Tablets & Capsules

TC0515

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D 16 May 2015 Tablets & Capsules feeding Accurately and safely dispensing pharmaceutical and high-value powders with an automated loss-in-weight feeder Sharon Nowak Coperion K-Tron This article explains how an automated loss-in-weight feeder can accurately and safely dispense pharmaceutical and other high-value powders in continuous feeding and batching appli- cations, eliminating the dangers and inefficiencies of conven- tional manual loading. ifficult-to-handle, toxic, and/or highly reactive powder ingredients are regularly used in chemical and pharmaceu- tical processes, yet dispensing them into blenders, granu- lators, extruders, reactors, or other process vessels presents major challenges: The powders must be dispensed accu- rately to meet process or batch set-points, and they must be fully contained during the process to protect workers. A good way to overcome the challenges of dispensing these tough-to-handle powders is to select an automated loss-in-weight (LIW) feeder with high-accuracy load cells, advanced controls, and a contained, easy-to-clean feeding device. By working with the supplier to choose a feeder that has these components and is suited to your powder's characteristics, your total batch size, the pro - cess's upstream and downstream equipment, and your application's other unique requirements, you can ensure that the feeder meets your accuracy and safety goals. Some LIW feeder basics A LIW feeder, as shown in Figure 1, typically consists of a hopper with a feeding device (such as a single- or twin-screw feeder or vibratory feeder), a weight-sensing device with high-speed load cells, and a controller. The feeder can be suspended from a weight-sensing frame mounted with three load cells (Figure 1) or can rest on a platform scale with one load cell. For continuous feeding applications, the operator programs the controller to dis- pense powder at a pre-determined continuous feed rate (set-point), and for a batching application, the operator programs it to dispense a predetermined batch weight within the desired batching time.

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