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The
Tabletting Process
Introduction
Compressing powder or granule into a tablet is one of the
simplest and oldest ways of forming a product known to man.
From the earliest days, it has been used to make transportation
and storage easier, as well as being an ideal way to measure
and ensure that the correct volume of the product was being
supplied. As industrialization has taken over, the process
of tabletting has been applied to an even greater range of
products from soaps, to confectionary and pharmaceutical tablets.
In pharmaceutical particularly, the tablets tamper proof construction
and the absence of any materials superfluous to the dosage
: such as the gelatin used to make capsules : has made it
an ideal choice.
As technology has advanced, however, it has become increasingly
difficult to actually see the tabletting process at work through
the ever more complex machines used. In spite of this the
basic principle : the tabletting cycle : remains exactly the
same.
It is broken down
into three stages;
- Fill
: where the volume of granule is measured out.
- Compression
: where pressure is applied to form the granule into a solid.
- Ejection
: where the tablet is ejected ready for the next tablet
to be formed.
The entire process then
starts again and continues until desired number of tablets
are produced.
General
Definitions
Part of the machine
Punch Pressure Guide
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