-
Upper Punch
: The upper punch in the process is actually raised in and
out of the die.
-
Lower Punch
: The lower punch remains within the bore of the die during
the entire cycle.
-
Die : The
punches move within the die to form the compression chamber
within which the tablet is formed.
-
Turret : The
punches and dies are contained within the turret of the
machine, and it is this which rotates beneath the feed,
compression and ejection elements of the machine.
-
Station :
A station represents each unit of die, upper punch and lower
punch. The number of stations will vary from machine to
machine and determine the number of tablets that can be
produced with each full turn of the turret.
-
Cam Tracks
: These lift and lower both upper and lower punches as required
for each stage.
-
Punch Guides
: Holds both upper and lower punches in correct alignment.
-
Cycle : The cycle represents the full progression of fill,
compression and ejection which produces a tablet. Normally
the number of cycle will be one per rotation of the turret.
Some machines however have two or more cycle per rotation,
in which case for every rotation of the turret the number
of tablets produced will be the number of cycle multiplied
by the number of stations. Obviously combining more cycles
with more stations produces a higher output per machine
revolution.
-
Direction of Rotation : On this diagram the tablets progresses
from start to finish from the left to the right on an
actual machine this will be determined by the direction
in which the entire turret rotates in relation to the
fixed item such as the fill hopper pre-compressions and
compression rollers etc. It is important to note that
this direction may vary from machine to machine but as
a general rule Indian, British and American machines rotate
in a clockwise direction whilst European machines rotate
anticlockwise.
