US3124840A

US3124840A - taylor etal

Info

Publication number: US3124840A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1964-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 1981-03-17

Description

March 1964 A.- s. TAYLOR ETAL 3,

CAPSULE FORMING DIE ROLL WITH GUARD RINGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1962 \N MN Arthur Sinclair Taylor William Peter Konuzewski WWW/away A T TOR/YE Y March 1964 A. s. TAYLOR ETAL 0 CAPSULE FORMING DIE ROLL WITH GUARD RINGS Filed March 5, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hihii:

INVEN TOR. Arthur Sinclair Toylor William Peter Konozewski A T TOR/V5 Y March 17, 1964 A. S. TAYLOR ETAL CAPSULE FORMING DIE ROLL. WITH GUARD RINGS Filed March 5, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Arthur SiIIOIOlI Taylor William Peter Konozewski BQMWLWMM ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice Patented Mar. 17, 1964 3,124,840 CAPSULE FORMING DIE ROLL WITH GUARD RINGS Arthur fiinclair Taylor, Spring Valley, and William P.

Konazewslri, Pearl River, N.Y., assignors to American Cyanamid Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Filed Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 177,365 7 Ciaims. (Cl. 18-21) This invention relates to improvements in die roll construction for the encapsulation of materials such as pharmaceutical products in a soft plastic film such as gelatin films, and more particularly, to asymmetric die rolls in which the cavity die roll has guard rings at each side of the working face with which the seal roll is in constant rolling contact, to space the roll system, minimize vibration, and reduce the wear on the cutting out rims of the capsule forming cavities; and to a hinged die roll frame to permit rapid exchange of the rolls.

Soft gelatin capsules have been formed on roll systems involving asymmetric die rolls as disclosed in more detail in United States Patent 2,663,128, F. E. Stirn and A. S. Taylor, Method and Machine for Making Capsules, December 22, 1953; United States Patent 2,624,164, A. M. Donofrio, Method of and Apparatus for Encapsulating Liquid and Semiliquid Substances and the Like, January 6, 1953; United States Patent 2,663,129, A. M. Donofrio, Machine for Fabricating Capsules From Elastic Films, December 22, 1953; and United States Patent 2,775,080, F. E. Stirn and A. S. Taylor, Method of Forming Powder-and-Liquid Filled Capsules, December 25, 195 6. Die rolls for such encapsulating machines are disclosed in United States Patent 2,697,317, F. E. Stirn and A. S. Taylor, Capsule Forming Die Roll, December 21, 1954, and United States Patent 2,799,048, F. E. Stirn and A. S. Taylor, Die Roll for Encapsulating Machine, July 16, 1957.

The die roll system of the present invention can be used in other encapsulation machines; and may be used for plastic materials other than a gelatin-glycerine-water composition, although such composition is presently meeting with the greatest commercial acceptance. The films are cast as a strip, fed to the machines, and will hereafter be called plastic strips.

Cavity die rolls have, in general, been formed with at least two and often three or more rows of die cavities.

It has now been found that one or two rows of die cavities may be used for production purposes by providing the cavity die roll with guard rings with which the seal roll is in constant rolling contact, thus insuring uniformity of spacing between the die roll and the seal roll and preventing rocking, or wobbling, from unsymmetrical and irregular forces, which necessarily result from the contact of the seal roll with the rims of the die cavities where one or two rows of die cavities alone are present in the cavity die roll. By having the guard rings to insure an essentially and basically stable and symmetrical system, difficulties with die alignment, bearing wear, lost motion and uneven driving are minimized, and at the same time the useful life of the cutting-out rims on the die cavities is markedly increased. Less rigorous requirements for rigidity of roll axle supports permits a design permitting more rapid die roll interchange.

The guard rings and the cutting-out rims may be integral with the cavity die roll blank, but it is easier to machine the roll assembly if a blank of softer material is used and the capsule cavity inserts and the guard rings are of a hardened material such as hardened steel. Naturally, the guard rings should fit tightly on to the die roll.

The one or two row cavity die roll is particularly useful for large capsules and also permits the building of a smaller encapsulation machine using a smaller casting roll so that the entire machine is more conveniently portable and may be moved and reset up for operation with a maximum of convenience and a minimum of time. For small runs, it is desirable that a smaller sized machine be used so that the relative waste in threading the machine and starting up and stopping is at a minimum. A smaller machine may be more easily controlled by one operator, thus reducing labor costs.

