SOLVING PROBLEMS

Do you experience any of these problems?

I Holland have been solving problems with tablet manufacturers for many years. Our technical punch and die support solves thousands of solid dose production problems around the world every year. Our design engineers work in partnership with all departments involved in tablet design and production from research and development through trial and scale up, they are even available to assist with product transfer.

Sticking

Sticking is one of the most common issues faced by tablet manufacturers. It is the adherence of granules to the punch tip face and die wall during production. Unfortunately, sticking can be caused by a variety of reasons and is not always as clear cut.


Common issues associated with sticking:

  • Tablet weight variation
  • Alters tablet shape
  • Slows down production due to required maintenance
  • Reduced tablet output
  • Causes problems with downstream processes such as coating

I Holland have a variety of solutions to help combat sticking including, TSAR~Predict, anti-stick coatings and steels and more.


Check out our case study with Novartis here.

Picking

Picking, not to be confused with sticking, is when compressed granule has adhered to the detail on the punch tip and results in ‘picking out’ of parts from the tablet face. 

 

Common issues associated with picking:

 

  • Loss of detail to the embossing on the tablet face
  • Tablet weight variation
  • Slows down production due to required maintenance
  • Reduced tablet output
  • Causes problems with downstream processes such as coating

 

Although some solutions that combat sticking can help picking issues, usually sticking and picking are two separate issues. 

Abrasion

Abrasion or wear of tooling is the removal of material that can lead to serious tabletting issues. In most cases, it is due to hard granule being used during the manufacturing process.

 

Tooling wear is not isolated to the punch tip and can occur on the punch barrel, the punch head or inside the die bore. 

 

Common issues associated with abrasion are:

  • Wear of tooling
  • Wear of tablet press parts
  • Tablet weight variation
  • Tablet capping
  • De-lamination
  • Tablet flashing
 

Corrosion

Corrosion is a natural process that creates a gradual destruction of materials due to a chemical reaction. In terms of tablet compaction, this reaction is usually between the granulate and the tooling.

Common issues associated with corrosion include:

  • Damage to the tooling
  • Transfer to tablets
  • Damage to tablet press parts

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