Dust removal equipment uses charged ions
AutoPak Engineering Corporation, of Puerto Rico, has developed 'vito': dust removal equipment that uses electrically charged ions to detach dust particles from tablets and capsules after forming.
AutoPak Engineering Corporation, of Puerto Rico, has developed 'vito': dust removal equipment that uses electrically charged ions to detach dust particles from tablets and capsules after forming.
'We use an air-assisted static eliminator that employs a gentle airflow to deliver a balanced level of positive and negative ions to all tablet and capsule surfaces,' says Ignacio Munoz-Guerra, general director for AutoPak Engineering. 'In addition to preventing dust particles from clinging to tablet surfaces, the air flow blows the neutralised dust to the collecting system, leaving the product clean and dust free.'
The vito cleaning chamber is based on a helicoidally shaped brush using conductive hairs and core. It uses vertical movement and a gentle brush scuffing action to liberate the attached dust particles from the product. The induced electrically charged ion airflow then neutralises the dust particles, preventing them from sticking to other products or to the brush itself. The externally attached vacuum system removes the dust particles from the cleaning chamber.
vito features a completely separate and sealed power transmission chamber. The deduster column has no crevices at any point or on its base: it is flush with the seals. Tri-clamp joints are used in all parts that must be disassembled for cleaning, and the deduster cleaning chamber is made from mirror finish stainless steel.
The system offers a choice of dedicated or non-dedicated brushes. Other features of vito are its broken tablet separation capability and its communication signals. Without the use of any external components, vito discharges broken tablets into the vacuum exhaust as complete tablets exit through the top.
AutoPak has also added two electrical dry contacts on the unit: one to start the deduster upon an external signal (tablet press, etc.), another to signal that the unit is in operation (alarms, control feedback, etc.). vito incorporates the capability to include a metal detector in its footprint and the unit includes a complete validation package at no additional cost.