In the pharmaceutical industry, efficiency and precision are critical factors that determine the success of a production line. In the packaging process, ensuring the correct quantity of tablets or capsules in each bottle or box is not only essential for product quality but also central to the reputation of the company. As a tool designed to enhance both packaging efficiency and accuracy, pill counters are increasingly becoming an indispensable part of pharmaceutical manufacturing operations. In this article, we will explore why pill counters are so crucial and how they can help you achieve your production goals.
A pill counter is a specialized device designed to quickly and accurately count tablets or capsules. Imagine the challenge of manually counting thousands of pills—it's not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also prone to errors. A pill counter functions as a "pill-counting assistant," effortlessly performing this task and ensuring that the correct quantity of tablets is present in each bottle or package.
Loading: Pills are manually poured into a feeding hopper.
Vibration: The hopper vibrates to spread out the pills and prevent clumping.
Turntable transfer: Pills are fed onto a rotating turntable.
Sensor detection: A photoelectric sensor on the turntable detects each tablet as it passes by.
Counting: The machine counts the number of pills detected by the sensor.
Dispensing: Once the desired count is reached, pills are dispensed into designated containers through discharge funnels.
- Manual Pill Counters: Ideal for small-scale production and companies with limited budgets. While they require manual operation, they are still capable of efficiently completing counting tasks.
- Semi-Automatic Pill Counters: These offer a balance between manual and fully automated systems, providing higher efficiency and flexibility. They are well-suited for medium-sized to small production lines.
- Fully Automatic Pill Counters: Best suited for large-scale production, these machines can count tablets quickly and accurately, significantly reducing labor costs and boosting overall production efficiency.
1.Significantly Enhances Production Efficiency
High-Speed Counting: Capable of counting hundreds to thousands of tablets per minute, far exceeding manual counting speeds (manual counting is around 50-100 tablets per minute).
Continuous Operation: Supports 24/7 operation, eliminating the decline in efficiency caused by worker fatigue.
Multi-Task Integration: Some models can simultaneously count, fill, seal, or label, reducing downtime between different production stages.
2.Ensures Accurate Counting
Extremely Low Error Rate: Counting accuracy can reach over 99.9% (manual error rate is typically 1-5%).
Prevents Double Counting or Misses: Using sensors or image recognition technology, it eliminates issues like double-counting, fragments, or empty bottles.
Adaptable to Complex Scenarios: Can accurately handle irregular-shaped tablets, micro-particles, or transparent capsules (e.g., micro-tablets as small as 0.5mm in diameter).
3.Reduces Overall Costs
Labor Cost Savings: One machine can replace 5-10 workers, leading to long-term savings on labor expenses.
Minimizes Material Waste: Precise dosing ensures no overfilling (e.g., saving 0.5-1 tablet per bottle).
Low Maintenance Costs: Modern models feature modular designs, ensuring low failure rates and easy repairs.
4.Strict Compliance with Regulatory Standards
Meets GMP Standards: Automatically records production data (such as batch numbers, quantities, and times) and supports audit traceability.
Reduces Human Intervention: Lowers contamination risks and complies with regulations from the FDA, EMA, and other authorities concerning pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.
Standardized Output: Ensures uniform tablet counts per bottle/box, reducing the risk of recalls due to inconsistent dosing.
5.Enhances Drug Safety
Minimizes Human Contact: The fully enclosed design reduces the risk of worker exposure to dust or harmful substances.
Quality Inspection Function: Some high-end models can detect tablet defects (e.g., cracks, discoloration, or foreign objects) during the counting process.
Anti-Contamination Design: Made with stainless steel and easy-to-clean structures to meet sterile production requirements.
6.Flexible Adaptation to Diverse Needs
Multi-Specification Compatibility: Through mold replacement or parameter adjustment, it can easily switch between different tablet sizes/shapes (e.g., from 3mm round tablets to 10mm irregular-shaped tablets).
Supports Small-Batch Production: Some models can handle small quantities of drugs, suitable for laboratory-scale packaging (e.g., clinical trial medications).
Smart Adjustment Capabilities: AI-driven models can automatically learn the characteristics of new tablets, reducing setup time.
