Pharmaceutical Processing and Packaging Machines

Common problems include material blockages where sticky, poor flowing materials will not discharge from an intermediate bulk container (IBC). Segregation of blended material is another common problem. Segregation can be caused during the discharge from the IBC. It can also occur after discharge from the IBC when product is allowed to fall through long chutes in free fall, and displaced air from below is forced back up the chute and separates the finer particles from the coarser particles. Adherence to ATEX (explosive atmospheres) standards is also required.
 

Processing vessels need to be of a high quality construction and are widely used by the food and processing industries. A selection of sizes, specifications and agitator combinations are available to suit most needs.

Stainless steel is used for all fabricated parts to meet industry requirements.

Pressurised jackets for heating by steam or water facilitate boiling, cooking, melting, dispersion and mixing of products. Vessels can also be equipped for oil heating or water cooling.
 

Container blending has long been established as the most efficient method of blending granules and powders in the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Reduced loading and unloading times, reduced cleaning time of both machinery and room, improved containment and batch integrity have established IBC blending as the pharmaceutical industry's technology of choice.

The cleaning of the process machines will be mainly carried out by CIP (Clean In Place) systems. Depending on the sensitivity of the product being produced, the equipment may be cleaned aseptically, thereby eliminating any possible contamination from outside.

Sterilising machines can also be called Autoclaves and Retorts. The three main types of sterilising system are static, rotary and pilot or laboratory systems.

The general features of sterilising machines are:

• Steam-Water spray mix
• Top shower for cans and glass jars, plus side shower for pouches and trays
• Indirect cooling system by heat exchanger to allow water recovery
• All vessel, pipe work and valves and heat exchanger in stainless steel materials
• Insulated shell with mirror polished stainless steel cladding
• Programmatic Logic Controller (PLC) with modem connection allows remote troubleshooting and servicing
• Process monitoring in the operator interface with complete information on temperature, pressure, time and flow
• Easy product recipe setup with password protected access
• Optimum heat distribution (+/-0,5 ºC)
• Accurate pressure control (+/- 0,05 bar)

Rotary machines will use inverter drives for accurate control during the sterilising process. There is also associated equipment such as basket trolleys and automatic loading systems available to fully automate the sterilising process of product.
 

Capsule filling machines fill small capsules. The size of the machines vary from single station machine which are ideal for R & D laboratories, clinical trials, small batch outputs and special production runs to semi-automatic machines that have an output of 50 to 300 capsules per cycle.

Processing lines will always contain the basic requirements of filling, labelling, packing and palletising. Incorporated into the processing lines will be inspection at varying stages, plus associated services such as cleaning.
 

The compressed tablet is the most popular way of supplying dosages. Tablets can be made into virtually any shape, but the most common are round or oval shapes that are easy for a patient to swallow.

It is important that, during the tablet pressing process, all ingredients are dry and are of a uniform grain size. There are two basic techniques used to prepare powders for granulation into tablets; wet granulation and dry granulation. Powders that are mixed well don't require granulation and, therefore, can be compressed into a tablet by direct compression.

Tablet coating is the last stage and is carried out to protect the tablet from temperature and humidity and to hide the taste. The most common forms of tablet coating are sugar and film coating.