What Is a Tablet Making Press?
The term “tablet-making press” refers to the process of tablet-making, which is widely known in the pharmaceutical industry. The equipment for this tablet-making process is a tablet-making press, also known as a rotary-forming machine.
The powder of the mixed material for tablets is automatically released and fed into the hole of a mortar which is a metal mold. A pair of metal molds called pestles presses the material from above and below to form it into the shape of tablets, which are then taken out as pills.
This process is performed continuously while the machine rotates, enabling mass production of tablets.
Uses of Tablet Making Presses
Tablet-making presses are used for a wide variety of applications, including general tablets used in pharmaceuticals and supplements, confectionery such as candy and gum, cleaning agents, magnets, batteries, and catalysts.
In addition, there is a wide variety of shapes to be formed according to the application, including not only single-layer structures but also multiple-layer structures such as two-layer and three-layer multiple-layer structures, specially shaped products, and chip-in tablets.
Principle of Tablet Making Press
A normal tablet-making press has three processes: filling raw powder, compressing and forming into tablet form, and taking out the product.
In the pharmaceutical and other industries where mass production with high production efficiency is required, rotary tablet-making presses are used because they can perform these processes seamlessly and continuously.
One of the most common problems seen with tablet-making presses in production is what is known as tablet-making press failure, where defective tablets are produced.
This can happen due to an excess or deficiency in the quantity of binder present in the raw material powder. This can lead to issues like lamination, where the intermediate layer of the tablet separates, or picking, where the tablet ingredients adhere to the surface of the pestle. These problems can result in the production of defective products, such as tablets with circular peeling.
Countermeasures against these problems include appropriate control of the material composition ratio of the raw powder, control of the amount of material fed into the mortar, and distribution of the binding agent on the tablet surface.
Furthermore, to facilitate the efficient production of a diverse range of products in small quantities, there is a wide array of tablet-making presses available. These include machines with multifunctional capabilities for tablets of various shapes, high-speed performance models, and those equipped with special containment specifications for tablets that may have toxicity concerns.