A fine blanking press comprises a blanking ram and a counter unit positioned opposite the blanking ram. A press drive is configured to drive at least the blanking ram along a driving direction during a fine blanking process step. A feeding device is configured to feed a process material to a process zone defined between the blanking ram and the counter unit and at least one handling device is configured to handle the process material outside of the process zone. At least one levelling drive is configured to drive the at least one handling device in a same direction as the blanking ram during a fine blanking process step.

A rotary slide moves blanks cyclically from stage to stage of a cutting and processing tool. Work pieces are transferred in and out of the tool, without moving the slide in and out of the tool. The slide has a plurality of transfer openings and a discharge opening. Individual processing stages, including a discharge stage, are designed as separate components that support one another. The stages are arranged about a rotating axis of the slide. The transfer openings and the discharge opening lie in a circular path that coincides with circular paths of active elements of the cutting stage, the processing stages and the discharge stage. The openings have a distance from one another that is identical to the distance of the active elements in the circular paths.

A cutting die for cutting a plurality of parts of an article of footwear from a bulk material. The cutting die includes a first cutting member that cuts a first part of the article of footwear from the bulk material. The cutting die also includes a second cutting member that cuts a second part of the article of footwear from the bulk material. The second cutting member is fixed to the first cutting member to cut the first and second parts together with a single stroke of the cutting die relative to the bulk material. The first and second parts are separate and distinct from each other and have different shapes.

A rotary die apparatus and method for three-axes registration error correction. The rotary die apparatus includes a rotary die for applying patterns to a strip of material, a sensor for sensing fiducials on the strip of material, actuators to adjust the rotary die, and a control system. The actuators adjust the rotary die along an X-axis extending along a direction of travel, along a Y-axis transverse of the direction of travel, and about a theta axis perpendicular to the X-axis and the Y-axis. The control system calculates a registration error based on a difference between an actual location or orientation of the fiducials and a desired location or orientation of the fiducials. Then the control system outputs control signals to the actuators to adjust the rotary die along the X-axis, along the Y-axis, and/or about the theta axis while the rotary die continues to rotate.

A blanking tool is provided for cutting blanks from a sheet of material. The sheet of material includes a product area where the blanks are located, and a web area, which is the area between the blanks. The blanking tool includes a shear having first and second opposing sides, an outer diameter, and an inner diameter. A plurality of contact surfaces are disposed on the second side of the shear. The contact surfaces engage only the web of the material. A tooling assembly is also disclosed, which includes first and second tooling coupled to first and second opposing portions, respectively, of a press and being structured to cooperate to engage the sheet of material therebetween. The blanking tool is coupled to the first tooling, and the shear of the blanking tool cooperates with a portion of the second tooling to cut the blanks from the material.

The present invention is generally directed to a die cut assembly for a roller die cutting machine having a base member, a cutting rule, and a compressible top layer. Base member is generally a rectangular shape, having a length, width and thickness. A cutting rule including a cutting edge is formed into a pattern containing a plurality of geometric shapes. The pattern containing geometric shapes is formed to include each geometric shape sharing a common point when the shape allows it. Cutting rule is generally coupled to the base member at a skew wherein no side of the pattern is transverse to the length of the base member. The compressible top layer is coupled to the base member. Generally, cutting rule nests in compressible top layer and compressible top layer extends beyond the cutting edge of the cutting rule.

Disclosed is an extruded noodle having a hole extending therethrough in a longitudinal direction, wherein: the hole closes or contracts during boiling or rehydration in hot water; and the hole in a cross section of the noodle is configured such that a plurality of grooves are formed rotationally symmetrically about a center of the cross section, extending in an outer radial direction from the center of the cross section of the noodle.

A fine blanking press comprises a blanking ram and a counter unit positioned opposite the blanking ram. A press drive is configured to drive at least the blanking ram along a driving direction during a fine blanking process step. A feeding device is configured to feed a process material to a process zone defined between the blanking ram and the counter unit and at least one handling device is configured to handle the process material outside of the process zone. At least one levelling drive is configured to drive the at least one handling device in a same direction as the blanking ram during a fine blanking process step.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing instant noodles using extruded noodles, with each noodle having a hole extending therethrough in a longitudinal direction, wherein the hole closes or contracts during boiling or rehydration in hot water and the hole in a cross section of the noodle is configured such that a plurality of grooves are formed rotationally symmetrically about a center of the cross section, extending in an outer radial direction from the center of the cross section of the noodle.

A rotary die apparatus and method for three-axes registration error correction. The rotary die apparatus includes a rotary die for applying patterns to a strip of material, a sensor for sensing fiducials on the strip of material, actuators to adjust the rotary die, and a control system. The actuators adjust the rotary die along an X-axis extending along a direction of travel, along a Y-axis transverse of the direction of travel, and about a theta axis perpendicular to the X-axis and the Y-axis. The control system calculates a registration error based on a difference between an actual location or orientation of the fiducials and a desired location or orientation of the fiducials. Then the control system outputs control signals to the actuators to adjust the rotary die along the X-axis, along the Y-axis, and/or about the theta axis while the rotary die continues to rotate.