The growing demand for animal medicine, and in particular solid dose form, is putting pressure on the manufacturers as they search for ways to produce tablets in the most productive manner through the use of innovative methods and resources. This can be extremely challenging for those involved in the manufacturing of animal pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals due to the abrasive nature of the formulations found within the tablets for animals. Alex Bunting at I Holland demonstrates the importance that the tooling being used for production is maintained proficiently to help optimise the manufacturing process.
Extract:
‘The Importance of Tooling Maintenance in the Production of Animal Solid Dose’
This growing demand for animal medicine, and in particular solid dose form, is putting pressure on the manufacturers as they search for ways to produce tablets in the most productive manner through the use of innovative methods and resources. This can be extremely challenging for those in the manufacture of animal pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals due to the abrasive nature of the formulations found within the tablets for animals. It is therefore important that the tooling used for production is maintained proficiently to help optimise the manufacturing process.
85% of tablet punch and die problems can be traced back to poor handling and aftercare procedures. This surprising figure highlights the importance of why correctly maintaining tablet tooling and ensuring they are in good working condition will not only reduce tablet press downtime, but also minimise prolific compression problems. Regular maintenance also increases the lifespan of the tooling, therefore, retaining the value and productivity of each set of punches and dies.
Poor Maintenance = Poor Tablets
There are many problems which are a result of badly maintained tooling from poor handling through to insignificant monitoring. One of the most common is sticking and picking. When in an optimum condition the surfaces of a tablet punch face are usually polished to a high mirror finish (the exception to this are textured finishes designed to alleviate specific sticking issues). This finish can deteriorate over a period of time due to the continuous compaction of granules. This deterioration can lead to tabletting defects like sticking which occurs from the adhesion of the granule to the worn uneven finish. This degradation in the tool’s surface can be identified during proper assessment and rectified by cleaning granule from the surface and through effective polishing. When required light polishing using an automated polishing system is recommended, this should enable a smooth and efficient surface to be maintained thus aiding the reduction of sticking and picking issues.
Click the download button below to read the complete version of ‘The Importance of Tooling Maintenance in the Production of Animal Solid Dose’ by Alex Bunting at I Holland
