What is a pill press? It is a pharmaceutical machine with specific functions. It smashes powder into solid pills first. Then it ejects the pills from the machine. Finally, it collects the ejected pills for later use.
As with any other large machine, the pill press has more to it than what you see at first glance. It has inner structures that work together smoothly. Each part plays a key role in the whole process. You can’t fully understand it just by looking at its outer appearance.
Definition of Tablet Press Machine
A pill press, also named a tablet press, is a special mechanical device. Its main job is to squeeze powder material into tablets. It is not limited to one type of product. It can be used to produce candies, mooncakes, and pharmaceutical pills too.
People also call it a tablet compression machine or a tablet punching machine. From these other names, you can easily tell its main action. It does compress or punch powder to turn it into tablets. This makes its function very clear to anyone learning about it.
To meet the demand for mass production of pills or other specific goods, a pill press is designed with special parts. It often has one or several dies installed inside. These dies are used to transfer the powder and the finished tablets. So, its final definition can be described more accurately. It is “an electrical machine used to compress powder into designed-shaped pills and transfer the pills to the next production stage”.
Types of Tableting Machines
What is a pill press when it comes to different types? Tableting machines can be divided into several categories. This division is based on their different features. Each category has its own unique uses and characteristics.
Single-punch tablet presses, flower-basket tablet presses, and rotary tablet presses are three common types. These three types are widely used in different fields. Each has its own set of details that make it suitable for specific tasks. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
1) Single-punch Tablet Press
The TDP series is a well-known type of single-punch tablet press machine. It is recognized by many users in related industries. This series has become a common choice for certain production needs. It has features that fit specific working scenarios.
Single-punch tablet presses are commonly used to make a small number of tablets. They are not designed for large-scale production. Most of them are kept in laboratories for various purposes. Labs use them to make different kinds of pills, like calcium pills, sugar tablets, and pharmaceutical pills.
In other words, they are a favorite among medical investigators. Medical investigators often need small batches of pills for research. These machines can meet that need perfectly. They help investigators carry out their research work smoothly.
For most users, single-punch tablet presses have many benefits. They are simple to use, even for people with basic operation skills. They are also easy to carry, which is convenient for moving them around. They can meet most demands of daily use in small-scale settings.
Their power source can be electricity, which is easy to access. Some of these presses also support manual operation. If you choose manual operation, you need to shake the handle. This gives users more flexibility in how they use the machine.
After being fixed on the operation desk, the machine is ready for use. When users want to use it, they just need to plug it in. Although it needs a frequent check to ensure it works well, there’s good news. If the oil process is done properly during changing shifts, the machine won’t have many problems.
However, this press has a clear limitation. It can only use one die at a time. This affects its efficiency in certain situations. When users need to make several differently shaped pills, this becomes a big issue. Obviously, a single-punch tablet press is not a good option in that case.
Besides, the pill press has another drawback. It would brush away the sprayed powder during operation. When facing mass production, this leads to a huge waste of raw materials. That’s a major concern for users who need to produce large quantities.
2) Rotary Tablet Press
Rotary tablet presses can be further divided into sub-types. The division is based on different factors. These factors include the speed of rotation, the automatic degree, and the types of products they make. The sub-types are sub-high-speed rotary tablet presses, fully automatic high-speed tablet presses, and rotary core-spun tablet presses.
Rotary tablet presses are quite different from single-punch ones. They are larger in size, which makes them suitable for bigger production spaces. They are also faster in compressing and transferring pills. This speed gives them an advantage in mass production.
Their complex structures are designed for specific purposes. These structures make it possible for the machines to move smoothly and stably. The pressure adjustment in these machines is synchronous. This synchronization ensures the quality of the produced pills.
Most pharmaceutical factories use rotary tablet presses in their production. Pharmaceutical factories often need to produce large amounts of pills. These machines can meet that high-demand production need. They have become an important part of pharmaceutical production lines.
Compared to single-punch ones, rotary tablet presses are more efficient in manufacturing. They can produce more pills in the same amount of time. This higher efficiency helps factories increase their production output. It also helps reduce the time needed for production.
The machine is equipped with a powder suction box. This box is an important part for reducing waste. The dust generated during operation will be absorbed by the suction nozzle. This absorption helps avoid sticking and blockage in the machine.
