Dough metering in a sheeting/forming machine
A three- or two-roll sheeter does not meter dough evenly for reasons which include height
of dough in the hopper, variations of dough consistency and placement of scrap dough.
Furthermore, the cutting machine operator has very great difficulty in setting precisely
the feed rate from the sheeter into the first gauge roll due to the low linear speed of the
dough sheet. Figure 5.6 shows how the dough sheet may be floured, rippled, incomplete,
etc., between the sheeter and the first gauge roll. If the dough pulls or over feeds at the
first gauge roll, control further down the plant is affected. An optical gauge or a trailing
shoe gauge can, in most cases, be a valuable device to control the feed to gauge rolls by
speeding or slowing the conveyor. The optical gauge maintains a set position of the
dough surface as it tends to rise and fall as shown in Fig. 5.7. Alternatively, a simple but