Pharma Technology Inc. (PTI) will introduce its new standalone iSeries In-Process Control (IPC) Tablet Tester at Booth 2671. Designed for automated sampling and testing of tablets, the module offers analysis capabilities for weight, thickness, diameter and hardness, in a compact, OEB 3 containment design.   

Sample tablets are tested for each parameter against pre-programmed recipes which include T1, T2 and out of plausibility values. All results and statistics are displayed on a touchscreen and automatically printed onto a detailed PDF report. The tester can be integrated with tablet presses or advanced Manufacturing Execution Systems.
 
The iSeries IPC Tablet Tester dust mitigation features strict separation of dust or tablet fragments from the production stream. The module’s testing area is segregated from its technical housing, providing no gap or crevice for possible product ingress in the power transmission compartment.  Also, its star wheel tablet distributor is suspended on lugs rather than screwed to its base, a feature designed to eliminate the issue of broken tablets getting trapped under screwing mechanisms.

In the operation of the iSeries IPC Tablet Tester, tablets are transferred from the tablet press chute via vacuum (coupled to a Venturi system if needed for double-sided presses) to a reception bowl with a HEPA filter on top, avoiding the release of any residual dust into the room, according to the company. A two-millimeter stainless steel filter incorporated into the reception bowl’s vacuum connection separates residual dust/debris from tablets prior to testing.  A pinch valve between the reception bowl and tester only opens once the reception bowl is clean and free of residual dust.

Next, a perforated oscillating distribution arm helps eliminate residual dust and fragments by sieving them onto a fixed reject slide chute, preventing unwanted material from landing onto the star wheel that distributes tablets individually to instruments.