Equipment is critical to producing quality and efficient products in the pharma manufacturing process. Above all, their ability to create products of desired therapeutic effects largely depends on their suitability with the product's physical and chemical characteristics.
Equipment not selected according to the desired product characteristics can damage the reputation and impact of well-researched and formulary-developed drugs.
Before purchasing equipment for your process or application, you must know your requirements and determine what functions you want in your specific equipment. It helps narrow choices and selects an optimum machine from the pool of available machines.
In this article, we will discuss how to select a tablet press machine, but first, what is a tablet press machine?
Introduction to tablet press machine
The tablet press machine is utilized in the Oral Solid department to produce tablets from powder. It compresses the powder in the tablet shape of the desired physical characteristics and ejects it from the machine's output section.
The main machine parts consist of Turret, Compression Rollers, Dies and Punches. Additional components are also present to facilitate the machine's functioning.
A turret is a large circular structure that rotates in a circular direction during machine operation. It houses dies & pairs of punches in the upper and lower positions. Dies are small-shaped metallic components that rest in the rotating turret, and powder (being compressed) is filled in them. The number of dies depends on the machine configuration. Two pouches are installed for each die - upper and lower punch. Punches are long metallic structures that compress powder from above and below.
The compression roller presses the punches from above and below to exert force on the punches; then, the cumulative function of dies, punches, and compression roller determines the physical characteristics of the tablet.
Like every pharma product machine, they are designed and configured to suit individual product requirements, achieved by implementing specialized functions. This selection depends on the product requirements for which a tablet press machine is being purchased.
Importance of correctly selecting tablet press machine
Let's discuss why it is necessary to choose the appropriate tablet press machine for your applications.
Fail to achieve proper product characteristics
The table's physical characteristics are vital to a tablet's correct functioning and therapeutic effect. Its size, shape and hardness determine the efficacy of a pharma tablet product, which in turn is dependent on the machine's performance and how well the machine can produce tables of desired characteristics.
If the correct tablet press machine is not selected, the machine will fail to incorporate the desired physical characteristics into the tablets. Examples include shape and weight, which are vital to the success of a tablet drug product.
The, the overall result of machine mismatch will be the inability of a tablet to deliver the required therapeutic effects. The tablet's properties will fail to provide the label claim, and as a result, the drug product will become useless, making it a loss for the pharma drug manufacturer.
Inefficient utilization of machine resources
Selecting out of specification tablet press machine makes it over or under operation. It can either waste precious resources to run the machine, or the machine will produce a product well below the required quality and product characteristics.
Tablet press machines require a handful of resources to operate. The volume of these resources is fixed and cannot be altered. If the machine selected is above the actual product requirement, the cost of utilities and different resources will exceed the total productivity of the machine, making it a non-profit option.
On the other hand, if the tablet press selected is far below various requirements, it wil...
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