Brief Analysis on the Classification of Tablet Presses

In the production of tablets, tablet presses are the main equipment. At present, the tablet presses used by domestic pharmaceutical companies can be simply classified into single-punch tablet presses (single-punch tablet presses, basket-type tablet presses) and multi-punch or rotary tablet presses (low-speed rotary tablet presses, sub-high-speed tablet presses, high-speed tablet presses, chip-wrapped tablet presses, etc.).

Category 1: Single-punch tablet press

Single-punch tablet presses are generally equipped with only one punch die. It is mainly composed of a punch die, a feeding mechanism, a filling adjustment mechanism, a pressure adjustment mechanism and a tablet discharge mechanism. Its principle is to drive the upper and lower punches to operate through the rotation of the eccentric wheel and the lifting cam, so that they produce relative motion to press the raw materials into tablets.

Single-punch tablet presses are low-priced, easy to operate, and simple in structure, so they are widely welcomed by researchers in laboratories, research institutes, hospitals, and colleges.

Category 2: Rotary tablet press

The rotary tablet press is mainly composed of a working turntable, a feeding mechanism, a filling adjustment mechanism, a guide device for the upper and lower punches, and a pressure adjustment mechanism. The working turntable consists of three parts: the upper layer is the upper punch, the middle layer is the middle die, and the lower layer is the lower punch. The middle layer is equipped with a feeding device.

The working principle of the rotary tablet press is to install multiple pairs of punches in a circular shape on the working turntable, and the tails of each upper and lower punch are controlled by a fixed lifting guide rail; the working turntable is driven to rotate by the transmission equipment, so that the upper and lower punches rotate synchronously with it, and at the same time are controlled by the guide rail to make axial lifting movements, and the particles in the feeding device are continuously added to the punch die; there are pressing wheels on the upper punch and below the lower punch. When they rotate to the pressing wheels in different directions, the materials are continuously pressed into tablets and discharged continuously.

According to the speed, the rotary tablet press can be divided into low-speed rotary tablet press, high-speed rotary tablet press and sub-high-speed rotary tablet press. Its output is between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of tablets per hour, which can meet different production needs.

(1) At present, the rotation speed of the turret of the domestic low-speed rotary tablet press is basically within 30r/min, and the production capacity is relatively low, generally around 100,000 tablets/h;

(2) The rotation speed of the turret of the high-speed rotary tablet press is generally around 50-90r/min, and the production volume is about (200,000-500,000) tablets/h;

(3) The rotation speed of the turret of the sub-high-speed rotary tablet press can reach about 40r/min, and its production capacity is about (200,000-260,000) tablets/h.

The rotary tablet press is widely used at home and abroad due to its low vibration, low noise, low energy consumption, high output, stable quality and suitability for large-scale production. It has become the main mechanical equipment for tablet production.

Category 3: Flower basket tablet press

The flower basket tablet press is a small, flower basket-type continuous automatic tablet press. It is also a single-die tablet press machine, but its working principle is different from that of a single-die tablet press. It mainly drives the main shaft to rotate through a V-belt and a primary cylindrical gear. Three cam mechanisms are installed on the main shaft. Through the coordinated operation of the three, the three process procedures of filling, pressing and tableting are completed.

Compared with the single-die tablet press, the flower basket tablet press is bulky and difficult to make hand-cranked tablets. Its production capacity is almost the same as that of the single-die tablet press. It is generally only suitable for small-batch production in laboratories, hospitals and other departments. Because its die is large and the loading volume is large, it is also suitable for the pressing of large-dose tablets and various special-shaped tablets.

Category 4: Core tablet press

Core tablet press is a new type of tablet that has appeared at home and abroad in recent years. It is mainly used in the pharmaceutical industry for sustained-release tablets, light protection control, oxygen protection and pressing of two kinds of non-mixed particles.