Tablet Technology Steps

Operations involved in tablet
manufacturing-
Introduction
Dispensing (weighing and measuring)
Sizing Powder blending
Granulation
Drying
Tablet compression
Auxillary equipments
Packaging
Introduction
The manufacture of oral solid dosage

forms such as tablets is a complex multi-stage process under which the
starting materials change their physical characteristics a number of times
before the final dosage form is produced.
Traditionally, tablets have been made by granulation, a

process that imparts two primary requisites to formulate: compactibility
and fluidity. Both wet granulation and dry granulation (slugging and roll
compaction) are used. Regardless of whether tablets are made by direct
compression or granulation, the first step, milling and mixing, is the
same; subsequent step differ.
Numerous unit processes are involved in making tablets, including

particle size reduction and sizing, blending, granulation, drying,
compaction,and (frequently) coating.
Various factors associated with these processes can
seriously affect content uniformity, bioavailability, or stability.
Various Unit Operation Sequences In Tablet Manufacturing
Typical Manufacturing Process Of Tablet

Typical Unit Operation Involved In Wet Granulation, Dry
Granulation And Direct Compression
WET DRY DIRECT

GRANULATION GRANULATION COMPRESSIO
N
1. 1. 1. Milling and
Milling Milling mixing of drugs
and mixing of drugs and and mixing of drugs and excipients
excipients and excipients
2. 2. 2.
Preparation Compression Compression of
of binder solution into slugs or roll tablet
compaction
3. 3.
Wet Milling
massing by addition of and screening of slugs
binder solution and compacted
or granulating solvent powder
4. 4.
Screening Mixing
of wet mass with lubricant and
disintegrant
5. 5.
Drying Compression
of the wet granules of tablet
6.
Screening
of dry granules
7.
Blending
with lubricant and
disintegrant to produce
“running powder”
8.
Compression
of tablet
Dispensing (weighing and measuring)
Dispensing is the first step in any

pharmaceutical manufacturing process.
Dispensing is one of the most critical steps in pharmaceutical

manufacturing; as during this step, the weight of each
ingredient in the mixture is determined according to dose.
Dispensing may be done by purely manual
by hand scooping from primary containers and weighing each ingredient by and
on a weigh scale, manual weighing with material lifting assistance like Vacuum
transfer and Bag lifters, manual or assisted transfer with automated weighing
on weigh table, manual or assisted filling of loss-in weight dispensing system,
automated dispensaries with mechanical devices such as vacuum loading system
and screw feed system.
Issues like-
weighing accuracy, dust control (laminar air flow booths, glove boxes), during
manual handling, lot control of each ingredient, material movement into and out
of dispensary should be considered during dispensing.
Sizing
The sizing (size reduction, milling, crushing, grinding,

pulverization) is an impotent step (unit operation) involved in the tablet
manufacturing.
In manufacturing of compressed tablet, the mixing or blending of several

solid ingredients of pharmaceuticals is easier and more uniform if the
ingredients are approximately of same size. This provides a greater
uniformity of dose.
A fine particle size is essential in case of lubricant mixing with granules for its
proper function. Advantages associated with size reduction in tablet manufacture
are as follows:
i) It increases surface area, which may enhance an active ingredient’s dissolution

rate and hence bioavailability.
ii) Improved the tablet-to-tablet content uniformity by virtue of the increased

number particles per unit weight.
iii) Controlled particle size distribution of dry granulation or mix to promote better
flow mixture in tablet machine.
iv) Improved flow properties of raw materials.
V) Improved colour and/or active ingredient dispersion in tablet excipients.
vi) Uniformly sized wet granulation to promote uniform drying.
There are also certain disadvantages associated with this unit operation if not
controlled properly. They are as follows:
i)A possible change in polymorphic form of the active ingredient, rendering it less
or totally inactive, or unstable.
ii) A decrease in bulk density of active compound and/or excipients, which may
cause flow problem and segregation in the mix.
iii) An increase in surface area from size reduction may promote the
adsorption of air, which may
inhibit wettability of the drug to the extent that it becomes the limiting
factor in dissolution rate.
A number of different types of machine

may be used for the dry sizing or milling process depending on whether
gentle screening or particle milling is needed. The
ranges of equipment employed for this process includes Fluid energy
mill, Colloidal mill, Ball mill, Hammer mill, Cutting mill, Roller mill,
Conical mill, etc.
Powder blending
The successful mixing of powder is essentials.
In practice, problems also arise because of the inherent cohesiveness and

resistance to movement between the individual particles.
The powder/granules blending are involved at stage of pre granulation

and/or post granulation stage of tablet manufacturing.
Each process of mixing has optimum mixing time and so prolonged

mixing may result in an undesired product. So, the optimum mixing time
and mixing speed are to be evaluated.
Blending step prior to compression is normally achieved in a simple

tumble blender. The Blender may be a fixed blender into which the
powders are charged, blended and discharged. It is now common to use
a bin blender which blends.
In special cases of mixing a lubricant, over mixing should

be particularly monitered.
The various blenders used include “V”blender, Oblicone blender,

