# Fusilli die **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187 "2012-03-08T19:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alptraum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@alptraum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alptraum)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/1 "2012-03-08T19:16:13Z")
I’ve been cad-ding for the past days and googling around, with the idea to make a pasta extruder. While a basic approach for extrusion for say - spaghetti - is dead simple, just hollow out the desired-width holes in a disc, I’m not sure how a shape like fusilli is made. My assumption is that 1/3 of a twirl (for fusilli with 3 twirls) exists inside the actual die - but that’s impossible - since such a die would be impossible to machine. So my second guess is that the insides have a different angle (like the ones for elbow macaroni) which extrudes the dough to escape at different speeds. I’d really appreciate pictures or schematics, but i can’t find anything of use. tl;dr - why is fusilli twirled and simply not an Y? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/2 "2012-03-08T19:29:51Z")
Generally, spiraled shapes (like springs), are extruded straight, then given a twist by having the extruded material hit a deflector as it exits the orifice. Here’s a video of a spring machine in action: [MAX FS50 CNC spring forming machine - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwY-RT4DBxY) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/3 "2012-03-08T19:49:50Z")
I may be misunderstanding you’re asking, but if you google “pasta extruder,” you’ll see a bunch of examples. ---
**Author:** ![alptraum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@alptraum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alptraum)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/4 "2012-03-08T19:54:36Z")
beowulff: i see, but i’m not sure how that would apply to the extrusion head. fusilli always comes out “twirling”, so if there’s a “deflector”, it’s on the inside? @tom: what makes fusilli pasta twist inside the die, and not simply come out as a long Y? (how is the die designed to impart the twist?) found this, can’t see a lot inside though: [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://imgur.com/BnF8R) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/5 "2012-03-08T20:38:16Z")
It’s simpler than you might think: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VNwL8SOWSpA/maxresdefault.jpg "Fusili Making in Gragnano") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNwL8SOWSpA) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/6 "2012-03-08T20:46:40Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s simpler than you might think: > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNwL8SOWSpA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNwL8SOWSpA) That’s fusilli col buco and likely isn’t what the OP is aiming for. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TXtm_eNaIwQ/hqdefault.jpg "Dolly Mini P3 - Pasta Machine 6kg/h") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXtm_eNaIwQ) ---
**Author:** ![alptraum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@alptraum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alptraum)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/7 "2012-03-08T20:48:58Z")
Neat. I’m going to try that one of these days, but I’m still curious about spiral extrusions. I’m specifically talking about [these](http://foodyvino.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/fusilli1.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/8 "2012-03-08T20:57:10Z")
The shape of the hole (aided by the elasticity of the dough) affects the properties of the extruded section - if you extrude through a curved slot, for example, there is a tendency for the dough to extrude faster at the centre of the arc than the ends - and so it curls into shell shapes. If you have a slot that’s Y-shaped, but with each of the arms curved in the same way, this imparts a twist. You can just about see it in this video - from about the 1:30 mark: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TXtm_eNaIwQ/hqdefault.jpg "Dolly Mini P3 - Pasta Machine 6kg/h") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXtm_eNaIwQ) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/9 "2012-03-08T20:58:23Z")
I suspect the pasta dough behind the dies is being pushed forward with a twisting motion (it’s in a cylinder that is being rotated on its central axis) and the dough is sticky enough that the twist continues as it’s extruded. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/10 "2012-03-08T21:00:24Z")
I’m glad that there are good answers coming. The chances of someone knowing this is a one in a million shot. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/11 "2012-03-08T21:03:04Z")
You mean [like this?](http://www.getprice.com.au/images/uploadimg/996/_1_AT910010.jpg) It seems to be in several parts. And there seems to be funnels at the ends of the “Y” which would halp make it extrude faster, imparting the twist. eta: That’s on the image the OP mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![alptraum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@alptraum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alptraum)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/12 "2012-03-08T21:03:37Z")
I know the video, but there’s still no info on the insides of the die. so you’re saying the die is simply cut in the Y shape, and there are no wedges inside (ie, the inside has exactly the same shape as the outside), and this is all done by the shape? or, I don’t see what you’re referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/13 "2012-03-08T22:13:48Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’m glad that there are good answers coming. The chances of someone knowing this is a one in a million shot. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fusilli-die/615187/14 "2012-03-08T23:03:53Z")
Do you have kids? Do they have one of [these](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wWviPa3VFRE/TAE4QhRzQ3I/AAAAAAAAAN8/JFczePLO5WM/s1600/Play+Doh.jpg)? You could maybe see if you can get a twist with the play-doh, or push some through the die while twisting it yourself to see what the result is. You can always try next with some pasta dough. I think rotating the dough while pushing through the Y-shape should do it, but I’ve never made pasta. Let us know what you figure out - this is interesting!