Die filling in rotary tablet presses

Multi-scale modeling of the different mechanisms of the die filling in rotary tablet presses

Sponsor: DFG

Contact person: Lars Wagner

Summary of the overall project:

Tableting is used in various industries. For all applications, the complete and consistent filling of the dies is a quality-determining process step in tableting. For pharmaceutical tablets in particular, the consistency of their mass, which influences the dosage of the active ingredient, is of great importance. Accordingly, the process of die filling in rotary presses, which are used for the industrial production of tablets, should be understood in depth and corresponding models for prediction should be developed, which enable the setting of favorable process parameters for complete and constant filling. The aim of the research work is to quantitatively predict the filled powder mass and its fluctuation with certain process parameters for different filling systems and filling principles using only a few measurements of the powder properties that are as simple as possible. With regard to industrial application, the predictability of the model should apply to tablet presses of different scales.

Goals and tasks of iPAT:

• Identification of measurement methods to determine relevant powder characteristics as input parameters for the models
• Modeling of influences of material and machine parameters on filling results of powders with different flow properties
• Differentiation of gravimetrically and suction-driven parts of filled volume flows
• Cross-scale validity of the models for rotary presses on an industrial scale

Abb.: X3, XL400 und XT600 from KORSCH AG