Because the dust is absorbed, the raw materials can be recycled for reuse. This recycling is very meaningful for the mass production of pills. It helps reduce raw material waste and lower production costs.
Parts of Tablet Machines
We can divide the tablet machine into three main parts. These parts work together to complete the pill-making process. The three parts are the transmission part, the pressurizing part, and the weighing part. Each part has its own specific functions.
Transmission Part
The transmission part is made up of two small parts. These two parts work in a coordinated way. The first part is the feeder. The feeder ejects preprocessed granular material into the dies. It ensures the material is sent to the right place.
The second part is the tail over the die. This tail has a specific role. It limits the amount of mixture in every die. After the material is in the dies, the dies will carry it to the last station. This moves the process forward step by step.
Pressurizing Part
The pressurizing part is the most essential one among the three parts. Its function is crucial for making solid pills. The pressure mechanisms in this part are also known as punches. These punches are arranged symmetrically in the machine.
The upper punches are forced to squeeze the lower punches. This force comes from two sets of rolls. The two sets of rolls are the pre-compression rolls and the main compression rolls. They work together to apply the right amount of pressure.
Along with four sets of cams, the punches can move up and down. This up-and-down movement helps in two key steps. It compresses the material into pills and ejects the finished pills. This movement is well-coordinated to ensure smooth operation.
Weighing Part
The weighing part is composed of two sections. Each section is responsible for a part of the weighing process. The first section is the weight adjustment ramp. This ramp helps the dies to hold enough granular material inside. It ensures each die has the right amount of material.
The second section is the weight control unit. This unit has an important task. It helps to keep the weight of the material in each die the same. This consistency in weight ensures that all the produced pills have the same size and quality.
Working Principle of Tablet Press Machines
Maybe some readers think the working principle of tablet press machines is simple. They might think it’s just compressing powder into tablets. But that’s not exactly right. There’s more to the process than just compression. The powder of raw material can harm the tablet press if not handled properly.
The first step in the working principle is to preprocess the raw material. This step is necessary to protect the machine. As we can imagine, if we just compress the powder directly, it will remain powder. So, we need excipients to help the active ingredients. These excipients turn the active ingredients into small granules. This process of turning powder into granules is called granulation.
Granulation doesn’t happen in the same way for all materials. It takes place inside a fluid bed granulator or a mixer. The choice between the two depends on the type of material being processed. After the material is mixed thoroughly, the powder changes. It becomes granules that are big enough to hold each other together after compression.
After granulation, the granules are not yet ready for compression. There are more steps to take. In the next step, we put all the ingredients inside some kind of liquid. This liquid helps in further processing. To remove the impurities from the mixture, we need another step. The next step is to put the mixture into a drying machine. The drying machine gets rid of the liquid and leaves the purified mixture.
The purified mixture then goes into the pill press. This is where the compression process starts. The fill cam in the machine has a specific job. It allows the lower punch to move down. This downward movement makes room for the mixture to enter the die.
The feeder then pours the mixture into the dies. Often, the machine will blend the mixture again. This re-blending makes sure the mixture is perfectly mixed. The weight control unit also plays a role here. It keeps all the mixtures in different die cavities at the same weight. This ensures consistency in the final pills.
As the dies move further along the production line, the pre-compression rolls start to work. They force the upper punches to give a little pressure to the mixed material. This is a preliminary compression step. Then, the main compression rolls take over. They compress the mixture into solid pills. The two-step compression is designed for a specific purpose. It aims to make the tablets compress evenly, which improves their quality.
After compression, the upper lifting cam comes into action. It drives the upper punches up. At the same time, the ejection cam works too. It pushes the compressed tablets out to the surface of the dies. The scrapper then does its job. It collects the pills from the die surface. With that, the whole pill-making process is done.
Conclusion
These are just some of the main features and functions of pill presses. There are more details that could be explored. As science and technology develop rapidly, the field of pill presses is changing too. A growing share of advanced pill presses will come out in the future. These advanced machines will have better performance and more functions.
The revolution of the tablet press will continue to happen. It will keep up with the latest technological advancements. This revolution is closely linked to the pharmaceutical industry. Just as the pharmaceutical industry has a bright future, the tablet press will also have a promising future. It will play an even more important role in the production of pharmaceutical products and other related goods.