Tablet Tester Reduces Dust Collection

The iSeries In-Process Control (IPC) Tablet Tester from Pharma Technology Inc. (PTI) automates sampling and testing of tablets. The module offers analysis capabilities for weight, thickness, diameter, and hardness.

Within the tester, sample tablets are tested for each parameter against preprogrammed recipes that include T1, T2, and out-of-plausibility values; all results and statistics are displayed on a touchscreen and automatically printed onto a detailed report. The tester can be integrated with tablet presses or advanced manufacturing execution systems.

The iSeries IPC Tablet Tester separates dust or tablet fragments from the production stream, allowing for uninterrupted manufacturing. The module’s testing area is segregated from its technical housing, providing no gap or crevice for possible product ingress in the power transmission compartment. In addition, its star wheel tablet distributor is suspended on lugs rather than screws, a feature that eliminates the commonplace issue of broken tablets getting trapped under screwing mechanisms.

During the testing process, tablets are transferred from the tablet press chute via vacuum to a reception bowl with a high-efficiency particulate air filter on top. A two-mm stainless steel filter incorporated into the reception bowl’s vacuum connection separates residual dust/debris from tablets prior to testing. A pinch valve between the reception bowl and tester only opens once the reception bowl is clean and free of residual dust.

A perforated, oscillating distribution arm helps eliminate residual dust and fragments by sieving them onto a fixed reject slide chute, preventing unwanted material from landing onto the star wheel that distributes tablets individually to instruments. A perforated plate at the tablet landing point further reduces the possibility of dust or broken tablets migrating onto instruments or getting trapped under star wheel branches.

Source: PTI