Eagle Filler

Eagle Filler – setting dwell and timing

I was asked to write up a quick checklist on how to do this. This may not be the exact way everyone does it, but it works for me. Written down, it seems like a big deal, but it’s really simple after you do it a couple times.

As you face the operator side of the filler, you can see the “Candy Switch” just underneath the front skirt of the machine. Of course it was installed in a position where you cannot see what you are doing as you adjust it, because no one would ever want to do that. But if you bend down and get on our knees you will see two gauges with pointers on the front, to indicate the current settings, and two knobs projecting from the bottom, which adjust the pointers. The rear knob & left pointer are for “Dwell” and the front knob and the right pointer are for “Timing”.

Adjusting Dwell, which refers to adjusting the length of the signal that actuates the filler table’s clutch and brake.

1. On control panel, set Run/Off/Jog switch to Run, and turn on Rotary Filler – green light should illuminate. Note – the motor will turn on but the filler table will remain stopped.
2. Turn Dwell knob (rear) so that the Dwell needle goes upwards. At some point, you’ll start hearing a clunk… clunk… clunk, and soon the Eagle filler table will start rotating.
3. Once the table is spinning, if you need to change the speed, do that now, because changing speed very much will throw everything else off.
4. Start adjusting Dwell (rear) knob so that the Dwell needle comes down. At some point, the filler table will start clunking and trying to pause as it turns. The more you turn the knob, the longer the clunks & pauses, and eventually the table will clunk and stop. Now turn the knob ½ addition turn in the direction you were going.
5. Test this setting by quickly pressing and releasing the “Jog” button a few times. Each press should rotate the table to the next funnel and stop. If it moves more than ONE funnel, or just keeps going, turn the Dwell knob another ½ turn. You might even need to add even more, in some cases.
6. When the table reliably rotates by one funnel only and stops, every time you press the jog button, the Dwell is set.

Adjusting Timing, which refers to the timing of when the Rotary Filler tells the Yamato to dump candy. We are going to time it so that the candy will dump into the appropriate funnel, and not the one before or after.

1. Have the operator start the Yamato. You can see that the candy will fall down the cone, into the funnel over the tin. Observe the candy falling into the funnels. If the candy falls early, it hits the leading edge of the funnel, and some candy falls into the preceding funnel, making the preceding tin heavy and the current tin light. If the candy falls late, some candy hits the trailing edge of the funnel, and some candy falls into the next funnel, making the next tin heavy and the current tin light. You want to adjust the Timing (front) knob to get the candy to fall into the correct funnel.
2. Lean a bit towards getting the candy to drop not in the center of the funnel, but between the center and the leading edge. In other words, a little early. That way, if there are any stragglers the funnel will hopefully still be in position for them to fall into the correct funnel.

Note: If the operator has dialed in a lot of Stagger Time in the Yamato, it may help to temporarily set it to zero, so that the dump will be one cohesive batch, making it easier to see what’s going on. But keep in mind, if you set the Stagger higher again, it stretches out the time it takes for one dump to occur, risking having some candy come down “late” enough to go into the next funnel.

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