Tablet presses in the pharmaceutical industry must be reliably supplied with powders or granules. Gentle conveying of the product is a basic requirement. In addition, the product must not segregate, neither in terms of product components nor particle size distribution. Vacuum conveying fulfils these requirements very well, which is why this technology has been used in numerous systems for decades.
The vacuum conveyor can be dismantled very easily for maintenance and cleaning work on a tablet press. The small dimensions and low weight generally facilitate all work on a vacuum conveyor. With a lifting and swivelling column, this work is even easier: the vacuum conveyor is simply swivelled away from the tablet press and lowered. This gives staff free access to the tablet press, and cleaning and maintenance work on the vacuum conveyor can also be carried out very ergonomically.
A current example shows the implementation at a European pharmaceutical company with a double rotary tablet press type FE55 from FETTE Compacting GmbH. The product is conveyed out of containers and fed to the tablet press via two conveyor systems with VOLKMANN type VS 200 vacuum conveyors. The mechanical interfaces and the signal exchange were planned and realised in close coordination between FETTE Compacting and VOLKMANN.
The vacuum conveyors are each attached to a lifting column and can therefore be swivelled away from the tablet conveyors by 180°. The vacuum conveyor is lowered for maintenance by means of electrical height adjustment and then repositioned exactly above the tablet press for production.
A special feature of this production facility is the low ceiling height. The lifting and swivelling column was customised accordingly for this customer. Together with FETTE Compacting, this system was put into operation a few days ago.