Abstract: An apparatus for forming a sheet of material, e.g., dough or masa, from a supply of the material includes a pair of rotatable rollers that define therebetween a gap into which is input a dough mass and out of which is produced a dough sheet. Fluctuations in the size of the roller gap are sensed by detecting changes in the position of one of the rollers, which changes are input to a servo system that automatically corrects the position of the one roller so as to maintain the proper gap size. The one roller is movably mounted in scissor-like fashion and is easily driven by a servo motor. A cutter is provided which presses against one of the rollers to cut individual dough portions from the sheet. The ends of the cutter are subjected to a bending moment which induces a camber in the cutter. This prevents the central portion of the cutter from bowing away from the roller and ensures uniform pressure between the cutter and roller, even for applications with an extremely long cutter and rollers.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming a sheet of material, e.g., dough or masa, from a supply of the material includes a pair of rotatable rollers that define therebetween a gap into which is input a dough mass and out of which is produced a dough sheet. Fluctuations in the size of the roller gap are sensed by detecting changes in the position of one of the rollers, which changes are input to a servo system that automatically corrects the position of the one roller so as to maintain the proper gap size. The one roller is movably mounted in scissor-like fashion and is easily driven by a servo motor. A cutter is provided which presses against one of the rollers to cut individual dough portions from the sheet. The ends of the cutter are subjected to a bending moment which induces a camber in the cutter. This prevents the central portion of the cutter from bowing away from the roller and ensures uniform pressure between the cutter and roller, even for applications with an extremely long cutter and rollers.