Additionally, by having guard rings to reduce vibration and wobbling, there is less wear on the bearings and the maintenance to eliminate lost motion in the roll system is minimized. In smaller machines a more compact housing may be used so that only the interior of the casting wheel should need be air conditioned and the air conditioning load is thus lessened.

The guard rings are beveled on the side towards the capsule forming cavities, which helps to guide the plastic strip towards the working area.

For ease in changing from one die roll to another die roll, so as to permit diiferent sizes of capsules to be run, the die roll and its mating seal roll and the filling system, which may include a measuring roll operated in timed relationship with the cavity die roll, are mounted in a die roll frame, consisting of two spaced plates, which are hinged to the main frame of the machine so that the rolls may be swung out for ease of access. It is preferred that each of the cavity die roll, the seal roll, and the measuring roll be independently joumaled in a bearing casing so that the roll shafts, with drive gears, and associated parts, may be inserted into slots in the hinged die roll frame. Thus by swinging out the die roll frame each of the rolls may be released rapidly to permit ready replacement.

The remainder of the machine may follow conventional practice. Without undue prolixity and detail on parts of the encapsulation machine which are not essentially novel with the present invention, and without undue recitation of obvious modifications, embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an axial view of a die roll and the valve plates.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showing the die roll together with the associated valve plates in section, for a die roll which has a single row of capsule forming cavities.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section view of a die roll with associated valve plates and the die roll shaft and bearing casings for a die roll having two rows of capsule forming cavities.

FIGURE 4 is a view of a part of the face of a die roll having two rows of capsule forming cavities, such as shown in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a view of a part of the face of a die roll having a single row of capsule forming cavities, such as shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a front view of the complete encapsulation machine.

FIGURE 7 is a partial-top View of an encapsulation machine showing a hinged die roll frame.

The Die Roll System As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the die roll 11 may be built up from a cylindrical cavity die roll blank 12, conveniently turned from a cylinder of manganese bronze. The die roll has a die roll hub 13 in which is the hole 14 for the die roll shaft 15. A keyway 16 is provided for a key 17 to hold the die roll hub in position on the die roll shaft. Tapped holes 18 are provided for scews to hold the die roll hub firmly in position on the die roll shaft. In the die roll blank periphery 19 are a series of insert slots 20. A capsule cavity insert 21, preferably of hardened steel fits in each insert slot 20. Under the insert there is at least one capsule ejector plug 22 on the head of which, towards the axis of the die roll, is a capsule ejector piston 23 in a capsule ejector piston cylinder 24. The capsule cavity insert 21 may be held in position in the insert slot by an insert screw 25. From the bottom of the capsule ejector piston cylinder runs a manifold passage 26 to a valve seat surface 27 of the die roll.

Additional details of such a die roll system, including certain modifications, are described at length in United States Patents 2,697,317 and 2,799,048, supra.

The valve seat surface is inset from the fiat ends 23 of the die roll. This provides additional clearance for the valve plates 29, reduces the weight of the die roll, and gives an inset valve seat surface 2'7 which is thus more protected from damage during handling and, additionally, the inset helps to divert any powder or capsule contents or other dust away from the valve seat surface, thus giving longer operation before the die roll and valve plates must be disassembled for cleaning. The valve plates conveniently, but not necessarily, are coaxial with the die roll hub 13 and are positioned by sliding on the hub. In the valve plates, adjacent to the valve seat surface of the die roll are the vacuum chests 30 to control the vacuum for holding the capsule ejector piston and its associated plug at the bottom of the capsule ejector piston cylinder. Vacuum to this chest is provided by a vacuum connection 31. Also connected to this vacuum chest is a balancing chamber 32 which balances the vacuum around the valve plate so that the vacuum forces are more nearly equalized. A holddown vacuum chest 33 provides for vacuum to the holddown bleeds 34, which are a series of small holes drilled in the peripheral face of the die roll outside of the capsule cavity inserts which supply vacuum to hold the plastic strip outside of the capsule cavity inserts against the face of the die roll. The capsule ejector plug and the capsule ejector piston fit loosely under the capsule cavity insert so that part of the vacuum operating the piston leaks past the piston and plug and holds the plastic strip interiorly of the capsule cavity insert while the capsule contents are being filled. A gap 35 exists between the vacuum chest 3t and a capsule retaining vacuum chest 36 which is in such position as to hold the capsules in the cavities while the residual web is being stripped. A pressure chest 37 supplied with air by a pressure connection 38 blows the pistons, and the plugs, away from the axis of the roll, thereby ejecting the finished capsules.

