Workpiece feeding-ejection mechanism

In a die assembly for releasably holding an elongate tubular workpiece in a fixed position with the longitudinal axis extending horizontally and the opposite ends of the workpiece projecting from opposite sides of said die assembly, said die assembly including a frame, a first die fixedly mounted on said frame and having opposite parallel vertical side walls spaced from each other by a distance less that the length of a workpiece, a vertical front face extending between and normal to said side walls and having a horizontal workpiece receiving recess extending entirely across said front face, and a flat top surface extending rearwardly between said side walls, a front edge at the top of said front face, and movable die means movable toward and away from said front face between an open position and a closed position and operable when in said closed position to fixedly clamp a tubular workpiece in said fixed position within said recess;

• the improvement comprising reciprocating workpiece feed means mounted on said frame for reciprocatory movement relative to said first die between a forward and a rearward end limit of movement, workpiece holding magazine means mounted on said frame and operable when said feed means is at its rearward end limit to dispense a tubular workpiece onto said top surface of said first die with the axis of said workpiece parallel to and spaced rearwardly from said front edge and with the opposite ends of said workpiece projecting beyond the respective side walls of said first die, pusher means on said feed means operable upon movement of said feed means from its rearward end limit to its forward end limit to push the dispensed workpiece forwardly across said top surface beyond said front edge, said pusher means comprising a horizontally disposed main plate overlying said top surface of said first die and having a forward edge parallel to said front edge, a pair of vertically disposed side plates fixed to said main plate in outwardly spaced parallel relationship to the respective side walls of said first die and projecting forwardly beyond said forward edge of said main plate, said side plates being spaced from each other by a distance exceeding the length of a workpiece, a pair of horizontally disposed locator bars fixedly mounted on the respective inner sides of said side plates and having horizontal upper surfaces located in horizontal alignment with the lower edge of said recess in said front face operable to engage the opposite ends of a workpiece to support the workpiece in horizontal alignment with said recess, finger means on said feed means operable when said feed means is at said forward end limit to guide said dispensed workpiece downwardly across said front face, said finger means comprising a pair of elongate finger means mounted on the respective inner sides of said side plates for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis located above said top surface, and means for biasing said finger means to a normal rest position wherein said finger means extend downwardly from said axis substantially to said locator bars, vertical stop means on said feed means cooperable with said finger means when said feed means is at said forward end limit for positioning said dispensed workpiece in alignment with said recess in said front face, said finger means and said vertical stop means being located outwardly from said side walls and engageable with the portions of said workpiece which project beyond said side walls, and means operable upon rearward movement of said feed means from said forward end limit for disengaging said finger means and said vertical stop means from said dispensed workpiece.