Compression of powders and granules

● During tablet compression developed formula. powder goes through

several stages which ideally depends upon the excipients, binder
property, type of binder & concentration of binder and vehicle.
Filling:
● The first phase during compression to occur is a consolidation of the
powders from the hopper to the compression die. During this consolidation
phase, the powder particles adopt a more efficient packing order.
● Following the application of a stress, solid particles will undergo
deformation, the nature of which is dependent on the magnitude of the
applied stress and the time of loading.
Certain regions may be identified:
(1) elastic region;
(2) plastic region; and
(3) fragmentation.
Elastic region
● This is the initial linear region of the relationship between stress and
strain during which the particles undergo elastic deformation.
● The observed deformation is due to compression of the molecular
structure (either crystalline or amorphous) of the particles.
● The release of the stress within this region will result in the return of the
structure of the solid to the equilibrium position.
● If the compression properties of powders/granules are predominantly
elastic, this will result in delamination and subsequent tablet failure.
● For similar reasons the stresses employed for the manufacture of tablets
are most commonly greater than those required for elastic deformation.
Plastic region
●This is the second non-linear region of the relationship between stress
and strain where the particles undergo plastic deformation.
● Irreversible deformation occurs within this range of applied stresses and is
due to the movement of molecules in the direction of the stress.
● The successful compression of particles requires the inclusion of
components that undergo plastic deformation, as there is limited structural
recovery of such materials within the plastic region, resulting in good
cohesion between compressed particles.
● Whilst plastic deformation is often employed for the successful
compression of particles into tablet, the quality of the compressed tablet
may be affected by the inclusion of excipients that do not exhibit this type of
deformation.
Fragmentation
● Fragmentation of particles occurs following the application of a defined
stress (termed the ultimate tensile stress) that results in the destruction of
intraparticle bonds.
● The particle is fractured into a number of smaller particles.
● Continued application of the applied stress will result in further
fragmentation.
●The surface area of the powder is thus increased,
thereby increasing the possible sites for particle–particle interactions.
Compression stages of a powder bed during tableting:
Stage 1:
● Rearrangement of the powder bed upon the application of a stress.
● Following the application of the initial stress, the particles in the powder
bed will undergo rearrangement to minimize the free space between
particles.
● The extent of this rearrangement is dictated by both the size of the
particles and frictional forces that operate between the particles.
Stage 2:
● Deformation of the powders under the applied stress.
● During this stage the powders will undergo deformation (elastic, plastic or
fragmentation) as a result of exposure to the applied stress.
● Physicochemical properties of the powders will affect the nature of the
predominant deformation type.
● It is important to note that the two main mechanisms of tablet formation in
powder systems are plastic deformation and fragmentation.
● The nature of powder deformation is dependent on the magnitude of the
applied stress and, in addition, the physicochemical properties of the
materials under compression.
Stage 3:
● Bonding of the compressed powders.
● Following the application of the required stress, inter-particle bonding
occurs, resulting in the production of a tablet.
●There are two predominant bonding mechanisms in tablets prepared by
direct compression:
(1) adsorption. (2) diffusion.
Bonding by adsorption
● Following application of the required stress, the repulsive forces between
adjacent powder particles will be overcome and hence the particles will be
brought into close contact.
●The interaction between particles at close distances of separation is due to
van der Waals forces.
●This is the predominant mechanism of interparticle interactions in tablets
formed by the compression of powders.
Bonding by diffusion
● Bonding by diffusion occurs whenever there is molecular mobility at the
surface of a particle due to, for example, melting or the particle exhibiting
rubbery characteristics under the conditions of compression.
●This increased mobility enables molecular diffusion into and interaction
between particles.
●The prerequisite for this type of interaction is molecular mobility and
therefore this is an important transition in tablets containing excipients that
exhibit a stress-induced relaxation in the surface mechanical properties.
Tablet Compression Machine
Types of Tablet Compression Machine
● Based on punch number, tablet press machine can be classified into:
A. Single punch Tablet Compression Machine .
● Single punch tablet press machine is the simplest machine that uses a
pair of punches (upper and lower) and a die to compress granules/powder
mixture to make tablets for research and small-scale production.
B. Multi punches Tablet Compression Machine/ Multi-station/ Rotary
presses.
● Multi-station press is a mechanical device that unlike the single punch
tablet press has several stations which rotate to compress granules/powder
mixture to uniform size, shape, and weight of tablets with high productivity in
a short time. It was developed to raise the productivity of tablets.
Tablet compression machine parts
Hopper
● The hopper holds and supplies the granules/powder mixture (API and
excipient) to the feeder system. It is the input point of powder mix or
granules to tablet press for compression of tablets. Granules or powder mix
may feed manually or using automated systems.
Feeder System or Feed Frame
● Feeder System helps to force the feed of the granules into the die cavity
especially during faster rotation. It also mixes the granules and inhibits the
separation of granules. Feeder System also called force feeder.
Excess granules stripper
● This part of tablet press machine take away extra granules from the
surface of die bore or cavity. Granules stripper is liable for controlling the
volume of granules and ultimately the weight of tablets.
Die
● Die defines the size and shape of the tablet. Powder mix or granules are