Around the die roll blank periphery are the guard rings 39.

Preferably the guard rings are of hardened steel, tightly fitted to the die roll blank. In manufacture, it is convenient to grind the cylindrical peripheral face 46) of the guard rings and the capsule cavity insert rim face 41 in a single operation on a grinding machine so that the faces are smooth, polished, and concentric. Thus in operation the seal roll 42 (note FIGURE 6) rolls on the peripheral face 40 of the guard rings and just touches the rim faces of the capsule cavity inserts. Thus there is a uniform rolling contact at all times between the seal roll and the cavity die roll.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the valve plates 29 are positioned circumferentially by a positioning bracket 43 so that the exact angular location of the release of vacuum for the sealing operation can be controlled.

The surface of the roll shown in FIGURE 2 is illustrated in FIGURE which shows a single row of capsule cavity inserts for long oval capsules.

In FIGURE 4 is shown a similar die roll but with two rows of capsule cavity inserts for elliptical or football shaped capsules, technically termed a prolate spheroid, or a reasonably accurate facsimile thereof.

In FIGURE 3 is shown the sectional view of the die roll for a double row of cavity inserts. Inasmuch as the configuration is essentially the same, except for the the number and spacing of the cavity inserts, the construction is not repetitively described in detail. Two

active valve plates are used for the multiple row die rolls. Only one active valve plate is needed for single row die rolls.

The die roll itself may have capsule cavity inserts of the types shown in the various modifications illustrated in United States Patents 2,697,317, or 2,799,048, supra, or even as modified in United States Patent 2,902,802, F. E. Stirn and A. S. Taylor, Encapsulating Die Roll System, September 8, 1959.

The die roll is positioned on a die roll shaft 15. The die roll hub 13 is held against a collar 44 by a retaining nut 45. On the shaft spaced from the die roll are two bearing casings 46. These may be the exterior races of roller or ball bearings or conveniently are annular sleeves containing anti-friction bearings. Each bearing casing has a small flange 47 on each side thereof. The assembly complete with shaft is conveniently treated as an interchangeable assembly and changed as a unit in the encapsulation machines, although the same shaft may be used in a plurality of die rolls. If the same shaft is used, it takes a few minutes longer to change the die rolls but there are no other disadvantages.

The Encapsulation Machine The encapsulation machine is shown in FIGURE 6. The main part of the encapsulation machine is above a table 43. Conveniently this table is a rigid plate of metal such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The exterior of the table, beneath the table, is enclosed by a skirt 49. In the area beneath the table and enclosed by the skirt can be placed associated elements such as a vacuum pump, an air pressure pump, the drive mechanisms and the cooling assembly, which may be a compressor-type refrigeration unit for the strip casting wheel. Such details are conventional and within the skill of the art. Above the table is a main frame 50. Mounted on one end of the table is a casting wheel 51 on which the strip material, such as gelatin, is cast from a hopper 52. The Wheel is preferably cooled by refrigeration so that the wheel is at a preferred temperature for the casting operation. Exteriorly of the wheel is a shroud 53. For a gelatin film a cool dry air is blown into the shroud to dry and chill the surface of the gelatin composition as cast. For other plastic compositions, the temperature and humidity are controlled to give an environment desired for that particular plastic material. The front face 54 of the shroud is used as an instrument panel and thereon are mounted pressure and temperature gauges, air pressure, and vacuum control valves, pump control switches, speed controls, and auto transformers for controlling the heat input to various elements of the machine.

Also on the main frame are mounted guide pulleys 55 for controlling the path of the cast plastic strip, which strip may be passed over the guide pulleys or may rest on conveyor belts 56 which in turn rest on the pulleys. Conveniently, all such guide pulleys on which the strip rests and all conveyor belts are power driven to avoid stretching the strip. Also mounted on the main frame is an inside coater 57, an assembly which pro vides a coating such as a beta pinene polymer or other protective material on the surface of the strip which is to become the interior of the capsules. A strip oiler 58 coats the outside of the strip, which is to contact the cavity die roll, with a lubricant. A turnover roll system 59 reverses the top strip and moves it laterally to feed it into face to face relationship with the lower plastic strip, with the surfaces which were in contact with the casting drum in face to face relationship to form the interior of the capsules. Space is provided for a printing element 69 which may be added to the machine to print on the top or bottom plastic strips or both in timed relationship with the cavity die roll where a printed legend is desired on the surface of the capsules.

