Piercing apparatus with scrap removing capability

A piercing apparatus comprising:

• a piercing die including a first section and a second section, the first section having a top surface for a workpiece to be placed on and internal surfaces surrounding a first hollow formed vertically, the second section placed in the first hollow and having an internal side surface surrounding a second hollow formed vertically;
• a piercing punch having a tip portion for punching the workpiece to cut off a scrap piece to produce a hole in the workpiece;
• and
• a scrap removing unit that is formed to be planar and fixed horizontally between the first section and the second section,
• wherein
• the first section, the second section and the piercing punch are placed so that center axes of the first hollow, the second hollow and the piercing punch coincide, and
• the scrap removing unit is configured for the tip portion attached with the scrap piece after the punching to move through while the tip portion is lowered, and is further configured to scrape off the scrap piece from the tip portion while the tip portion is lifted through the scrap removing unit,
• wherein
• the internal surfaces of the first section comprise a first internal surface connecting contiguously to the top surface providing an opening, a second internal surface, and a third internal surface connecting contiguously the first and second internal surfaces;
• and
• the scrap removing unit comprises a base portion and a plurality of flaps radially formed to point toward the center axis, each of the plurality of flaps connected to the base portion at one end,
• wherein
• the second section is placed in the first hollow against the second internal surface of the first section;
• and
• at least the base portion of the scrap removing unit is placed under the third internal surface of the first section and positioned securely by the second section.