Sheet material cutting machines

Claim 1

A sheet material cutting machine including a work table, a die in said work table with its upper face substantially flush with the upper table surface, a cutting tool mounted in a tool holder located below said table surface, a tubular member disposed below said table surface for rigidly securing said cutting tool in said tool holder and being threadedly engaged therewith, driving means for reciprocating said tool holder and said tool along an axis perpendicular to said table surface so that a cutting edge on said tool approaches said die from above during the down stroke of the tool, and stripping means secured against movement along said axis of reciprocation and serving to inhibit upward movement of a workpiece during the upward stroke of the tool, said stripping means being integral with said die, said die and said stripping means being both annular, the two annuli being spaced apart and joined by a relatively narrow neck, the unitary structure constituting said die and said stripping means being rotatable in a die holder fixed with respect to said table about a common axis of said two annuli, the mounting arrangement being such that said unitary structure cannot move along said axis.