WO1998019546A1

WO1998019546A1 - Process and adapter for pasta production

Info

Publication number: WO1998019546A1
Application number: PCT/HU1997/000068
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antal BO^'DI
Original assignee: Bodi Antal
Priority date: 1996-11-01
Filing date: 1997-10-21
Publication date: 1998-05-14
Also published as: HUP9603027A2; HU221024B1; HUP9603027A3; AU4879897A; HU9603027D0

Abstract

The present invention is related to a process for producing pasta products on long or short pasta production machines. In the course of the procedure a prepared dough is thickened then distributed by putting it into a die. It is pressed through a product shaping opening of the die, then a pasta thread emerging from the opening of the die is additionally shaped by applying an after-shaping unit, and the pasta thread in its final form is cut to a size required. The essence of the process is that the additional shaping of a pasta thread (20) with hollow or solid section emerging from the opening (16) of the die (2) is exclusively performed by controlling, mainly by periodically reducing the section of a pasta thread transferring shaping hole (15) of the after-shaping unit (3) placed in the immediate proximity of the outlet plane of the die opening (16), relatively to the section of the die opening. The invented adapter can be applied to a dough pressure apparatus of a pasta production line. It has at least one die (2) provided with at least one product shaping opening (16), and, in the direction of product progress, an after-shaping piece (3) with at least one shaping hole (15), placed after the die (2). The shaping hole (15) is connected to the opening (16) of the die (2). The essence of the adapter is that the pasta transfer section of the shaping hole (15) of the after-shaping unit (3) can be controlled relative to the section of the die opening (16), it can be favourably reduced periodically.

Description

PROCESS AND ADAPTER FOR PASTA PRODUCTION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to pasta production including short pasta and long pasta products on a pasta production line. Furthermore, the present invention is related to an adapter that can be applied in the pasta production procedure.

BACKGROUND ART

In the book titled „Pasta Production" by Ferenc Kalman and Gyula Nadhazi (Agricultural Publishing House, Budapest, Hungary, 1983), traditional pasta production lines are described. According to the basic tech- nology applied there, a prepared dough goes into a thickener unit of a pressure apparatus in order to thicken the dough and drive it through the openings of a shaping die. From the headpiece of the thickener unit the dough gets into the die; the channels of the headpiece are shaped in a such a way that they distribute the dough evenly. The die and its acces- sories are fixed into this headpiece.

Although the basic principle of operation of the above production lines is practically the same, the shape of headpieces for producing long pasta products (spaghetti, macaroni, long vermicelli, etc.) and short pasta products (short macaroni, granulated paste, short vermicelli), respectively, are considerably different from each other. It is due to the fact that different dies are applied to them. Small ( short ) products are produced using a die of circular section, which is connected to a circular knife on the outlet side in order to cut pasta threads, whereas long pasta is produced using a prismatic die making it possible to mechanise the process of putting the product onto a rod and simplify its further processing. The external dimension of pasta products is determined by the openings in the die of the dough pressure apparatus. In order to produce hollow pasta products (e.g. macaroni), each of the openings of the die are provided with a coaxial punch determining the internal core section of the macaroni.

From our earlier patent specification No. HU-199,654 there are a macaroni production method and adapter known where the pasta thread coming out of the die opening is additionally shaped by applying a special after-shaping piece. This after-shaping is performed as follows: a spiral groove is die-rolled onto the pasta thread pressed onto the punch considerably protruding from the die opening, for which the punch projecting from the die serves as consistent internal support. Here a ribbing plate with openings was used as an after-shaping piece, which is circularly displaced relative to the die. The above technology serves for making external spiral-like grooves only, and when applied, it must be taken into consideration that the punches projecting from the lower plane of the die can be damaged when the die is installed in or removed from the headpiece of the pressure apparatus (press) and when the die is cleaned. This may result in an op- erating error, which increases the burden on the operating personnel.

