How to choose tablet press machine
Writer： admin Time：2021-12-02 15:59 Browse：℃
Tablet is a very common and important dosage in pharmaceutical area. The machine to produce tablet is tablet press machine. Here we summarized 4 advises for choosing tablet press machine.
Buyers always have four misunderstandings while buying tablet press machine. We wanna reveal these misunderstandings and help tablet press buyers to select a more proper one.
Misunderstanding I: the products made from the same material can have same properties whether they are produced by the tablet press in lab or by production-type tablet press.
It seems right but we can list so many reasons to refute it. One thing that must be recognized is that research and development has so wide difference from practical production. And some small changes of the tablet press will lead to potential problems. Most possibly, the tablet press for R&D always runs in much lower speed than that for production. Tablet pressing speed, however, will not only influence tablet hardness, but also cause changes in the process of compression. In this case, some operators tend to increase pressure, which will finally result to mold damage or changed tablet disintegration.
Molds of variable sizes and tablets of different shapes are also causes of problems during pressing. For example, there are two similar tablet press, only differing in that one is equipped with B-type punching mold while the other, with D-type mold. Will the result of their production be the same? Definitely not! Different compression characteristics of these molds can be a key cause for the difference. Besides, tablet press structure, compression speed, compression ratio, tablet shape, compression period time are all factors causing difference between R&D tablet press and production-type tablet press. Buyers who recognize these differences can better overcome problems caused by them while purchasing machines.
Misunderstanding II: buy a high-speed tablet press and produce with it at high speed.
However, practice proves it’s a mistake. Granules for tablet compression are special and each batch of granules has its own required compression ratio. This ratio will determine the production speed and forming speed. If high pressure is needed for production, the compression speed can be relatively decreased or compression ratio be improved. Furthermore, mold size is also an important factor. For example, compression area of D-type mold is larger than that of B-type mold. Running at the same speed, D-type mold tablet press can produce tablets with higher hardness. R&D experience can help operators master conditions of granule and compression ratio and determine tablet press running speed.
Misunderstanding III: the same feeders are equipped on different tablet presses.
Obviously, it’s also a wrong opinion. In fact, different tablet press machine adopts different feeder for material feeding. Compression speed is heavily dependent on material fluidity. Here two kinds of feeding system are introduced:
1) Open feeder: it’s a basic and common feeder. Granules can be gradually fed into mold holes due to their own gravity. Good granule fluidity guarantees low tolerance of tablet weight.
2) Closed feeder: during operation, speed-variable feeder can feed material in two steps. Granules are firstly mechanically fed from hopper to the bin of the feeder. Then granules are fed to the mold holes without a pause so that tablet weight difference can be reduced.
Misunderstanding IV: only technical factors are considered when people buy tablet press.
People will not buy high-price goods only based on their technical specifications. Likewise, tablet press buyers should not take specifications only into account. Tablet installation is not the end of purchase. But professional support of machine suppliers is still needed during machine operation. Pharmaceutical factories always evaluate suppliers and will inspect new machines. With a good supplier, it will cost shorter time for machine inspection so that factories can start production earlier. Besides, good suppliers can provide buyers necessary parts in time. All in all, good reputation and word of mouth, high-quality technical support and timely problem solving can all be reasons for buyers to buy a tablet press from a certain supplier.
