Electro-mec brushes off misplaced tablets

Blisterpack feeder manufacturer Electro-mec has developed a solution to help ensure that tablets and capsules lie flush with the blister pocket during the filling operation, thus minimising seal failures and blister rejects.

The company's Orbital Brush features a unique wiping motion that brushes every tablet securely into its pocket regardless of the tablet orientation. The gentle sweeping motion ensures that all incorrectly orientated products are safely guided into the blister forms while product already correctly placed is unaffected.

During the feed cycle, the Orbital Brush pad is lowered towards the web to a position where it just touches any protruding tablets, and is simultaneously swept through 360° while keeping the pad parallel to the web. The direction of the pad is then reversed and at the end of this cycle the pad is lifted back to its starting position.

The Orbital Brush is easily interchangeable between different blister machines, and brush height and speed can be adjusted according to different product or filling requirements. Individual brush pads can also be designed for specific products.

Electro-mec has also launched a new generation of its EMF tablet and capsule blister pack feeder. The new model, the NG, is capable of packing multi-product blisters and features a number of enhancements for even more accurate and faster handling of a wide variety of products, the company says.

The NG has been designed on a modular basis, enabling the machine to be tailored to the precise combinations of web width and draw. Its more compact dimensions mean that up to three individual units can be installed side by side on a single standard bed length blister machine. This allows fast and accurate filling of multi-product blisters, with individual control of each product. In addition, the NG is compatible with continuous motion blister machines.

Other enhancements include remote touch screen control and tooling that is secured without fasteners to comply with cGMP requirements. The NG is also compatible with existing change part tooling and its modular construction allows fast and easy changeovers.