Container blender, Tumbling blender, Agitated powder
blender, etc.
But now days to optimize the manufacturing process particularly in wet

granulation the various improved equipments which combines several of
processing steps (mixing, granulation and/or drying) are used. They are
“Mixer granulator” or “High shear mixing machine”.
Granulation
Following particle size reduction and blending, the formulation may be

granulated, which provides homogeneity of drug distribution in blend.
Drying
Drying is a most important step in the formulation and

development of pharmaceutical product.
It is important to keep the residual moisture low enough to prevent

product deterioration and ensure free flowing properties.
The commonly used dryer includes Fluidized – bed dryer,

Vacuum tray dryer, Microwave dryer, Spray dryer, Freeze dryer, Turbo
– tray dryer and Pan dryer, etc.
Tablet compression
After the preparation of granules (in case of wet

granulation) or sized slugs (in case of dry granulation) or mixing
of ingredients (in case of direct compression), they are
compressed to get final
product. The compression is done either by single punch
machine (rotary press).
The tablet press is a high-speed mechanical device. It 'squeezes'
the ingredients into the required tablet shape with extreme
precision.
Each tablet is made by pressing the granules inside a die, made
up of hardened steel.
The punches and dies are fixed to a turret that spins round.
As it spins, the punches are driven together by two fixed cams -
an upper cam and lower cam. The top of the upper punch (the
punch head) sits on the upper cam edge .The bottom of the
lower punch sits on the lower cam edge.
Figure.22. Stage Occurring During Compression
1.7.8 Auxiliary Equipments (1)
I. Granulation Feeding Device:
In many cases, speed of die table is such that the time of

die under feed frame is too short to allow adequate or consistent gravity
filling of die with granules, resulting in weight variation and content
uniformity. These also seen with poorly flowing granules. To avoid these
problems, mechanized feeder can employ to force granules into die cavity.
II.Tablet weight monitoring devices:-
High rate of tablet output with

modern press requires continuous tablet weight monitoring with electronic
monitoring devices like Thomas Tablet Sentinel,
Pharmakontroll and Killan control System-MC. They monitors force at each
compression station by starin gage technology which is then correlated with
tablet weight.
III. Tablet Deduster : -

In almost all cases, tablets coming out of a tablet machine
bear excess powder on its surface and are run through the tablet deduster to
remove that excess powder.
IV. Fette machine
Fette machine is device that chills the compression

components to allow the compression of low melting point substance such as
waxes and thereby making it possible to compress product with low meting
points.
1.7.9 Packaging
Pharmaceutical
manufacturers have to pack their medicines before they can be sent out for
distribution. The type of packaging will depend on the formulation of the
medicine.
'Blister packs' are a common

form of packaging used for a wide variety of products. They are safe and easy
to use and they allow the consumer to see the contents without opening the
pack. Many pharmaceutical companies use a standard size of blister pack. This
saves the cost of different tools and to change the production machinery
between products. Sometimes the pack may be perforated so that individual tablets
can be detached. This means that the expiry date and the name of the product
have to be printed on each part of the package. The blister pack itself must
remain absolutely flat as it travels through the packaging processes,
especially when it is inserted into a carton. This poses interesting problems
for the designers. Extra ribs are added to the blister pack to improve its
stiffness.

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Operations involved in tablet

Dispensing (weighing and measuring)

Sizing Powder blending

The manufacture of oral solid dosage

Traditionally, tablets have been made by granulation, a

Numerous unit processes are involved in making tablets, including

Various Unit Operation Sequences In Tablet Manufacturing

Typical Manufacturing Process Of Tablet

WET DRY DIRECT

Dispensing (weighing and measuring)

Dispensing is the first step in any

Dispensing is one of the most critical steps in pharmaceutical

The sizing (size reduction, milling, crushing, grinding,

In manufacturing of compressed tablet, the mixing or blending of several

i) It increases surface area, which may enhance an active ingredient’s dissolution

ii) Improved the tablet-to-tablet content uniformity by virtue of the increased

iv) Improved flow properties of raw materials.

V) Improved colour and/or active ingredient dispersion in tablet excipients.

vi) Uniformly sized wet granulation to promote uniform drying.

A number of different types of machine

The successful mixing of powder is essentials.

In practice, problems also arise because of the inherent cohesiveness and

The powder/granules blending are involved at stage of pre granulation

Each process of mixing has optimum mixing time and so prolonged

Blending step prior to compression is normally achieved in a simple

In special cases of mixing a lubricant, over mixing should

The various blenders used include “V”blender, Oblicone blender,

But now days to optimize the manufacturing process particularly in wet

Following particle size reduction and blending, the formulation may be

Drying is a most important step in the formulation and

It is important to keep the residual moisture low enough to prevent

The commonly used dryer includes Fluidized – bed dryer,

After the preparation of granules (in case of wet

1.7.8 Auxiliary Equipments (1)

I. Granulation Feeding Device:

In many cases, speed of die table is such that the time of

II.Tablet weight monitoring devices:-

High rate of tablet output with

III. Tablet Deduster : -

IV. Fette machine

Fette machine is device that chills the compression

'Blister packs' are a common

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