Apparatus for shaping 'soft' baking dough and the like by rotary molding

Abstract

Rotary molding apparatus particularly for use with 'soft'-type baking doughs and like media includes, in combination with a rotary die roll which carries molding cavities in its outer surface, a feed roll for forcibly filling the molding cavities with media from a supply hopper, and media-trapping retention means disposed adjacent the die roll between the feed roll and a take-off conveyor which receives the molded media from the cavities and conveys the shaped media away for further processing. The media-trapping retention means keeps the shaped 'soft' media within the molded cavities as the die roll rotates toward the take-off conveyor, and the take-off conveyor preferably is disposed in complementary wrapping engagement with and along at least the lower extremities of the die roll. In its most preferred form the media-trapping retention means includes a shoe with a curved face which is resiliently biased against and in sliding contact with the outer surface of the die roll. The supply hopper and feed roll preferably provide a narrow pressure throat at the location where the molding cavities are filled, as by use of a pressure wall particularly located for this purpose, to ensure complete filling of the molding cavities and also to provide a re-entry channel which facilitates movement of media back into the supply hopper with the rotating surface of the die roll.