Feeding Interruption

Problem

Feeding stops or the machine faults on missing product, either at random intervals or correlated with specific conditions — a product change, a shift start, or particular product batches.

Possible Causes

1. Products bridge or jam at a narrowing point in the infeed.
2. An infeed sensor misses products intermittently.
3. Guides or transfer points carry debris that obstructs flow.
4. Timing between feeding and machine motion drifts out of sync.
5. Product condition — sticky, deformed or clumped — exceeds what the infeed handles.

What to Check

• STEP 1Read the fault pattern.Random faults point to detection or product condition; positional faults point to a physical obstruction.
• STEP 2Inspect the blockage points.Locked out per procedure, check narrowings, transfers and guides for jams or build-up.
• STEP 3Check the infeed sensor.Clean the sensor, verify alignment and confirm it registers every passing product.
• STEP 4Verify timing.Confirm feeding timing matches the documented setup for the current recipe.
• STEP 5Sample the product.Check the incoming product for stickiness, deformation or clumping against its specification.

Corrective Actions

• Clear obstructions and add the affected points to the daily cleaning routine.
• Clean and re-align infeed sensors; re-teach detection per the machine manual if faults persist.
• Where product condition is the cause, feed back to quality and involve Path Pack engineering for a handling review.
• Log every interruption with time and product batch — patterns shorten diagnosis.