In principle, similar solutions are described in the Hungarian utility model specification No. U-94-0003 and the published Hungarian patent application No. 3779/93. But, it is to be noted that only screw-type macaroni (mainly „nib-type" pasta) can be produced using this solution. Here the ribbing plate positioned under the die is also circularly displaced relative to the die. The only difference lies in the way the ribbing plate is moved as opposed to the solution described above, since here the ribbing plate is embedded on an eccentric pin of a shaft coaxially embedded in a hollow shaft of a cutting knife and in a slicing body. This hollow shaft is connected to a driving motor with speed control Its deficiencies are the same as those of the solution mentioned above

On the part of users/ manufacturers in the food industry, there has been an increasing demand recently for widening the selection, that is, they require new pasta forms as the choice of presently known long pasta forms is considerably behind the variety of forms of short pasta pressed or

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It has been recognised by the inventor of the present application, however, that the richness of pasta forms does not satisfy an aesthetical demand only, which is otherwise aimed at by pasta producers, but furthermore, by varying pasta sections, the (wall) thickness of the pasta can be reduced and the external pasta surface can be increased at the same time Thus, the cooking time of the pasta could be decreased, its quality would be improved, and the procedure for preparing the pasta would be simplified

An object of the present invention is to satisfy the demand above, that is, to provide an improved solution by which pasta variety can be greatly increased, that is, to be able to produce pasta threads with solid or hollow section in various forms much more economically on long or short pasta production machines, than according to the traditional solutions discussed above The object has been solved by further developing the pasta production process described in the introduction, comprising the steps of thickening a prepared dough, distributing it by putting it into a die, pressing it through a shaping opening of a die and applying an after-shaping unit for additional shaping a pasta thread emerging from the opening of the die, and cutting the pasta thread in its final form to a size required The essence of the invented process lies in that the additional shaping of the pasta with hollow or solid section emerging from the opening of the die is carried out exclusively by controlling ( mainly by periodically reducing ) the transfer section of the shaping hole of the after-shaping unit placed in the immediate proximity of the outlet plane of the die opening, relatively to the section of the die opening.

According to a further feature of the invented process, the shaping hole section of the after-shaping unit can be controlled by periodically reducing the total opening section ( in a given case a part of periphery ) of the shaping hole. This way, forms like circular grooves (or like side slots by partial reduction) can be produced on the external mantle of the pasta thread.

In another aspect of the present invention, the section of the shaping hole can also be controlled by moving the after-shaping unit transver- sally to the pasta thread direction, relative to the die. This motion can either be linear alternating motion or curvilinear, mainly circular motion, or it can be any other type of broken-line forced-trajectory motion or any of their combinations. Thus, an infinite number of pasta forms can be produced by a relatively low input depending on current user demand. The present invention makes it possible to eliminate punches projecting from the bottom of the die when producing hollow pasta products, such as macaroni, because it has been recognised that it is enough to apply punches reaching only ( maximum ) as far as the outlet plane of the die openings. Therefore operation and maintenance are considerably simplified and the lifetime of the equipment can be increased.

For the procedure in accordance with the present invention can be used an adapter comprising at least one die provided with at least one product shaping opening, an after-shaping unit with at least one shaping hole, arranged after the die - seeing in the direction of the product prog- ress -, wherein the shaping hole is in co-operation with the die opening. The essence of the invented adapter lies in that the transfer section of the shaping hole of the after-shaping unit is formed in such a way that it can be controlled relative to the section of the die opening, preferably it can be reduced periodically In a further embodiment of the invented adapter, each shaping hole is provided with an after-shaping unit which are connected to the die These after-shaping units ( or post-shaping units ) form at least a part of the periphery of the corresponding shaping holes, and can be moved radially by a controllable driving means Yet another embodiment is possible where a single common after- shaping unit is applied which is movable transversally, preferably perpendicularly, to the pasta thread direction relative to the die, and linked to a drive This drive may move the after-shaping unit in a linear, curvilinear, circular, or even broken-line fashion, or any of their combinations In a further embodiment the after-shaping unit is guided by a plurality of sliding pins relative to the die and is embedded on them in such a way that it can be moved linearly The die opening can be provided with a punch forming the central hole in the pasta thread, the end of which does not reach further than the outlet plane of the die opening

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings where some examples for embodi- ments of the adapter designed to perform the procedure in accordance with the present invention are shown In the drawings

- Figure 1 illustrates a schematic exploded view of a first embodiment of an adapter in accordance with the present invention, together with a headpiece of a thickener unit of a dough pressure apparatus with a prismatic die, Figure 2 illustrates a longitudinal section of a detail of the design shown in Figure 1 , in a relatively larger scale,

