametral from 6 to 60 DP and 20 Module from 0.1 to 4 mod.
Held between thrust ball bearings adjustable for end play, the leadscrew was 24 mm (15/16") in diameter and could be had with a choice of 6 mm or 4 t.p.i. Pitch thread. Drive to it, and the power shaft (which ran in bronze bushes) was through changewheels that incorporated a sliding compound gear, controlled by a lever, that gave, in addition to the standard feed rates, a choice of
fine and coarse pitches. With the standard changewheels in place (28t, 120t and 48t) the ordinary set of sliding feeds varied from 0.011 to 0.098 mm (0.0006" to 0.0053") per rev; with the lever in the fine position rates ran from 0.008 to 0.070 mm (0.0004 to 0.0038") rev. and in coarse from 0.064 to 0.560 mm (0.0032" to 0.0304") per rev. Rates of power cross feed were set at 1/2 the longitudinal rate on metric machines and 1/3 on English.
As on some other, high-quality lathes the screwcutting and feeds gearbox on the Model VS (but not the Model W) could be driven from either the changewheels (carried in an enclosed housing with an oil bath for lubrication) or through a V-belt system arranged to give faster cutting speeds on production work that required a high-grade surface finish - the intention being that the spindle was run in direct belt drive with its inherent smoothness preventing the harmful effects of backgear vibration being transferred to the workpiece. Using the mechanism (engaged through a clutch lever), the 30 rates of sliding feed ranged from 0.038 to 0.310 mm (0.0015" to 0.10125) per rev.
Double-walled, the oil-bath apron was a model of simplicity and strength. Shafts ran at both ends in bronze bushes or ball races with all gears heat-treated and cross-shaved. Feed direction - sliding or surfacing - was selected by a push-pull knob and, as the feed-shaft passed through a knock-off wormbox, the engagement and disengagement required only the lightest of touches on the lever - no matter how deep the cut. Most usefully, both feeds directions were equipped with adjustable knock-off stops that also doubled as overload protection. Unfortunately the carriage traverse handle was fitted to the left, so positioning the operator's hand to receive stray, red-hot turnings - though as compensation the wheel was equipped with a large-diameter, zeroing micrometer dial. Held in gibbed, adjustable guides, the leadscrew clasp nuts were of a shell-shaped, split-bush designed for easy renewal.
Of Acme form and supported in thrust bearings, the cross and top slide feed screws could be had as either metric or inch types (3 mm or 10 t.p.i. pitch) and ran through bronze nuts - both of the anti-backlash type that could be adjusted from the outside. The zeroing micrometer dials were of large diameter, dull-chrome plated, fitted with friction adjusters that gave a light, non-stick action yet were secure from accidental re-setting and engraved with making reading to 0.05 mm or, optionally, 0.002". The cross slide, with a travel of 150 mm (5.875") was machined with two traverse T-slots behind the top slide, so allowing a rear toolpost or other accessory to be mounted.
Fitted with a No. 3 Morse taper barrel - driven by an Acme-form screw running through a replaceable  bronze nut with a needle-roller thrust bearing and a double-clamp lock - the tailstock had its set-over base plate hand scraped to the bed ways and was locked by the usual kind of eccentric cross shaft. For accurate measurement of travel both ruler graduations and a large-diameter zeroing micrometer dial were provided..

Weiler Matador Type VS


Divided into three sections the left-hand section of the headstock held the mechanism through which the changewheels and power-feed shaft were driven; the central part isolated the twin spindle-drive V-belts from oil contamination while the right-hand compartment contained the hardened and ground headstock gears, 5.7 : 1 "backgear" and the lubricating-oil bath. An oil-level inspection window was provided.

Weiler Matador carriage


Double-walled, the oil-bath apron was a model of simplicity and strength. Shafts ran at both ends in bronze bushes or ball races with all gears heat-treated and cross-shaved. Feed direction - sliding or surfacing - was selected by a push-pull knob and, as the feed-shaft passed through a knock-off wormbox, the engagement and disengagement required only the lightest of touches on the lever - no matter how deep the cut. Most usefully, both feeds directions were equipped with adjustable knock-off stops that also doubled as overload protection. Unfortunately the carriage traverse handle was fitted to the left, so positioning the operator's hand to receive stray, red-hot turnings - though as compensation the wheel was equipped with a large-diameter zeroing micrometer dial. Held in gibbed, adjustable guides, the leadscrew clasp nuts were of a shell-shaped, split-bush designed for easy renewal.

As on some other, high-quality lathes the screwcutting and feeds gearbox on the Model VS (but not the Model W) could be driven from either the changewheels (carried in an enclosed housing with an oil bath for lubrication) or through a V-belt system arranged to give faster cutting speeds on production work that required a high-grade surface finish - the intention being that the spindle was run in direct belt drive with its inherent smoothness preventing the harmful effects of backgear vibration being transferred to the workpiece. Using the mechanism (engaged through a clutch lever), the 30 rates of sliding feed ranged from 0.038 to 0.310 mm (0.0015" to 0.10125) per rev.

Drive system of the Weiler Matador Model W


Drive system of the Matador Type VS with its interesting pre-selector gearbox intended to be more efficient in general work and production processes

Complete transmission system of the Model VS showing the twin V-belt drive from motor to the 9-speed, car-like pre-selector gearbox then by another double V-belt to a pulley on the headstock spindle that ran in its own bearings.

Internals of the screwcutting and feeds gearbox


Tailstock with a No. 3 Morse taper spindle and equipped with a large diameter  micrometer dial

Instead of an attachment to the ordinary tailstock, the lever-action assembly was supplied with a main body of different design

A number stops were available for limiting the travel of the carriage and cross slide including a 4-position rotary types, ones equipped with a micrometer thimbles and an automatic, adjustable knock-off facility

Taper-turning attachment

Hydraulic copying attachment


Although the coolant equipment was neatly installed it could only be reached for servicing from the back of the lathe

The toolpost grinder was supplied with two sizes of pulleys and a set of internal grinding attachments

Dividing attachment, swivelling milling slide with angle plate and machine vice


Draw bar and lever-action collet closers

Travelling and fixed steadies

Saw bench assembly--the blade was carried by an arbor held between centres and the unit clamped to the cross-slide  ways


Dimensions of the Weiler Matador

Weiler Matador Type VS. This model was  intended to be more efficient for general work and production processes, was equipped with an interesting oil-bath-lubricated, pre-selector gearbox that, when driven by the standard-fit single-speed 3 h.p. motor, gave spindle speeds from 30 to 620 r.p.m. in backgear and 170 to 3550 r.p.m in direct drive.


Weiler Matador Lathe Continued on Page 2

Handbooks and Parts Manuals are available for Weiler lathes

Weiler Home Page  Condor   Weiler Primus   Praktikant   Praktikus 

Weiler LZ330   Commodor   Ergodor   Matador   220, 250, and 280 Series

Weiler LZ280 & LZ300

Weiler LD-220, MD-220, LD-250, LDS-250, LDT-250, MF-220,

RDT-260, LZT-280N, LDT-250/6 & Variants

Weiler Matador Lathe

If any reader can provide high-resolution photographs of a Weiler
Lathe, the writer would be pleased to hear from you