Apparatus for texturing the surface of a brake plate

An apparatus for texturing the surface of a brake plate, comprising:

• an independent and free-standing die set for use within a press, the die set having:
• a base die plate attachable to the press, the base die plate having a series of fixed posts extending upward therefrom;
• a centre die plate mounted above the base die plate on the posts and movable thereon, the centre die plate having an anvil portion for receiving a brake plate to be textured;
• an upper die plate mounted above the centre die plate on the posts and movable thereon, the upper die plate having a tooling assembly with a plurality of oppositely acting blades located above the anvil portion;
• and
• opposing cam blocks mounted below the upper die plate adjacent the oppositely acting blades;
• all of the plates being arranged in series such that downward force from the press urges the upper die plate into contact with the centre die plate, and the centre die plate downward toward the base die plate, and thereby actuates the cam blocks to drive teeth of the oppositely acting blades across and into the surface of the brake plate on the anvil, thus texturing the surface of the brake plate;
• wherein the base die plate is the only portion of the die set that attaches to the press.