Figure 3 illustrates a view along arrow III in Figure 2, Figure 4 illustrates a version of the design in Figure 2, Figure 5 illustrates a view of a detail along arrow V in Figure 4, Figure 6 illustrates a transverse section of another version of the design in Figure 2,

Figure 7 illustrates a view of a detail along arrow VII in Figure 6, Figure 8 illustrates a vertical section of a thickener unit of a dough pressure apparatus with circular die, equipped with the adapter in accordance with the present invention,

^■ Figure 9 shows a vertical section of the detail shown in Figure 8,

^■ Figure 10 llustrates a transverse section of another version of the design in Figure 8,

^■ Figure 1 1 llustrates detail XI in Figure 2 in a relatively larger scale,

• Figure 12 llustrates a section along line XII-XII in Figure 1 1 ,

^■ Figure 13 llustrates detail XIII in Figure 2 in a relatively larger scale,

^■ Figure 14 llustrates a section along line XIV-XIV in Figure 13,

^■ Figure 15 llustrates detail XI in Figure 4 in a relatively larger scale,

Figure 16 llustrates a section along line XVI-XVI in Figure 15,

^■ Figure 17 llustrates a vertical section of detail XV in Figure 6 in a relatively larger scale,

Figure 18 llustrates a section along line XVIII-XVIII in Figure 17, Figure 19 llustrates a bottom view of another version of the adapter in accordance with the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a press 1 applied for producing long pasta, which is known in itself and is equipped with a prismatic die 2 An after-shaping unit 3 is placed under the die 2, which is going to be discussed more detailed below

Figure 2 illustrates the die 2 and the after-shaping unit 3 fitted to- gether, in the present case, there is only a minimal joint gap 4 left between them, which is required for relative (mutual) displacement Figure 2 illustrates only the left end of the after-shaping unit 3 connected to the die 2 In the present case, the after-shaping unit 3 is a plate embedded in the ends of the die 2 transversally to pasta thread direction, that is, in this case it is horizontally movable It can be clearly seen in Figure 2 that a shaft 5 is driven through the after-shaping unit 3, the upper end of which is embedded in a plurality of bearings 6 A centre line with reference number 7 has been indicated for the shaft 5 Here the shaft 5 is equipped with an eccentric 8 having an eccentricity e and provided with a cylindrical mantle in the present case, which is embedded in the after-shaping unit 3 by a bearing 9 A centre line with reference number 10 has been indicated for the eccentric 8 A bearing block 1 1 for the bearings 6 is fastened re- leasably into the die 2 by a plurality of screws 12

The shaft 5 is connected to a rotary drive (not shown), which, in the present case, is an electric motor with infinitely variable speed When the shaft 5 is rotated, the after-shaping unit 3 is displaced horizontally relative to the die 2 due to eccentricity e_ of the eccentric 8

It can be observed on the right-hand side of Figure 2 that a shaping bit 14 is placed into an opening 13 of the die 2 to form the outside of pasta threads, made of Teflon in the present case There is an opening 16 in the shaping bit 14, below which there is a mating shaping hole 15 in after-shaping unit 3, the free transfer opening section of which is controllable in accordance with the present invention A detail XI shown in Figure 2 will be explained more in detail in connection with Figure 11 Consequently, in the arrangement in Figure 2, when the shafts 5 on both sides are rotated, the after-shaping unit 3 is moved circularly in its own plane, in the present case horizontally, by the eccentrics 8, thus the free transfer section of the shaping hole 15 is periodically changed relative to the opening 16 of the die 2 Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the relative operational position of the die 2 and the after-shaping unit 3 in a relatively larger scale when there is some prepared and distributed dough indicated by reference number 17 being pressed through the opening 16 of the shaping bit 14 of the die 2 Because there is the minimal gap 4 between the upper plane of the after- shaping unit 3 and the lower plane of the die 2, meaning that the two surfaces are linked together by a fitting allowing for relative transverse displacement The shaping hole 15 of the after-shaping unit 3 is formed as close as possible to the upper plane of the after-shaping unit 3, which in the present case is a cylindrical bore of relatively small axial dimension, expanded into a section 15A which is conical downwards

