Process for continuously processing a web or strip material in a press

Claim 1

A process for continuously processing a web or strip material in a press in which an upper and lower die unit assembly with each unit having a series of aligned dies arranged in a line is employed for successively processing the material while the material is being fed in increment through successive pressing steps from one side of the press toward the other side of the press where the pressed product is discharged, characterized by that after the product which had been processed in the final pressing step has been discharged from said other side of the press leaving a semimanufactured portion of the material held between the upper and lower die units of the die assembly, the semimanufactured material portion is sheared off the remaining portion of the material in a position at a distance from the feed side of the die unit assembly with a section of the material connected to the semimanufactured material portion projecting from the die unit assembly, the die unit assembly having the sheared semimanufactured portion held therein is removed from the body of said press and carried to a die storage by a die exchanger to be stowed therein, thereafter, when the die unit assembly is to be reused, the die unit assembly is taken out of the storage and carried to the press body by said die exchanger to be reset therein, the leading end of a succeeding material being fed through said press is butt-jointed to the adjacent end of said projecting material portion connected to the semimanufactured material portion held in said reset die unit assembly by welding or brazing and thereafter, the press is operated for a continuous pressing operation.