One Drum, Endless Possibilities: How ABM Patty Formers Flex to Fit Your Production

The Drum Difference

Most competitors rely on fixed plates, essentially a one-trick tool designed for a single patty size. ABM's patty formers use an adjustable-thickness drum, or mold, instead. That means the same drum can produce multiple patty weights just by changing the thickness setting — no swapping out an entire plate assembly, no buying a new part every time your product mix changes.

All you need to specify up front is the drum diameter, and from there the machine handles the rest.

Common Diameters, Real Flexibility

We typically see two standard diameters in the field:

• 110mm for standard patties (4oz, 6oz, 8oz)
• 70mm for sliders

Some operations prefer a slightly larger standard patty and move up to 120mm. For those who need to go bigger, ABM's patty formers can accommodate drums up to 130mm in diameter and 32mm in depth — giving processors real room to grow their product line without outgrowing their equipment.

Beyond Patties: Meatballs and Bulk Product

The drum system isn't limited to burger patties. Customers regularly use smaller double drums — a 50mm double, for example — to effectively double their output. The machine forms the "pucks," and a quick hand roll finishes the meatball. For many of our customers, that's the whole appeal: no need to invest in a second, dedicated meatball-forming machine when the patty former already does the job.

On the other end of the spectrum, larger square and rectangle drums let processors use their patty former as a bulker. With a drum sized appropriately, you can portion a full pound of product in a single pass. Some customers take a slightly different route — forming two 8oz patties and stacking them to reach that same one-pound bulk target. Either way, it's one machine covering work that would otherwise require separate equipment.

Built to Fit Your Product, Not the Other Way Around

While 110mm, 120mm, and 70mm drums cover the majority of applications we see, they're far from the only options. ABM offers a range of standard shapes, and if your product calls for something outside that range, we can often produce a custom drum to match.

That's the philosophy behind the whole system: fewer machines, less downtime, less complexity on your production floor — and equipment that flexes as your business does. If you're currently running separate machines for patties, sliders, and meatballs, it may be worth a conversation about whether one ABM patty former can do the work of all three.

Have a specific patty size, drum shape, or production goal in mind? Reach out to your local ABM dealer to talk through what's possible.