RTP10i Force Feeder Calibration

Welcome to LFA’s video on calibrating your RTP 10i force feeder. You may need to calibrate your force feeder after cleaning or if too much formulation is flowing onto the die table.

First, stop the flow of formulation to the force feeder by adjusting the flow adjuster on the hopper. Turn this clockwise all the way in and this will stop the flow.

You can now lift the hopper out of the top of the machine. Once done, open the perspex shield and remove the hopper extender, this will still contain powder.

Using a 17mm spanner, undo the 2 bolts that attach the force feeder to the force feeder plate.

Now lift up the force feeder sheath with one hand and slide the force feeder towards you.  

Partially undo the 3 bolts on top of the force feeder plate using a 6mm allen key. But don’t remove them completely as this is going to allow us to make adjustments to the force feeder plate.

They’re 3 adjusters under the plate, each one adjusts a different side of the plate. We’re aiming to have the plate flush with the die table.

The rear adjuster adjusts the tilt forwards and backwards. the right side adjuster raises and lowers the right side of the plate and the left side adjuster raises and lowers the left side of the plate.

To make the adjustments we’re going to use a straight edge, place on the force feeder plate and the die table, make the adjustments in small increments and look for the gap between the straight edge and the die table, move the straight edge along the die table and plate to make sure there’s no gap down the full length.

Once you’re happy with those calibrations, tighten the bolts finger tight to allow for some final adjustments once the force feeder is in place.

Next we’re going to replace the force feeder but before we do, remove both the scraper blade and the tablet take off blade with a crosshead screwdriver as these need to be replaced with the force feeder in position.

Replace the force feeder on the plate using the two 17mm bolts, when placing the force feeder make sure this bottom shaft is facing forwards so the sheath can easily pass over it. This shaft is what rotates the force feeder impellers, so it’s important this is setup correctly. 

Reinsert the 17mm bolts and tighten fully. Using an adjustable wrench we can now make final adjustments with the force feeder on if needed. 

Using feeler gauges you can measure your force feeder calibration. 

We recommend starting at 0.15mm, it will feel tight but the feeler gauge should still be able to pass under. If you still find too much formulation on your turret table then you may choose to reduce that further. 

However, reducing this will wear out the brass wear part on your force feeder quicker and reducing too much may potentially damage the die table so it’s suggested to start off higher and then work your way down slowly.

Once the force feeder is setup, remove it and fully tighten the three 6mm bolts under it with an allen key and then replace the force feeder and the two 17mm bolts and tighten fully.

Replace the scraper blade. This is a wear part that will wear over time. Firmly push down on the scraper blade and tighten with a crosshead screwdriver, this part needs to be tight against the die table to stop excess powder from escaping.

Now replace the tablet take off blade, this doesn’t need to be pushed down to the die table. Instead it needs to be mounted one third of the tablet height. For example if you have a 3mm tablet height, the blade needs to be 1mm high, it’s not exact but approximately. It needs to be high enough for excess powder to pass under but not a compressed tablet.

We can now replace our hopper extender through the side of the machine and our hopper through the top of the machine.

You can now adjust the flow adjuster on the hopper to release the formulation down into the force feeder.