As mentioned above, the external product surfaces are determined by the opening 16 of the die 2, in the present case, the product is long pasta with solid section A centre line 18 of the opening 16 is relatively displaced according to eccentricity e from a centre line 19 of the hole 15 for after-shaping (see also Figure 2) So, during the horizontal displacement of the after-shaping unit 3, the diameter of a pasta thread 20 just emerging from the opening 16 is reduced by the section of the shaping hole 15 shown on the left of Figure 1 1 , and accordingly, in the present embodiment a spiral groove 21 is formed on the external mantle surface of a finish product 22, as shown at the bottom of Figure 11 Figure 13 illustrates a version of the embodiment in Figure 11 for producing hollow long pasta ( similar elements have been designated with the same reference characters) Here the shape of the die 2 and the after - shaping unit 3 as well as the motion of the after-shaping unit 3 are identi- cal with those of the design in Figure 11 The only difference is that there is a punch T placed coaxially into the shaping bit 14 of the die 2 to shape the internal cylindrical hole of the product 20 which is here macaroni Similar punches T are also applied in traditional equipment for producing macaroni In the case of the adapter in accordance with the present in- vention, however, the length of punch T has been selected not to reach further than the lower plane of the die 2 (see Figure 13) Therefore this punch T does not participate in the after-shaping of the product 20 (as opposed to traditional technologies) since this after-shaping is performed only by controlling the transfer section of the shaping hole 15 of the after- shaping unit 3 in accordance with the present invention as it has been explained above in more detail that is, internal punch support is not applied An advantage of the punch T not projecting from the die 2 is that it remains hidden all throughout in the course of assembly and disassembly as well as during the cleaning operations of the die 2, so its hazard of in- jury has been entirely eliminated

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a version of the design shown in Figures 2 and 3 where the eccentric 8 of the shaft 5 has been applied in the same way for moving the after-shaping unit 3 in a transverse fashion relative to the die 2, nevertheless, the after-shaping unit 3 here is suspended through a plurality of rocker arms 23 to the die 2 in such a way that it is movable in a transverse fashion Each of the rocker arms 23 are connected to the die 2 and the after-shaping unit 3, respectively, by a pair of pivot pins 24 and 25, respectively When the eccentrics 8 are rotated, the lower part of the rocker arms 23 connected to the after-shaping unit 3 oscillate in a transverse fashion Consequently the section of the shaping hole 15 is controlled in such a manner that the product form produced by it practically corresponds to what is shown in Figure 15

Figures 6 and 7 again illustrate another example for an embodiment of an adapter in accordance with the present invention This is iden- tical with the embodiment examples described so far in that the eccentric 8 of the shaft 5 has been applied in the same way for moving the after- shaping unit 3 in a transverse fashion relative to the die 2 However, the difference here lies in the fact that a plurality of sliding pins 26 have been applied in order to guide the after-shaping unit 3 longitudinally, which can be shifted axially in a plurality of bushes 28 of a number of covers 27 fastened to the ends of the die 2 Therefore the after-shaping unit 3 performs a linear alternating forced trajectory movement transversely to the pasta thread direction and thus the section relative to the opening 16 of the shaping hole 15 is controlled, which is shown in more detail in Figures 15 and 16

Figures 15 and 16 illustrate in a relatively larger scale that the left edge of the shaping hole 15, which latter is circular in the present case, produces a plurality of crescent-like transverse grooves 29 on a part of the left perimeter of the pasta thread 20 emerging from the opening 16 of the die 2 However, when the after-shaping unit 3 is relatively moved to the left in a linear fashion, the right edge of the shaping hole 15 will reduce the transfer section of the shaping hole 15 and therefore periodical transverse grooves, also in a crescent-like format, will be produced on the right side of the product 22 Thus, due to alternating motion, the trans- verse grooves 29 are made on each side of the product 22, respectively in an alternating fashion

It should be noted that in the case of the adapter shown in Figures 6 and 7, even a single electromagnet, a pneumatic cylinder, or any other mechanism producing such motion or any of their combination can be applied instead of the eccentric 8 in order to move the single common after-shaping unit 3 in a linear alternating fashion