With this much equipment on the face of the main frame, various elements interfere with free access to the die roll system. A pair of spaced plates, including a front spaced plate 61 and a rear spaced plate 62 are mounted on hinges 63, which hinges are attached to the main frame 58. The spaced plates are held apart by tubular separators 64 from the die roll frame and are held in position on the main frame by bolts 65 passing through the tubular separators. Thus the spaced plates are firmly and fixedly in position with relationship to the main frame; but by loosening three bolts, the spaced plates may be pivoted away from the main frame so that the rolls may be changed more easily.

A separate pair of U-shaped slots are provided for each roll. The die roll U-shaped slots 66 extend laterally to the left. The die roll on the die roll shaft supported by the die roll bearing casings 46 slides into the die roll U-shaped slots and is held in position by a die roll retainer 67, which conveniently is a U-shaped washer which turns in relationship to the frame to lock the bearing casings in position. A set of lock nuts 68 and positioning screws 69 holds the positioning bracket 43 in position and permits micro-metric angularly positioning of the valve plates 29.

Extending to the right and upwardly is the seal roll U-shaped slots 70. In the seal roll U-shaped slots fits a seal roll 42, in the seal roll bearing casings 71. The seal roll is a roll which may have a smooth cylindrical surface or such other surface as may be desired which presses against and rolls on the surface of the peripheral face of the guard rings and the capsule cavity insert rim faces 41 of the die roll. A seal roll plate 72 fits against the front and rear spaced plates and supports a spring bracket 73 which spring loads a seal roll retainer 74, which presses against retaining pins 75, which press downwardly against the seal roll bearing casings These are thus spring urged towards the die roll to give the desired cutting out pressure between the seal roll and the cavity die roll. The seal roll may be heated, and have insert faces or depressions to permit a preferred mating relationship between the seal roll and the die roll, in accordance with conventional practices. Certain details of such a configuration are shown in United States Patent 2,674,073, A. S. Taylor and F. E. Stirn, Relieved Non-Skid Seal Roll and Meth- 0d of Use, April 6, 1954.

Above the die roll, and extending upward, are the measuring roll U-shaped slots 76. These slots open upward for a measuring roll 77 mounted on a shaft in the measuring roll bearing casings 78 which are conveniently retained in position by drift pins 79 mounted in the front and rear spaced plates. The measuring roll is of conventional configuration for measuring a charge of powder or other material into the strip lined capsule cavity inserts.

On the back side of the rear spaced plate are drive gears 80 which drive the three principal rolls, the die roll, the seal roll, and the measuring roll, in timed relationship. One of these gears is driven by a drive spur shaft 81. The drive mechanisms for all of the rolls is conveniently a roller chain passing over a set of sprockets inside of the main frame St).

The details of the various parts of the machine are in accordance with conventional practice and are not further explained in detail here to avoid unduly lengthening the description of the machine. The patents above referred to explain in more detail various parts of an encapsulation machine.

It is to be understood that the exact configuration of the associated elements may be in accordance with other conventional practices without deviating from the scope of the appended claims.

Furthermore, the die roll itself may be made by engraving or otherwise forming a single piece of metal, as for example the guard rings, and cutting out rim faces 41 can be cut from billet stock of a suitable metal. Bronze may be used for short runs, and a hardenable ,iaasao t5 steel can be used in which the engraving and principal shaping operations are done while the steel is soft, and then hardening the steel with a final grinding operation to compensate for warpage during hardening. The builtup die roll, as shown in the drawings, is normally the most economical construction for commercial operations.

The use of various forming operations, plastic strip compositions, internal and external printing, coating, oiling, drying, and associated operations are apparent to those skilled in the art and may be used in conjunction with the present invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

I. In a die roll for forming soft plastic capsules from plastic sheet material which comprises: a substantially cylindrical die roll blank, having in the cylindrical periphery thereof a series of capsule-forming cavities, each consisting of a hardened-steel, raised-rim, capsule cavity insert fitted into an insert slot in the periphery of said cylindrical roll and having at least one piston cylinder under said insert, at least one capsule ejector plug extending towards the insert cavity in the insert, said capsule ejector plug having thereon a capsule ejector piston, fit ting in said cylinder, whereby said plug may be, by air pressure, raised to substantially the top of said cavity, or retracted to form a portion of the bottom of said cavity, a manifold passage from adjacent the axial end of said cylinder to a valve surface of said die roll blank, whereby ir pressure, acting through adjacent valve means at desired times during the rotation of the roll, causes an increase or reduction in the pressure in said cylinder, thereby actuating said piston and plug;

the combination therewith of a separate continuous hardened steel guard ring on each side of the periphery of said cylindrical die roll blank and concentric with said die roll, and of a diameter such that the greatest diameter of the guard ring is substantially the same as and coaxial with the diameter of the face of the cutting out rims of said inserts.

