[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” css=”.vc_custom_1593707670380{padding-top: 300px !important;padding-bottom: 220px !important;background: #a3a3a3 url(https://steq.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bANNER.png?id=5002) !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Tablet Dedusters and Their Importance in the Tablet Production Process
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”sandy_brown” border_width=”3″ el_width=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1564073259210{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1593708818355{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]This article was originally published on the Tablets & Capsules website – which specializes in technical publications for those who formulate, manufacture or package solid dosage forms. In each new publication, an expert answers questions from readers sent to the newsroom. The president of Krämer USA, Andre Petric, is the one who answered questions about the current technology of Tablet Dedusters and their importance in the tablet production process.
How can a tablet deduster improve my production process?
The tablet deduster, located next to the press, plays a very important, but sometimes overlooked, role in the tablet manufacturing process. During compression of formulations in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical tablets, sometimes the powder adheres to the tablets as they leave the press. In addition, dust in the space between the punch tip and the die hole wall can form burrs: this is exactly where a deduster acts.
Dust removal
Tablet deduster inefficiency is often the cause when dust invades downstream processes. A properly functioning deduster not only gently transports the tablets at the same speed as the compressor output, but also cleans them properly. Suppliers offer three basic types of tablet dedusters: horizontal, convey down, and convey up. They all consist of a perforated or sieved surface that vibrates or oscillates, shaking the tablets and displacing dust from their surfaces as it transmits them forward, while a collection system provides a vacuum to keep the dust away. To effectively clean tablets, the conveyor must be functioning properly and the dust collection system must have sufficient air pressure and volume.
Improved operations
Dusts and burrs from formulations can lead to unwanted dust in tablet processing and packaging equipment. Removing dust as the tablets leave the compressor allows these operations to run more efficiently and with less maintenance.
Enhancing the coating of tablets
Removing dust from tablets results in better quality and gloss in tablet coatings. Burr removal also improves the quality of the coating, providing a smoother appearance to the tablets and making them less irritating for patients to swallow.
Reducing hazards
Dust that goes into the compression room can be hazardous to the health of operators if it is left in the air. Airborne dust can also cause cleanliness issues in the compression room, requiring increased cleaning and maintenance. If the area around the compressor is too dusty, operators can bring the dust into the aisles, causing cross-contamination, requiring additional cleaning, and forcing workers to wear additional personal protective equipment (PPE). Dust can also go into the air when operators dump the tablets that will go through the packaging processes.
Operation of packaging equipment
Powder can cause a lot of problems for packaging equipment by interfering with sensors and dosing mechanisms, causing the machine to malfunction. These failures can reduce efficiency, increase downtime and maintenance, and result in rejected medications. Dust can also cause bottle and blister pack seals to fail, causing labels to not attach properly.
Metal Detection
Vertical or upward conveying tablet dedusters can facilitate the use of metal detectors in the press, separating tablets containing metal particles dispersed during the production flow. The sensitivity of the metal detector is a function that depends on the distance between the tablet passing through the detector and the mouthpiece opening. The larger the aperture, the farther the tablet is from the metal detector. Metal detectors with large apertures may not detect small pieces of metal in a tablet, such as pieces of ferrous metal with diameters of 0.3 mm. A metal detector with a 1.5-inch aperture connected to the compressor will be much more sensitive than one in another location, such as in the package, where the nozzle can reach 5 inches or more. Attached to the press, the detector can pick up all contaminated tablets, but in packaging machines, the sensor will be too far away to detect a small piece of metal, and can only detect large contaminants, such as a screw in a bottle, for example. Metal particles in the tablets can be a sign of a tooling problem that the customer must address before the process discards too many tablets. By addressing the problem early and at the source, it can minimize product loss, improve compressor performance, and prevent catastrophic failure that requires a lot of downtime.
Material handling
Vertical dedusters not only dump the tablets, but also transport them upwards, allowing the use of larger tablet collection containers, providing better ergonomics for operators, as well as efficient handling, storage and transportation of the drugs to the packaging processes.
Check out the original article in https://www.tabletscapsules.com/enews_tc/2020/issues/tcnews_05_11_20expert.html
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4994″ img_size=”full” css=”.vc_custom_1593707021914{margin-top: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1593701342741{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]Andre Petric is President of Krämer US, Allendale, NJ. The company is a pioneer in the manufacture of Tablet Dedusters and is exclusively represented by STEQ in Brazil. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”3″ element_width=”12″ gap=”15″ item=”958″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1593708803858-b73b66e2-ea67-7″ taxonomies=”4, 1, 5, 3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
