Tablets & Capsules

TC0317

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Tablets & Capsules March 2017 33 for their products, and Walsh and his colleagues are running product trials twice a month and making three batches per run. Each batch typically comprises three speed trials and uses three dosing discs, so each is equiva- lent to nine small batches. Murray said Patheon expects to transfer six or seven current products to the GKF 1700. In the meantime, they'll continue being made on the older machine. "It's a challenge logistically so we have to be cre- ative in where we reposition and move machines in order to produce product." At the same time, the company is upgrading its compression operation with new contained tablet presses. "There's a lot of movement of machines happening at the site until we get all of the tech transfers com- plete," Murray said. Once all the prod- ucts are moved to the new machines, the company will decommission the old ones. On track "The machine is wonderful. It has containment. It's super quiet, and it's twice as fast as the machine it replaces," Walsh said. "It's actually a pleasure to run the Bosch in compari- son to the old machine. It's a great atmosphere for working. We're run- ning cleaner and running faster and we're making better capsules. Containment-wise we're at a fraction of the dust that we were before, and compliance-wise we have reports coming from the machine. All the adjustments to the machine are docu- mented and logged, so we signifi- cantly improved compliance within that area as well. Overall it's a valu- able asset on site and it's made a sig- nificant improvement." Walsh said the new machine has more parts, perhaps twice as many as the previous encapsulator, but setup time hasn't i ncreased. " There's almost zero adjustments to make on the machine, so when you put the parts on, there are no alignment issues." It takes about 16 hours to completely clean and dry the new sion-proof. It took a couple of weeks over Christmas break to connect the WIP skid to the site's reverse-osmosis (RO) system, he said. "It wasn't set up to mate with this type of WIP skid sys- tem, so there was a major modification to the RO system in order to get the right amount of water over to the encapsulator when washing is required." In addition, the company had to add a chase to run cables between the main floor and upper level because none of the cables could exceed 15 meters. "There were miles of wires," Walsh said. Installation and qualification took about 2 months, and Bosch personnel fully participated, Murray said. "They were here for 3 weeks for the qualifica- tion, and they were supportive even after they left the site." Startup It's been nearly 2 years since Patheon wrote the URS for the pro- duction capsule filler and after over- coming many challenges, Murray and Walsh are pleased with the installation. "The machine itself is very sophisti- cated technology-wise," Murray said. "Instead of having dials and switches, everything is computerized, including batch reports. On the old machine, you pushed a button to start and stop, but with this machine it's all done at the [human-machine interface]." That took some getting used to. "Because of the level of automation there was an adjustment required with the staff on- site in regards to how to manage this automation." A good deal of learning took place once they started running product trials on the new machine and observed troubleshooting alarms that they hadn't seen during qualification. They also had to decide which fea- tures to use and when. The vacuum system under the dosing area is one example. Walsh said they're still experimenting with it to ensure the vacuum isn't drawing away powder and creating weight variations. As of January, Patheon had six clients interested in using the machine machine between runs, he said. The company expects to begin making commercial products on the GKF 1700 this summer. A first "This machine was a learning expe- rience for Patheon and Bosch because this is the first one to be installed in North America and the second in the world," Murray said. That means some questions aren't easy to answer, such as how long wear parts will last and what accessories Bosch can devise. "It's the first time they're encountering those issues," Murray said. "So there's learning for both of us, and there's mutual benefit." Walsh said he likes how things are going. "The trials went really well as far as weight control and communi- cation and the machine running. It's a beautiful machine and we're very happy." T&C Patheon, Durham, NC. Tel. 978 840 0730 Website: www.patheon.com Bosch Packaging Technology, Minneapolis, MN. Tel. 763 424 4700 Website: www.boschpackaging.com "We're running cleaner and running faster and we're making better capsules." An inside view of the GKF HiProTect 1700. "There's almost zero adjustments to make on the machine," said Nick Walsh, project leader at Patheon. "There are no alignment issues."

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