2. In a die roll for forming soft plastic capsules from plastic sheet material which comprises: a substantially cylindrical die roll blank, having in the cylindrical periphery thereof a series of capsule-forming cavities, each consisting of a raised-rim, capsule cavity insert fitted into an insert slot in the periphery of said cylindrical roll and having at least one piston cylinder under said insert, at least one capsule ejector plug extending towards the insert cavity in the insert, said capsule ejector plug having thereon a capsule ejector piston, fitting in said cylinder, whereby said plug may be, by air pressure, raised to substantially the top of said cavity, or retracted to form a portion of the bottom of said cavity, a manifold passage from adjacent the axial end of said cylinder to a valve surface of said die roll blank, whereby air pressure, acting through adjacent valve means at desired times during the rotation of the roll, causes an increase or reduction in the pressure in said cylinder, thereby actuating said piston and plug;

the combination therewith of a continuous guard ring on each side of the periphery of said cylindrical die roll blank operationally integral with said die roll, and of a diameter such that the greatest diameter of the guard ring is substantially the same as and coaxial with the diameter of the face of the cutting out rims of said inserts.

3. In a cavity die roll for forming soft plastic capsules from plastic strips which comprises: a substantially cylin drical die roll blank having a plurality of slots in the periphery thereof, at least one capsule ejector piston cylinder in the bottom of each slot, a plurality of capsule ejector plugs, one for each of such cylinders, a capsule ejector piston attached to each of such capsule ejector plugs and slidable in the capsule ejector piston cylinder, a capsule cavity insert in each of said slots, said capsule cavity inserts having in the bottom thereof an opening for said plug, said pistons and said plugs fitting loosely in areas 1o 6 said cylinder and said opening, a cutting out rim on each insert extending above the surface of the die roll blank with the faces of such cutting out rims forming portions of a cylindrical surface concentric with the axis of the die roll, and a manifold means extending from the lower portion of each of said capsule ejector piston cylinders to a valve surface of said roll, whereby a vacuum may act on a plastic strip to draw it into the capsule cavity inserts, and an air pressure can act to raise the piston, the plugs, and eject the capsules;

the combination therewith of a continuous guard ring on each side of the periphery of said cylindrical die roll blank, and of such a diameter that the greatest diameter of the guard ring is substantially the same as and coaxial with the diameter of the faces of the cutting out rims of said inserts.

4. In a cavity die roll for forming soft plastic capsules from plastic strips which comprises: axle means for a capsule forming cavity die roll, a substantially cylindrical capsule forming die roll having a plurality of capsule forming cavities in the periphery thereof, gas controlled ejector means for each such cavity, each cavity having a cutting out rim extending around the periphery of the capsule-forming cavity and said rim being the same distance from the axis of the die roll at all points;

the combination therewith of a guard ring on each side of the periphery of said die roll extending continuously circuniferentially around said periphery and essentially concentric with and of the same diameter as the cuttin out rims of the capsule-forming cavities.

5. In a cavity die roll assembly for forming soft plastic capsules from plastic strips and which permits rapid roll interchange which comprises: a die roll shaft, a substantially cylindrical capsule forming die roll having a plurality of capsule-forming cavities in the periphery thereof, gas controlled ejector means for each such cavity, each cavity having a cutting-out rim extending around the periphery of the capsule-forming cavity and the face of said rim being the same distance from the axis of the die roll at all points;

the combination therewith of a guard ring on each side of the periphery of said die roll extending continuously circumferentially around said periphery and essentially concentric with and of the same diameter as the faces of the cutting-out rims of the capsuleforming cavities, means to attach the die roll to said shaft, and a bearing casing rotatably mounted on said shaft on each side of the die roll, whereby the roll assembiy can be rapidly interchanged in slots in the frame of an encapsulation machine.

