Workpiece shearing apparatus

A shearing apparatus for shearing a workpiece, comprising:

• a housing comprising walls forming a die pocket having opposite open sides;
• a stationary die which is configured to be seated in the die pocket and configured to be removed from the die pocket, the stationary die having a cutout therethrough which is configured to receive the workpiece therethrough;
• a movable die which is configured to be seated in the die pocket and configured to be removed from the die pocket, the movable die having a cutout therethrough which is configured to receive the workpiece therethrough, the dies and the cutouts aligning with each other within the die pocket in a lateral direction prior to commencement of a shearing action so that the workpiece can be received through both cutouts prior to commencement of the shearing action;
• a force transmitting apparatus configured to provide a force which moves the movable die longitudinally relative to the stationary die and relative to the housing when the dies are seated within the die pocket thereby shearing the workpiece with the shearing action;
• and
• a die engaging mechanism coupled to the force transmitting apparatus, wherein the die engaging mechanism and the movable die are configured to be coupled together when the movable die is seated within the die pocket such that the movable die is capable of being moved by the force transmitting apparatus to effect the shearing action, and wherein the movable die and the force transmitting apparatus further are configured to be decoupled from each other so that the movable die can be replaced with another movable die.