Burst cutting die plates, system, and method

A method of burst cutting a workpiece, comprising:

• positioning a workpiece between an upper burst cutting die mounted to an upper platen of a die cutting press, and a lower burst cutting die mounted to a lower platen of the die cutting press;
• and
• bring together the upper burst cutting plate and the lower burst cutting plate to manipulate the workpiece, wherein
• the upper die plate comprises a mounting surface for mounting against a press, a working surface opposite the mounting surface and having an area, and a substantially uniform minimum thickness defining a recessed surface across a majority of the area of the working surface, the working surface comprising a plurality of workpiece manipulating features extending from the recessed surface to define areas of the working surface having thicknesses that are greater than the minimum thickness,
• the lower die plate comprises a mounting surface for mounting against a press, a working surface opposite the mounting surface and having an area, and a substantially uniform maximum thickness defining a contact surface across a majority of the area of the working surface, the working surface comprising a plurality of workpiece manipulating features recessed from the contact surface to define areas of the working surface having thicknesses that are less than the maximum thickness, and
• the upper and lower die plates are mounted such that the workpiece manipulating features of the upper die plate are aligned with the workpiece manipulating features of the lower die plate.