Fill Plates
Standard-Fill
Typically used for conventional ground beef and ground pork product, the cavity is filled by a band of meat pressurized through a relatively thin fill slot.
A standard fill adapter allows the Soft-Choice™ Fill/Portion-Form pump box to be converted to a standard fill type manifold.
Advantages:
• Enhances the flexibility of the former
Soft-Choice™ Fill
Soft-Choice™ Fill creates numerous vertical columns of product through the thickness of the mold plate. This allows for improved heat transfer and a softer more uniformed bite or mouth feel. Soft-Choice™ Fill is used primarily on ground beef or ground pork products.
Advantages:
• More even cooking
• Consistent internal temperatures
• Improved fill shape consistency.
• Tender texture
Portion-Fill
Most commonly used for forming poultry products. Portion-Form forces large muscle chunks into the cavity. The mold plate acts as a shear, cutting the product muscle as the mold plate drives toward knock-out.
Advantages:
• Whole muscle texture
• For use with poultry products, cheese, fruit or vegetable products, and fish.
Fill and Breather Plates
TOOLING: BREATHER PLATES AND FILL PLATES
Breather plates and fill plates are made from stainless steel with hard chrome plating. The hard chrome plating provides excellent wear resistance. The type of breather plates and fill plates used is determined by the type of product that is being formed. Tomahawk Engineers can help determine what tooling combination is best for your needs.
FILL PLATE CARE
Fill plates are used to control and direct the product flow into the mold cavity. A fill plate can be a single or bolt in design. The bolt in fill plate allows the machine to form products in different methods. A fill plate with a filler insert opening can reduce set up time and cost. Both types of fill plates need to be removed and thoroughly cleaned after each production period. Cleaning should be done on a secure fixture or cart to prevent damage!