Not was well known outside its homeland as other German machine-tool manufactures, the firm of Arno Plauert Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik made a number of different models including this fine type DL450/DL500 lathe from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was sold, as were so many other German-made machines, through the long-established agency of Stuttgart-based by Hahn & Kolb.
Available with a swing of either 450 or 500 mm, the lathe could be had with between-centres capacities of  1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 mm. The makers listed two motor and spindle-speed options: a 4/5.5 h.p. 2-speed that gave twelve speeds from 22 to 1000 r.p.m and 5.5/7.5 h.p. that produced twelve from 31 to 1400 r.p.m. Drive to the spindle was by four V-belts and selection of speeds by the juxtaposition of two levers carried on a common axis on the face of the headstock. Electrical control of the spindle--stop, start and reverse - was by a third-rod system with one lever fitted just outboard of the gearbox and the other pivoted on the right-hand face of the apron.
Fully enclosed and with changes by lever and dial, the screwcutting and feeds gearbox provided a generous 28 rates of sliding and surfacing speeds, the former set at between 0.07 and 1 mm per revolution of the spindle and the latter from 0.022 to 0.315 mm/rev. 19 metric pitches were available from 0.5 to 7 mm, 28 Whitworth from 4 to 56 t.p.i. and 13 MOD from 4:1 to 16:1.