Timothy J. Bender - North East PA, US Michael K. Vickery - Jonesboro AR, US Michael D. Trowbridge - Batesville AR, US Jeffrey H. Martin - Louisville KY, US Woodrow R. Guinnip - Evening Shade AR, US
Systems and methods for manufacturing edible food articles having three dimensional shapes from raw ingredients such as moist dough involve shaping preforms in an upside-down orientation over inverted cup-shaped molds. Shaping of the preforms is assisted by gravitational forces and directional forced airflow into relatively complicated three dimensional shapes with simplified equipment and manufacturing steps.