Patent ID: 7056111

Claim:
A dry forming apparatus comprising: a mold-transfer mechanism for transferring a mold support plate, containing a die and lower punch units, at least between a powder supply stage, a pressing stage, and a formed-product removing stage; a pressing driving mechanism, having upper punch units which are not transferable between stages, for driving the upper and lower punch units for pressing in the pressing stage; a connecting mechanism for connecting lower punch units to the pressing driving mechanism when the mold support plate is transferred to the pressing stage, and for releasing the connection of the lower punch units; and a unit holding mechanism for holding the lower punch units while the lower punch units are transferred to the next stage, wherein the connecting mechanism comprises: clamp bodies fixed to each of the pressing driving mechanism, the charging driving mechanism, and the taking-out driving mechanism; sliding claws movably supported on each of the clamp bodies; and an advancing-receding driving mechanism which advances or recedes each of the sliding claws between a clamping position at which the punch units are clamped and an unclamping position at which the clamping is released.