Indirect extrusion press with die changer

Claim 1

In an indirect extrusion press, a gate lock housing having a rear face and an extrusion-receiving horizontal passage extending through it from front to back, a die slide behind said housing provided with a die-receiving passage therethrough aligned with said housing passage, a billet container behind said die slide movable toward and away from it, ram means behind the container movable toward and away from it, tubular means slidably disposed in said housing passage, releasable gate lock means in said housing normally holding said tubular means in place, an indirect-extrusion stem secured to said tubular means in alignment therewith and extending rearwardly through the die slide toward said container, a fully loose die disposed in the front end of said container and abutting against the rear end of said stem, said ram means including means for engaging the rear end of a billet in the container for extruding the billet through the die, means operable after extrusion and release of said gate lock means for moving said tubular means and stem forward together to move the stem clear of the slide as said ram means pushes the die into said slide passage, and sliding means for then moving the die slide with the die therein tranversely of the indirect-extrusion stem and out to the side of the housing for cleaning or replacing the die.