Pharmaceutical Tablets

Tablet handling is less about moving a bulk solid and more about protecting a finished dosage form that has to arrive intact, clean and unambiguously identified.

Mechanical damage between press and blister

Chipping and edge wear come from impact and from tablet-on-tablet abrasion in long chutes.

• Spiral let-down tubes rather than straight vertical drops.
• Short, gently inclined transfers with no abrupt changes of direction.
• Controlled bed depth in containers, since weight on the lowest layer is itself a load.

Friability testing of the specific formulation tells you how much transfer the tablet can take, and that number should drive the layout rather than the available floor space.

Dedusting and dust removal

Fines released at the press stick to tablet surfaces and interfere with coating adhesion and with print quality.

Dedusters and metal detection sit directly after the press for that reason, and the extracted dust is product that may need reconciliation in the batch record.

Containment for potent compounds

Where the active ingredient is highly potent, the handling question changes from product protection to operator protection.

Contained transfer, split butterfly valves and closed sampling keep exposure within the occupational band assigned to the compound, and the containment performance has to be demonstrated rather than assumed.

Traceability and mix-up prevention

Physical segregation is the only robust defense against a mix-up: one product in one line, one batch in one container, with labelling applied before the container leaves the room.

Cleaning between products needs a documented and verified procedure, and the verification is swabbing and analysis rather than a visual check.

Dust explosion and static

Tablet dust and the granulate it comes from are combustible, and dry transfer generates static readily.

Equipotential bonding, grounded conductive components and controlled relative humidity are the usual measures, with collector protection assessed separately.

What to establish before buying equipment

• Friability and hardness of the real tablet, including the coated form.
• Occupational exposure band of the active ingredient.
• Required cleaning validation approach and changeover time.
• Humidity window for core and coating stability.