[TheForge] Hossfeld Bender and Dies

Sun Sep 1 00:27:00 2002

At 07:54 PM 8/29/02, you wrote:


While copying  a product from a small company that has an expired patent is 
legal
it sure leaves a bad taste in my mouth..Pete F


>Greetings,
>
>I finally found a used #2 Hossfeld right in my backyard, quite by
>accident that I got for a good price.  It came with one set of
>dies(1.25" tube steel) so I need to buy some for flats.  I have American
>Benders literature with price list as well as Hossfeld literature with a
>distributor with stock also in my backyard.  Reviewing and comparing
>prices between the two companies has brought me to consider what I
>consider an ethical question that I'll put to the list to see how others
>feel just out of curiosity, not to judge other peoples ethics.  Hossfeld
>developes, patents, and markets a very useful, economical bending tool
>with an adequate, varied set of dies for years with much success. Patent
>runs out, ex employee copies the whole deal, markets as improved because
>of CNC technology, and cheaper to buy to end user.  Now in all fairness
>to the new guys, I have not seen their dies.  But looking at and having
>used a  Hossfeld, we are not really talking a sophisticated (as far as
>from a manufacturing standpoint) piece of equipment here.  Does having a
>CNC guided machine really benefit the end user?  The holes and pins and
>castings etc. on the original seem perfectly fine.  Is it the price?  My
>search hasn't found the new guys to be significantly better.  Let me
>stress,  I have absolutely no malice nor ill feeling toward the
>principals in this new venture, just trying to decide whether or not to
>support a company who probably hasn't built a better mouse trap.  In any
>case, I'm looking for die sets.  Used is always an option. Anybody?
>
>Regards,
>Bill Woolley
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