compressed into the desired size, diameter, and shape of tablets in die bore
or die cavity..
Punch
● Two punches (upper and lower) compress the granules/powder mix in the
die bore. The lower punch moves upward and upper punch moves
downward and compresses the tablet within the die cavity. Then the upper
punch moves upward and lower punch moves upward.
Turret
● Turret hosts the die as well as upper and lower punches on its holes and
ensures the position of die bore and two punches (lower and upper) for
tablet compression process. The turret is the heart-like part of the tablet
press machine.
Compression Rollers
● Tablet press machine have rollers that exert a predetermined and
sufficient amount of force to compress the granules into tablet with desired
hardness. Most of tablet press machine have two sets of compression
rollers.
Pre-compression roller: They give the initial compression force. The aim of
pre-compression is to eliminate air that could be in the die or granules /
powder mix.
Main compression roller: It exerts sufficient compression force to compress
the granules into tablets. The rollers stay stable with no vibration during the
entire compression process to ensure consistent thickness and size of the
tablets.
Ejection cam
● Ejection cam guides the lower punch upwards assisting the ejection of
tablets from the die bore or cavity after compression. The ejection cams
slowly and gradually push the lower punch upwards.
Take-off Blade/Tablet Scraper
● This is fitted in front of the feed frame or feeder system and scrap the
compressed tablet to the discharge chute. Tablet scraper (also known as
takeoff scraper or tablet take-off) pushes the compressed tablets away from
die table of the compressing machine to the discharge chute.
Discharge chute
● Guides the compressed tablets to a collection drum or bin.
Tablet Weight Controller
● This is used to adjust the volume of the granules to be compressed and
so determines the weight of the tablet with the help of different movements
of the cam systems, material will flow into the die cavity depending on the
position of the punches.
Other Tablet Compression Machine Parts
• Safety System
• Touch Screen display and control panel
• Belts, Gears, Electric Motors
• Lubrications Systems
• Hydraulic Pump system
Single Punch tablet compression machine
1. Rational and small.
2. Easy to operate.
3. Easy to clean.
4. Ideal for new tablet development and small batch production.
5. Due to single a set of punches, less chance of weight variation.
6. Less noise production.
7. Minimal spare part requirements.
8. Operate by both motor and manually.
Multi-station/Rotary presses
• High-speed operation.
• Robust design and high productivity.
• High overall equipment effectiveness.
• Minimal product loss.
• Low noise level in operation.
• Compact machine with space-saving design.
• Ease washable and high containment technology.
• High safety system.
• Modern Rotary presses may control digitally.
• Cost-effective.
• Optimized lubrication system.
Differences between single punch tablet press and rotary tablet press
1.The vital functional difference between a single punch tablet press and a
rotary tablet press is Single punch tablet presses have 2 punches but utilize
only upper punch for compression of granules to make tablets. On the other
hand, rotary presses may have multiple punches and utilize both upper and
lower punches.
2.Setting and operation of Single press is very simple while operation of
rotary tablet press is complex.
3.Productivity of Single press is less whereas Productivity of rotary tablet
press is more.
4.Single punch tablet press is suitable for small-scale production and
research and development of tablet formulation. On the other hand, the
rotary tablet press is suitable for research and development, scale-up, and
large-scale production.
Types of Tooling in Compression Machine
● The dies and punches and their setup on the compression machine is
called tooling.
● It determines the shape, size and identification markings of the tablets.
● The tooling must meet the specific requirements to satisfy the needs of
dosage uniformity, production efficiency and appearance.
● Internationally there are two recognized standards for tablet compression
tooling: the TSM standard and the EU standard.
● Based on TSM and EU standard, tablet tooling is mainly classified as B
tooling and D tooling.
● The B tooling punches and dies can be further classified as BB.
● D tooling can also be used on B tooling machine that is call as DB.
● These sub categories of DB, BB type tablet tooling are made depending
on the punches and dies requirements of product.
What is the difference between B & BB tooling and D & B tooling
1. B Tooling: the same as BB tooling, only difference is the lower punch
length is just 3 and 9/16th inch.
2. D Tooling: its punches and dies usually have thicker diameter or greater
diameter of their body as well as the tip of punches with greater outer
diameter compared to B tooling.
●The productivity will be 20 to 25% more in B tooling compared to D,
assuming the same speed and diameter of turret of machine.
● Hardness can be achieved might be more in case of D tooling due to
larger dwell time.
Tooling Punch Die Diameter Punch Max. Tablet
Types Diameter (mm (mm)/ inch Length (mm)/ inch Size (mm)

B Tooling 19 30.15/ 1.187 133.60 16/19

D Tooling 25.4 38.1/1.50 133.60 25/25

BB Tooling 19 24.0 /0.945 133.60 13/24

DB Tooling 25.4 30.15/1.187 133.60 19/19

Which is Better - B Tooling or D Tooling
● We couldn’t judge that B tooling is better than D tooling, or that D tooling
is better than B tooling. The suitable one must be the best one.
● We should differentiate B tooling and D tooling objectively. Their
respective features make them to be used for different purposes.
B Tooling
● B tooling has a long and thin body compared with D tooling, with a smaller
punch head and punch tip.
● Small punch head leaves a restriction on punch pressure, thus the tablets
and pills requiring high hardness cannot be finished by B tooling,
● However, due to its small punch body occupies less space, more stations
of tablet tooling can be designed on the rotary table. Which means that
higher yield and quicker production can be achieved at the same working
speed.
D Tooling
● D tooling is short and big in views of its configuration.
● Big punch body and big punch head allow high pressure to be engaged,
thus the pills can be made hard and strong enough.
● Owing to more space the Big punch body occupies, less stations can be
set on the premise of the same size of rotary table. With the same working
speed, less tablets and pills are processed.