AMF 82-30 Pinfeed Distributor

Pins feeding on an AMF 82-30 machine. Note the pins are held in the pin elevator wheel by toggles around their bellies, therefore the belly is dropped into the pan first and the head follows, regardless of the direction in the pin wheel.

The pin counter is shown here. These old machines can have only ten pins in the table itself, so the counter triggers the feeding to stop once the tenth pin is fed (which winds up being the #8 on the next rack). The counter then displays "0". A malfunction causes the dreaded "20-pin feed" where the table is full, but there are more pins loose on top of the table and generally "in the way". The 82-70 machine remedied this by allowing for a second set of pins to be stacked on top of the first, rather than have them kept in the pin wheel until the table is empty.

On the next cycle is shown a full feed of ten pins. The distributor "floats" on the table on a track the shape of a "V". Meshing on this track is a gear controlled by a clutch; as each pin feeds, the indexing lever allows the gear to make one rotation, which advances the distributor head to the next pin spotting cup in the sequence of 7-4-2-1-3-6-10-9-5-8. That gear, nor the clutch and its spring, are visible but difficult to easily note in this video.

As the table lowers on a first ball cycle, pins continue to feed. This is one reason why these older machines easily have pin stoppages, if the distributor either comes off the track, or if a misadjustment of guiding arms means a pin doesn't drop cleanly into its cup if the table is in its lowered position rather than at the top. This was remedied with the 82-70 machine, which still uses a distributor but one that doesn't have to be in contact with a moving table (one that only holds pins when spotting pins on a frame or foul cycle).

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Bowling
• Machine
• Pit
• AMF
• 82-30
• Pinspotter
• Pinsetter

[gmfreaky]

How can the pins are not sometimes pointing the wrong direction?

[8230PinChaser]

@gmfreaky The pins are held by toggles around the belly of the pin. The toggle releases the pin when it is at the top of its cycle, so it always releases the belly and the head thus follows. Watch this (or any of my other) videos that show this.

[HGJYBRANDON]

whats the most commond problem with 82-30

[8230PinChaser]

Because the table can only hold ten pins, and there are twenty pins in play on a machine, pins must stop feeding after the tenth pin is fed. Therefore the pin elevator wheel has mechanisms that keeps pins in that wheel. If more than ten pins feed, in fact al twenty can feed and with no place to go, can create a major jam of pins on top.

More....

[8230PinChaser]

Also, the distributor must "ride" with the table not only as the table moves up and down to lift and respot pins on a first ball cycle, but also as the distributor moves from one pin to another (7-4-2-1-3-6-10-9-5-8) to distribute pins. There are many delicate adjustments in play to ensure these things happen on cue and a malfunction due to a setting not being just right can cause pins to not feed correctly, to "double up" on one spotting cup, or for the distributor to stop advancing altogether.

[HGJYBRANDON]

hey whats an commond stop with the 30`s

[8230PinChaser]

I really need to ask you to re-write your question. The words "an commond" don't mean anything and I can't figure out what you're asking. Try again please and I'll give my best answer.

[tachikaze222]

thanks for the vid. I worked at the UCLA Bruin Bowl in the 80s, before it got taken out in 1992. The few Friday night shifts I worked I sure earned my pay, jogging into the back to take care of jams. We had $1/game bowling, and no automatic scoring so people could cheat a bit if they wanted. Place was still right out of the 60s.

In retrospect this was a lot more hazardous than I thought at the time.

[aggressivemusick]

Stupid clutch on the distributor was a bitch. I was glad we went to 82-70's

[ke3wh]

most houses have full time staff on hand. maintenance is usually done on as needed basis since most large houses do not have much down time.

[ckyguy1]

that's not a pulley. It's a spring loaded clutch for the distributor. It's supposed to wobble.

[EdmDude]

Speed the video up to 1.1 and you get modern speed 8230 :P

[MVL900]

On these old machines,we only use no more than 19 pins in play.And yes,even on the 8270's & XL's.There is only a few seconds of waiting time,before a new rack of pins is ready to go.

[bowlinguy6969]

i work at a bowling alley were we have the 82-30's and we have literally thousands of feet of new distributed belt, just laying around. and they never break.

[pugsty]

This looks like a maintenance nightmare. Is there always someone back there? How often is everything greased and adjusted?