Thread: Di-Acro up for sale at auction!

Who would buy a machine from them?

ME!!!

I need to purchase a small, high quality
bench shear - ideally a 6 inch or so wide
model. The diacro one seemed perfect.

No problem, they have a web site, says I.

Uh oh, auction?!?

Then I go back and read this thread.

Anyone know of a mfr of small high quality
bench shears?

Jim

We have a 14ft 200 ton pacific, and a 10ft 90 ton niagra which we use in fabricating stainless steel kitchen equip.

I fell in love with the simplicity of the Diarco press brake when I borrowed a 4ft 1950s model from a friend a few years back. Later after several Mo of looking on the web I bought a 4ft 1960s press equiped with an early model automech back gauge. I paid 13k for the unit and have not been disappointed.

The back and forth action of the drive seems to make so much since to me that I wonder why it is not used in presses today.

Can someone give me some history of its development and if it is used in any currently mfgd presses today?

Also the dial indicators for the ram position were missing and I would like to find some replacments. Would appreciate any leads.

We have a 14ft 200 ton pacific, and a 10ft 90 ton niagra which we use in fabricating stainless steel kitchen equip.

I fell in love with the simplicity of the Diarco press brake when I borrowed a 4ft 1950s model from a friend a few years back. Later after several Mo of looking on the web I bought a 4ft 1960s press equiped with an early model automech back gauge. I paid 13k for the unit and have not been disappointed.

The back and forth action of the drive seems to make so much since to me that I wonder why it is not used in presses today.

Can someone give me some history of its development and if it is used in any currently mfgd presses today?

Also the dial indicators for the ram position were missing and I would like to find some replacments. Would appreciate any leads.

Jim- there is virtually nothing on the market like the little Di-acro shears.
There are really cruddy, cheap chinese models, from Grizzly and others.
There are bigger models, mostly 3 feet and 4 feet wide, from Roper Whitney, Tennsmith, and National, all made in the USA, and very expensive.
RW does make this 24" shear- http://roperwhitney.com/shearing/2-21.cfm

The only decent quality small shear I know of is the imports from Austria, Profiform. It is more a hobby tool than the Di-Acro was, although they are made very nicely. Also, not cheap.
http://www.profiform.com/en/products/

Gerver in Holland makes (made?) a similar, equal quality line to Di-Acro. I've seen one of their finger brakes and own their version of the Di-Acro 1A bender. The brake was better finished than Di-Acro, the bender is about the same, except all the pin fittings are metric sized (a pain). I bought the bender at auction, advertised as a Di-Acro, but who would know the difference?

Anyone know of a chronological history of Di-Acro? I know it started as Oneil-Irwin. It changed ownership a few times while maintaining the Di-Acro name. Some of the machines were even made in Mexico (was it the brown ones?).

Regarding the cost of support of older machines...I've called Di-Acro a number of times about parts etc. Never bought much from them though, but my calls cost them money. Roper-Whitney uses a neat trick to get away from costly support for the Pexto line they took over. They claim to have not gotten any drawings or paperwork on the older Pexto stuff when they merged (unbelievable, but it's hard to argue when they say they don't know anything about my 1962 Pexto shear).

My Di-Acro lineup:

6" finger brake,
24" finger brake (no back gage or even mount for it),
12" shear,
1A bender (Gerver),
#2 bender,
#3 bender,
Spring winder,
rod parter.

Made the majority of the prototype motor for this product using a good portion of the above,

http://www.clarisonic.com/PRODUCT/Index.htm

Here is a link to the Gerver stuff- it does look quite nice- but I have never heard of it or seen one here, which leads me to believe that there isnt much of it on this side of the ocean.

http://www.adamant.se/gerver/gerver3.shtml

Anyone who reads dutch?
Maybe tell us if they list a US importer anywhere on this site?

