Hydraulic Presses Used in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Hydraulic presses are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for various tasks. Dissolution testing, for instance, helps guarantee potency of pharmaceutical products.

Dissolution testing is a procedure that involves placing a drug into a dissolution vessel and subjecting it to mechanical stress. A hydraulic press can be used for increased accuracy and repeatability in this test.

Metal Forming

Metal forming is the technique of reshaping a solid piece of metal into an desired shape, without needing melting. This method utilizes the plasticity of many metals to move metals from their solid state into molded shapes without melting them.

Forming can be achieved either by heating the workpiece (hot forming) or processing metal at room temperature (cold forming). Cold forming offers advantages in terms of strength, fatigue resistance and wear properties compared to hot forming.

Hot forming requires higher pressure and more powerful equipment, which also increases the chance of work or strain hardening, which reduces ductility.

Metal forming is an essential manufacturing process used to manufacture many components for the medical industry, despite its drawbacks. It enables devices that meet stringent medical specifications without sacrificing their internal integrity.

Plastic Forming

In the pharmaceutical industry, several plastic forming processes are widely employed. Depending on the application, these can range from straightforward and low-cost to intricate and high-tech.

In the pharmaceutical industry, injection molding is a commonly used manufacturing technique. This advanced process enables products to be produced at low costs with high precision.

This process is highly versatile, as it can be utilized to produce a variety of parts such as caps, seals, closures, syringes and valves.

It can also be utilized to manufacture KBr (potassium bromide) pellets for FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and general sample pellets for XRF (X-ray fluorescence). These containers are highly durable, enabling samples to be compressed in a press without tearing or being damaged.

Metal Extrusion

Metal extrusion is a fabrication process that utilizes a hydraulic press to shape metal materials into desired products. This technique can be employed in the creation of equipment parts, building materials and other items for various uses.

Metal extrusion is widely used to produce large numbers of long, thin pieces from a given material due to its ductile nature.

It is essential to consider that the geometric profile of a metal extrusion will dictate its force requirements. Generally, circular cross sections require minimal force for extrusion while more complex shapes require greater effort.

The pharmaceutical industry has followed suit, often employing hot melt extrusion technology for the production of solid dosage forms and drug delivery systems. This solvent-free, robust, and rapid process can be applied to a range of compounds including high and low potency APIs.

Plastic Extrusion

Plastic extrusion is a manufacturing process in which small pieces of melted plastic are transformed into continuous profiles through heat and pressure. It's widely used for various products like pipe/tubing, window frames, wire insulation, and adhesive tape.

Extruders come in many varieties. The most popular type is the single screw extruder, which features a screw inside of an enclosed barrel that rotates to melt plastic.

Some of these screws feature heaters at the beginning to increase friction and ensure that plastic melts faster. Others feature barrier screws which separate liquid and solid plastic, allowing them to melt faster as well.

No matter the type of extruder, polymer melting is affected by factors like screw profile, speed, feed rate and temperature. Small changes to these parameters can have a major effect on product properties like thickness, film strength and physical characteristics.