Abstract: A form-fill-seal machine in which any of a selection of change parts assemblies can be slid into and out of mounting slots and secured in proper alignment by a hand operated toggle lock mechanism. A pair of stops are provide on the forming shoulder of the change part that correspond to the diameter of the forming tube. An articulated floating vacuum pull belt arrangement, having stops that engage the stops on the forming shoulder, automatically aligns itself with the change parts assembly. The film cage is adjustable for film tracking and can be tilted to a position that permits the film roll to be loaded without the need of a power hoist. The film tracking and film cage tilting are on a common axis, which simplifies the design and reduces the parts. The tiltable film cage has the added advantage of improving the access to the inside area of the machine when the film cage is tilted to the load position. This feature of the invention also reduces the overall size of the machine.

Abstract: A novel method and apparatus for aligning elongated articles, such as french fried potatoes, includes a bucket for receiving a charge of the articles. Configured with the bucket is a conveyor having an endless belt with a plurality of spaced flights that each receive a portion of the charge. The articles are aligned by the conveyor and presented to a collector bucket configured to store the aligned charge portions prior to discharge to a bagging machine.