Triple the tooling life…

Product name & dosage: Pharmaceutical, magnesium oxide

Tablet: Round

Tooling type: D-Type

Press type: PAM Legacy 6100

Problem: Following a local seminar, a customer approached I Holland and informed us that they were experiencing tooling breakages only after a couple of batches. This was due to the very abrasive nature of the granule for magnesium oxide tablets. It was particularly prominent around the edges of the tooling and typically tooling sets would only last 30 batches. Despite trying many alternatives from different suppliers, none offered any improvement. 

Solution: I Holland suggested a trial set using PharmaGrade HPG-P tooling with PharmaCote RS and PharmaGrade HPG-TC dies. Following this, they elected to try some sample station sets and proceeded to run trials with the recommended material and coating.

Success: With the use of our specialised tool coatings and steels, specifically selected for this customer and their problems, the customer was able to at least triple the tooling life and reached 88 batches without any problems. Subsequently, they have ordered a full set of punches and dies and are looking forward to non-abrasive production.