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a schematic embodiment of a dough pressure apparatus suitable for producing short pasta and equipped with an adapter in accordance with the present invention Other details of the pressure apparatus are not detailed since they can be considered as known from the relevant prior art The adapter in accordance with the present invention has a cylindrical die 30, which is only provided with a series of product shaping openings 16 as known in itself, which is indicated by thin dot-and dash lines in Figure 8 Immediately below the lower product outlet planes of openings 16 of the die 30 there is a single common after-shaping unit 31 placed, which, in the present case, is shaped as a circular disc The after-shaping unit 31 is provided with shaping holes 15 mating with the openings 16 of the die 30 (as described in the designs above), their transfer section is controlled in accordance with the present invention relative to the section of the openings 16 of the die 30, thus producing additional shapes on the pasta thread

In the case of the embodiment shown in Figures 8 and 9, this section control is performed by a relative displacement of the after-shaping unit 31 , for which a single central eccentric 32 is applied, fixed onto a central shaft 33 and embedded in a central bore of the after-shaping unit 31 (see Figure 9) The after-shaping unit 31 is horizontally guided by a plurality of pilot pins 34, the lower end of which is fixed into the after- shaping unit 31 in the present case, whereas their upper end can be dis- placed in a transverse fashion in a guide groove 35 formed in the die 30

Furthermore, Figures 8 and 9 illustrate that there is a cutting device

36 placed under the lower plane of the after-shaping unit 31 , which is separately rotated through a hollow shaft 37, a bevel gear pair 38, and a driving shaft 39 (see Figure 9) It can be seen in Figure 9 that the shaft 33 of the eccentric 32 is divided, thus it is connected to a central shaft 40 by way of a releasable joint, which latter is driven by an electric motor with infinitely variable speed gearing (not shown) through a bevel gear pair 41 and a driving shaft 42

Therefore, the equipment shown in Figures 8 and 9 is suitable for producing any of the products illustrated in Figures 1 1 -18 depending on the way of adjustment, which are cut into pieces of short pasta, e g short vermicelli, by the cutting device 36

The adapter of the design illustrated in Figure 10 is a version of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 where the shape and the ar- rangement of the die 30 and the after-shaping unit 31 , respectively, are practically identical Here the difference lies in the fact that there is a conical slicing element 43 is placed below the after-shaping unit 31 to produce short pasta, to the lower conical surface of which the cutting device 36 is fitted to cut the product The slicing element 43 is provided with a series of holes 44 freely letting through the pasta threads emerging from the after-shaping unit 31 as known in itself

For example, Figures 17 and 18 illustrate a further product shape that can be produced using the adapter shown in Figure 6 This adapter differs from the design shown in Figures 15 and 16 in that here the open- ing 16 of the die 2 is shaped in a way that it produces a flat pasta thread 45 ribbed longitudinally on both sides, the transverse section of which is shown in Figure 18 As a result of the alternating motion of the after- shaping unit 3 in a transverse fashion to the pasta thread direction, horizontal transverse grooves 46 are made in an alternating fashion on both sides of its external mantle surface by the plain edges of the shaping hole 15 of the after-shaping unit 3, as shown in Figure 18 Thus, long pasta the surface of which is grooved both in a longitudinal and transverse fashion comes out of the equipment as final product

Figure 19 illustrates a bottom view of a further embodiment of the adapter in accordance with the present invention in a schematic manner, where each of a plurality of after-shaping units 47 are shaped as curved plates, for example, instead of cylinder-like plates or circular disks One of the ends of the after-shaping unit 47 is connected to the lower plane of a die 49, for example, through a pivot pin 48, in a way that an internal wing 50 coincides with an edge of an opening 51 of the die 49 in the external normal position of the after-shaping unit 47, as shown in Figure 19 The after-shaping unit 47, however, can be turned around the pin 48 along an arrow 52 into its internal end position, which is indicated by a thin dotted line This displacement can be performed for example by an electromag- net or a pneumatic cylinder In the internal end position of the after- shaping unit 47, the transfer section of a shaping hole 54 regulated by the after-shaping unit 47 is reduced to a section indicated by shading as opposed to the section of the opening 51 of the die 49 This section means that a crescent-like lateral transverse groove 53 is produced on one of the sides of the pasta thread Considering that the pasta thread emerges continuously from the die 49, these lateral grooves 53 are produced periodically on one side of the product if the after-shaping unit 47 is moved between its external and internal end positions Needless to say, there can be several of these after-shaping units 47 arranged along the peπme- ter of the shaping hole 54, making it possible to produce star-like or ringlike transverse grooves 53 on the external mantle of the pasta thread The profile of the internal wing 50 of the after-shaping unit 47 can also be oval or broke-line, simplifying the production of a wide range of product forms Finally, it should be mentioned that the adapter to perform the pro- cedure in accordance with the present invention can be produced in a number of other versions as well besides the examples for embodiments described above For instance, the transfer section of the shaping holes 15 and 54 of the after-shaping units 3, 31 , and 47, respectively, can be periodically reduced by applying an inflatable ring tube (not illustrated), which, in its inflated position, produces a ring groove on the external sur- face of the pasta thread. In this case, the shaping hole would be surrounded by this inflatable and deflatable tube.

