Ideal for pharmaceutical coatings with a very large weight gain

Flexibly adjusting baffles of the Tecpharm 400

Tablet Coater Tecpharm 400

Fluidized Bed Processor VENTILUS® Lab

Romaco celebrates the world premiere of its tablet coating system Tecpharm 400 at interpack. The highly automated technology offers specific advantages for coating with pharmaceutical active ingredients, which are often associated with a significant increase in tablet weight. Additionally, the full-service provider for processing and packaging presents its fluidized bed processor VENTILUS® Lab for laboratory applications.

Tablet Coater Tecpharm 400

The highly automated tablet coater Tecpharm 400 from Romaco Tecpharm specializes in coating active ingredients that lead to a significant increase in product weight. This is often the case with active ingredient combinations containing metformin, which cannot be realized as two-layer tablets due to their size. To ensure swallowability of these medications, the second active ingredient layer is instead sprayed on.

During this process, which lasts several hours and can sometimes take over 20 hours on conventional equipment, the tablets continuously increase in size and weight. As a result, the movement of the tablet bed and the spray conditions inside the drum change continuously. To meet the demands of this variable process environment, the Tecpharm 400 has been equipped with special features. As the first tablet coater ever, it can automatically adjust the geometry and position of the so-called baffles during the process to accommodate the growing volume of the tablet bed. These mixing blades ensure that the tablets move within the drum in a way that allows for even spraying. To create optimal conditions for tablet coating, the position and inclination of the baffles in the tablet bed must be regularly adjusted during volume changes. Thanks to its automatically controlled baffles, the Tecpharm 400 does not need to be stopped to manually adjust or replace components. This saves a lot of time, as the machine does not need to be emptied in between. Additionally, the fully automatic system increases operator safety because it never comes into contact with potentially highly potent products. Due to its flexibly adjustable baffles, the Tecpharm tablet coater is suitable for batch sizes ranging from 5 to 100% with the same drum.

Optimal balance of quality, yield, and process duration

In addition to its fully automatic air guidance, which directs process air precisely through the tablet bed using infinitely adjustable exhaust air dampers, the Tecpharm 400 is equipped with the innovative PCA spray arm from Tecpharm. The intelligent technology continuously measures the distance to the tablet bed with radar and constantly adjusts both the spray distance and angle. This is mechanically supported by the design of the spray arm with three pivot points. Furthermore, a system for detecting spray blockages increases process safety by reliably identifying affected nozzles and also features a self-cleaning function. As a result, the high degree of automation leads to an ideal balance of product quality, yield, and coating process duration.

User-friendly and sustainable

The operator comfort of the Tecpharm 400 is further enhanced by the automatically retractable spray arm. This is particularly advantageous in large systems where the spray arm is positioned above the operator's chest height. Additionally, closed sampling protects personnel when handling toxic drugs, as the drum coater does not need to be manually opened during production to take samples.

To significantly reduce the ecological footprint of energy-intensive coating processes, the Tecpharm 400 can optionally be equipped with the ERS energy recovery system. This system can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%. It incorporates a cross-flow heat exchanger into the ventilation system (AHU), which directly feeds the energy from process exhaust air back into the ongoing coating process. The technology is especially suitable for multi-hour manufacturing processes with high energy consumption. The new Tecpharm 400 thus stands out not only for outstanding product quality and process efficiency but also for ease of operation and climate friendliness.

Fluidized bed processor VENTILUS® Lab by Romaco Innojet

Representing its broad portfolio of laboratory machines, Romaco Innojet presents the fluidized bed processor VENTILUS® Lab at interpack. The highly versatile all-rounder is used for granulation, drying, and coating of particles ranging in size from 10 μm to 2 mm. The multifunctional laboratory unit produces batch sizes from 0.7 to 7.0 liters. Thanks to the innovative process air guidance within the cylindrical product vessel, the required energy can be used very efficiently, shortening the batch times of the VENTILUS® Lab by up to 25%. The process air is introduced through the ring-shaped vessel bottom ORBITER®, which ensures uniform flow conditions and gentle turnover of the batch. Together with a centrally located bottom spray nozzle, the drum forms a unique functional unit that significantly facilitates scale-up processes. For spray technology, users can choose between the proven ROTOJET® or the new FLEXIJET® spray nozzles, which are specifically designed for granulation processes and are very easy to handle and clean. The patented fluidized bed components from Dr. h. c. Herbert Hüttlin enable extremely precise application of spray media with accurately defined droplet sizes. For controlled-release formulations, modified release profiles are achieved with 10 to 15% less material. This targeted reduction in spray media also lowers energy consumption, allowing the CO2 emissions of fluidized bed processes to be significantly reduced with the VENTILUS® Lab. Furthermore, the rotating filter system SEPAJET® reduces overall product loss by not ejecting particles caught in the filter but returning them to the process.