6. An encapsulation machine comprising: a main frame, a die roll frame comprising two spaced plates, separators for said plates holding said plates in fixed parallel relationship to each other, and parallel to the main frame in operating position, hinges between said plates and said main frame, to permit the die roll frame to be swung out from the main frame for easy and rapid interchange of roll sets, bolts to fixedly secure the die roll frame to the main frame, at least two sets of U-shaped slots in said die roll frame, a set of die roll bearing casings, a cavity die roll rotatably mounted therein, means to lock the die roll bearing casings in position in one set of said U-shaped slots, a set of seal roll bearing casings, a seal roll rotatably mounted therein on an axis perpendicular to the frames, and means to removably position the seal roll in position in the second set of U-shaped slots and spring load the seal roll against the die roll.

7. An encapsulation machine comprising: a main frame, a die roll frame comprising two spaced plates, separators for said plates holding said plates in fixed parallel relationship to each other, and parallel to the main frame in operating position, hinges between said plates and said main frame, to permit the die roll frame to be swung out from the main frame for easy and rapid interchange of roll sets, bolts to fixedly secure the die roll frame to the main frame, at least two sets of U-shaped slots in said die roll frame; a substantially cylindrical capsuleforming die roll having a plurality of capsule forming cavities in the periphery thereof, gas controlled ejector means for such cavity, each cavity having a cutting-out rim extending around the periphery of the capsule-forming cavity and the face of said rim being the same distance from the axis of the die roll at all points; a guard ring on each side of the periphery of said die roll extending continuously circumferentially around said periphery and essentially concentric with and of the same diameter as the cutting-out rims of the capsule-forming cavities, a die roll shaft, means to attach the die roll to said shaft, and a die roll bearing casing rotatably mounted on said shaft on each side of the die roll; means to lock the die roll bearing casings in position in one set of said U-shaped slots, a set of seal roll bearing casings, a seal rollrotatably mounted therein on an axis perpendicular to the frames, and means to removably position the seal roll in position in the second set of U-shaped slots and spring load the seal roll against the die roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,118 Wilcox Dec. 9, 1884 538,475 Albrecht Apr. 30, 1895 899,087 Walker Sept. 22, 1908 902,699 Nehorn Nov. 3, 1908 2,141,318 Salfisberg Dec. 27, 1938 2,312,049 Pfeiffer Feb. 23, 1943 2,387,747 Crowley Oct. 30, 1945 2,624,164 Donofrio July 6, 1953 2,663,128 Stirn et al Dec. 22, 1953 2,708,287 Long et a1 May 17, 1955 2,902,718 Martelli et al Sept. 8, 1959

Claims

1. IN A DIE ROLL FOR FORMING SOFT PLASTIC CAPSULES FROM PLASTIC SHEET MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES: A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL DIE ROLL BLANK, HAVING IN THE CYLINDRICAL PERIPHERY THEREOF A SERIES OF CAPSULE-FORMING CAVITIES, EACH CONSISTING OF A HARDENED-STEEL, RAISED-RIM, CAPSULE CAVITY INSERT FITTED INTO AN INSERT SLOT IN THE PERIPHERY OF SAID CYLINDRICAL ROLL AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE PISTON CYLINDER UNDER SAID INSERT, AT LEAST ONE CAPSULE EJECTOR PLUG EXTENDING TOWARDS THE INSERT CAVITY IN THE INSERT, SAID CAPSULE EJECTOR PLUG HAVING THEREON A CAPSULE EJECTOR PISTON, FITTING IN SAID CYLINDER, WHEREBY SAID PLUG MAY BE, BY AIR PRESSURE, RAISED TO SUBSTANTIALLY THE TOP OF SAID CAVITY, OR RETRACTED TO FORM A PORTION OF THE BOTTOM OF SAID CAVITY, A MANIFOLD PASSAGE FROM ADJACENT THE AXIAL END OF SAID CYLINDER TO AVALVE SURFACE OF SAID DIE ROLL BLANK, WHEREBY AIR PRESSURE, ACTING THROUGH ADJACENT VALVE MEANS AT DESIRED TIMES DURING THE ROTATION OF THE ROLL, CAUSES AN INCREASE OR REDUCTION IN THE PRESSURE IN SAID CYLINDER, THEREBY ACTUATING SAID PISTON AND PLUG; THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A SEPARATE CONTINUOUS HARDENED STEEL GUARD RING ON EACH SIDE OF THE PERIPHERY OF SAID CYLINDRICAL DIE ROLL BLANK AND CONCENTRIC WITH SAID DIE ROLL, AND OF A DIAMETER SUCH THAT THE GREATEST DIAMETER OF THE GUARD RING IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS AND COAXIAL WITH THE DIAMETER OF THE FACE OF THE CUTTING OUT RIMS OF SAID INSERTS.