A main advantage of the pasta products produced by the procedure in accordance with the present invention is that a significant increase in selection is provided by the possibility of creating nearly any kind of section form, which satisfies a wider range of demand on the part of customers. Due to the proposed after-shaping, the specific surface of pasta products can be much larger than that of traditional products. Products with a larger specific surface can be dried quicker, and have more favour- able cooking characteristics. Food flavouring materials such as poppy- seed, cottage cheese, spices, etc., adhere better to products with various shapes, by which the tastiness of pastas is considerably increased. Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be applied in the production of pasta of both solid and hollow section.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1 In a process for producing pasta products on long or short pasta pro- duction machines, comprising the steps of thickening a prepared dough, distributing the thicked dough by putting it into a die, pressing the dough through a product shaping opening of the die, then shaping additionally a pasta thread emerging from the opening of the die by applying an after- shaping unit, and cutting the pasta thread in its final form to a size re- quired, characterised in that the additional shaping step of a pasta thread (20) with hollow or solid section emerging from the opening (16) of the die (2) is exclusively performed by controlling -mainly by periodically reducing - the section of a pasta thread transferring shaping hole (15) of the after-shaping unit (3) placed in the immediate proximity of the outlet plane of the opening (16) of the die (2), relatively to the section of the opening (16) of the die (2)

2 The process as claimed in claim 1 characterised in the fact that the section control step of the shaping hole (15) of the after-shaping unit (3) is performed by periodically reducing a part of the periphery of the shaping hole (15)

3 The process as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the section control step of the shaping hole (15) of the after-shaping unit (3) is performed by relatively displacing the after- shaping unit (3) relative to the die (2), in a transverse fashion to pasta thread direction

4 The process as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that a linear alternating forced trajectory motion is performed as a transverse displacement of the after-shaping unit (3)

5 The process as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that a curved, favourably circular forced trajectory motion is performed as a transverse displacement of the after-shaping unit (3)

6 The process as claimed in any of claims 1 -5, characterised in that in the production of hollow pastas, mainly macaroni, a punch (T) having a length not reaching further than the outlet plane of the opening (16) of the die (2) is applied to form an internal hole in the pasta thread (20)

7 Adapter to a dough pressure apparatus of a pasta production line, especially for performing the process defined in any of claims 1 -6, comprising at least one die provided with at least one product shaping opening, and, in the direction of product progress, at least one after- shaping unit, with at least one shaping hole, placed after the die, wherein said shaping hole is in connection with the opening of the die, characterised in that the transfer section of the shaping hole (15, 54) of the after-shaping unit (3, 31 , 47) can be controlled relative to the section of the opening (16, 51 ) of the die (2, 30, 49), preferably it can be reduced periodically

8 The adapter as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that the after-shaping unit (47) forms a part of the perimeter of the shaping hole (54) and can be radially displaced relative to the opening (51) of the die (49) 9 The adapter as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that the after-shaping unit (3, 31 ) is a plate or disk that can be displaced relative to the die (2, 30) in a transverse fashion to the pasta thread direction and is provided with a series of the shaping holes (15) and connected to a driving unit

10 The adapter as claimed in claim 9, characterised in that the after-shaping unit (3) is guided by a plurality of sliding pins (26) relative to the die (2) and is embedded on them in a way that it can be linearly displaced

1 1 The adapter as claimed in any of claims 7-10, characterised in that the opening (16) of the die (2) is equipped with a punch (T) to form a hole in the pasta thread (20) the end of which, how- ever, does not reach further than the outlet plane of the opening (16) of said die (2)