7.Supports Sustainability
Energy-Efficient Design: New models consume 30-50% less power than traditional machines.
Reduces Packaging Waste: Precise counting avoids over-packaging, adhering to environmental regulations (e.g., EU PPWD directive).
Long Lifespan: High-quality equipment can last over 10 years, reducing electronic waste.
8.Data-Driven and Traceable
Real-Time Monitoring: Use of IoT technology allows remote monitoring of production output, fault alerts, and other data.
Production Traceability: Automatically generates electronic batch records, meeting FDA 21 CFR Part 11 electronic signature requirements.
Data Analytics: Provides insights into equipment OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency), optimizing production planning.
| Failure | Cause | Solution |
| Material blocked | 1. Discharging too fast | Adjust the vibration amplitude of the discharge opening of the hopper gate and the discharge vibrating plate |
| 2. The vibration plate is not suitable | Replace the vibration plate corresponding to the material | |
| Inaccurate bottle placement | 1. the bottle time didn’t adjust correctly | Carry out the setting of "bottle block time " and "bottle release time" carefully |
| 2. The mouth of the bottle is not aligned with the mouth of the feed outlet | Adjust the position of the feed outlet | |
| 3. The bottle orbit is too wide | Adjust the width of the bottle conveying track so that the gap between the bottle and the stop bar and the bottle support bar is about 2mm each | |
| Filling quantity error | 1. Inappropriate vibration plate | Replace suitable vibration plate |
| 2. The flap does not move in place or does not move | Check if it is jammed by the medicine pellets or the connection is loose | |
| Alarm | 1. Lack of bottle | Refill bottle |
| 2. The sensitivity of the photoelectric head is reduced due to dust | Clean the photoelectric head |
|
Fault Display |
Meaning | Handling method |
| 101-108 | The photoelectric sensor corresponding to channels 1~8 is faulty. | Find the photoelectric sensor of the corresponding channel and perform maintenance |
| 80 | Photoelectric sensor communication error | Re-establish communication connection |
| 81 | Material storage overflow | Empty the materials in the material storage and reduce the speed of the electromagnetic vibrator |
(1) Cleaning of mechanical parts
Mechanical parts can be cleaned with detergent (alcohol) and a clean cloth. When cleaning, the disassembly sequence of mechanical parts is as follows: hopper, discharge port, photoelectric sensor, material storage, electromagnetic vibrator, 1-stage vibration plate, 2-stage vibration plate, 3-stage vibration plate (optional).
After cleaning, install in reverse order.
(2) Cleaning of electronic components
Generally, electronic components do not require cleaning. However, when cleaning non-electronic components, please be careful not to splash water or detergent on electronic components. If necessary, use a clean dry cloth to clean the operation panel, counter window, and signal light surface.
(3) Cleaning of detection components
The detection components are sensitive electronic components. Use a clean, dry cloth to clean the windows of the photoelectric sensor and pressure switch.
(4) Cleaning of pneumatic components
In order to ensure the quality of compressed air, PP-12 is equipped with an air filter at the air inlet, which can separate moisture and dirt from the compressed air to ensure smooth air paths, reliable performance and normal service life of pneumatic components.
(5) Cleaning of cylinder
Use a clean, dry cloth to clean the cylinder and gas spring rods, and then apply a few drops of pneumatic oil to the rods.
(6) Cleaning of valves
It is strictly prohibited to disassemble the valve for cleaning. To clean the valve, please contact the manufacturer or replace it.
Warning: Dust and concentrated water will reduce the service life of pneumatic components. When cleaning pneumatic components, make sure the pneumatic system is disconnected from the air source.
| Parts | Lubrication method | Time interval | Lubricant |
|
Transmission chain (Inside the bottle delivery track) |
Manual regular lubrication | 1 month | Lubricating oil (0°-35°) |
| 3 months | Grease (>35°<0°) | ||
|
Adjustment knob (Adjustment knob of width adjuster) |
Manual regular lubrication | 1 month | Lubricating oil (0°-35°) |
| 3 months | Grease (>35°<0°) |
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