Basic Construction

• Most small pasta machines are made of chrome-plated steel. They are mechanically simple devices, consisting of a frame with four sturdy legs supporting a pair of stainless-steel rollers. The rollers are turned by a hand-operated crank, with a separate electric motor available from most manufacturers as an option. A rotary dial with several settings allows the user to adjust the gap between the rollers, which determines how thinly the pasta will be compressed. The machine typically attaches to the work surface with a screw-on "C" clamp.
  
  

Basic Operation

• To produce pasta, the machine is first clamped firmly to the work surface. The cook then sets the machine's rollers to the widest setting and runs a ball of prepared dough through it. The resulting thick sheet of dough is folded and passed through the machine again, anywhere from two to five times. After this the dough is well kneaded, and the cook gradually narrows the gap between the rollers. The dough becomes longer and thinner as it is rolled. Most machines have five thickness settings.
  
  

The Cutter

• Most brands of home pasta machines include a pasta cutter, which mounts to the rear of the main pasta machine. This consists usually of two sets of interlocking rollers, one wider than the other. Each pair of rollers has its own socket for the machine's crank. The cook chooses either the wide setting, for fettuccine, or the narrow setting, for tagliatelle. The cook feeds in the sheet of pasta with one hand, and turns the crank with the other. The dough is caught between the interlocking rollers, which act like so many scissors to cut the dough.
  
  

Accessories

• There are several accessories available for home pasta machines. One of the most widely used is the optional motor attachment. This fits to the side of the machine, where the hand crank would normally be attached, and plugs into the nearest electrical outlet. Other popular accessories include a compact tray and small rolling pin for making ravioli by hand, or a hopper that mounts to the top of the pasta machine and feeds sheets of pasta and their filling as it is cranked, to achieve the same purpose more quickly.
  
  

Extruding Machines

• Most home pasta machines are designed to produce sheets of pasta and simple flat shapes, which are the most common varieties of homemade pasta. However, a few manufacturers also produce small pasta extruders for home use. These are machines which force the pasta dough through a cut die, creating spaghetti and other specialized shapes that cannot be made with flat pasta. Extruding machines are not as common as the roller type.