One of the problems Di-Acro seems to have had is practically non-existant marketing. I have never seen a contemporary Di-Acro advertisement. The equipment was outstanding but that only matters if you know it exists!
One of the problems Bridgeport had was an over protective distribution policy. It was a whole lot less difficult to buy a Lagun knee mill than it was a Bridgeport. Bridgeport distributors had their regions locked up and didn't feel the need to work at being competitive.
It seems, to simple-minded me, that Di-Acro relied too much on a good reputation and forgot that you have to get out there and sell your product!

Is anyone planning to attend the Di-Acro auction next Wednesday? Anyone here planning to preview the stuff on Tuesday? Aametalmaster (Bob)?? I would sure like to know the outcome so I can get a few meager parts for my machines from the purchaser. Hope it opens again in another rebirth! A.T.

Site map page in English..and I believe they are Swedish Co. not Dutch. I sent an email asking about US sales, I will post the reply if i get one. I ahve their brake, I think nicer than the Di-acro actually.


http://www.adamant.se/eng/sitemap.shtml#sheet

Doug. Interesting statement about Roper/Pexto. I have called direct with little results.

I have called a "master roper whitney distributer", talked nice to the girl on the phone. She called for me, info came by faxan hour later. Manual and die pricing ! for power beader. I would have prefered to buy the forming dies but the price was so bad I made from pre hard

Meb, all the old line sheetmetal equipment manufacturers get their parts pricing cues from bandits, and have for at least the last 50 years. Oughta try Lockformer sometime if you want some sticker shock. Cast iron gear for edger @ $1400. Same gear from Boston was $80. This is about the standard differential for parts from most of these folks. Most parts are simple if you have minimal cnc equipment, and I've long wondered why no one makes parts for them, given the installed base of 10's of thousands of machines across the country, and the fact that they're basically unchanged over the last 40 or so years.

So, what was the sale like?

TMT

Well, I understand that the company, including parts, drawings, intellectual property, etc. was sold to Acrotech in Lake City, Minnesota! Looks like they are going back to their old hometown! I think someone in Acrotech used to work for Di-Acro. The individual machines that were used in the manufacturing process, such as it was, in Canton, Ohio were all sold separately - only the company was sold as a lot. A.T.

Prices?

From what was listed there were hardly any machine tools. From my dealings with Di-Acro over the last year or so - they had no clue. They would keep giving us excuses and changing the story. It went on and on. They didn't seem to have anybody on board who knew how to make anything, schedule anything or organise anything. When they did send us the fingers we ordered they weren't that great.

It looks as though Acrotech can actually make things.

Chris P

Di-Acro is not dead. On May 22, 2006, Acrotech Inc. in Lake City, MN bought the Di-Acro product line. As many know, this is the birth place of Di-Acro and Acrotech is an off-shoot of Di-Acro from when they shut down. We are very familiar with this line of products, as my dad was the product manager for this line and founder of Acortech, and still believe there is a viable market for this product line. If any body has any questions or needs parts for there existing machines, please contact us at 800-345-0583.

Ries wrote:

I have a friend who has one of the most completely equipped Di-Acro shops I have ever seen,

Wow, way cool product idea!
How about some pics of her shop????

dan k

looks like Diacro is on its way back to Minn where it was founded. Just thought i would pass this on, at least it isn't dead...Bob
http://www.diacro.com/

Bob - Not only are they not dead, but they are selling parts for many of the machines. I have an order with them as we speak, and it is scheduled for delivery on 11/21. It includes parts for a couple of obsolete machines as well as "current" production. Looks very promising! I will keep you posted. A.T.

ps. They have removed the downloadable manuals from the website. I suspect they are still available from the new owners (may not be free anymore?). They may be re-numbering the parts id numbers in each manual.

I'm hoping someone downloaded a PDF of the Di-Acro #24 finger brake manual or parts list while they were still available -- and would be willing to email it along. I bought a maybe 80% complete #24 bender a couple hours ago and would like to know what I need to make (or buy, if Acrotech has parts - I'll check tomorrow) to get it working. Any help would be most appreciated.