FORUFORUMM Packaging Packaging Packaging Packaging Packaging Innovations Interphex serves as a showcase for new materials and machines Hallie Forcinio he Interphex part of this year’s In- (EVOH) to add an oxygen barrier to the ternational Pharmaceutical In- already-present moisture barrier so that a dustry Congress provided phar- cold-formed foil can be replaced with a clear maceutical manufacturers with a material. The Aclar–polyethylene–EVOH Tgreat opportunity to see the latest pack- coextrusion–PVC structure can be tailored Pharmaceutical manufacturers aging materials and machinery. Whatever to the barrier level that the product requires a manufacturer might need could be and also incorporates a UV light blocker were exposed to a variety of new found on the show floor. Here are some in the PVC layer. Compared with a cold- highlights. formed foil, the laminate offers potential packaging materials and cost savings because film blisters require machinery at this year’s Blister–tray packaging 40–50% less area. Because film can be As the use of servo technology grows, blis- drawn at steeper angles, pockets can be Interphex. ter packaging machines are shrinking in arranged closer together, which results in size. One of the diminutive machines can direct material cost savings as well as change over in 25 min because its tooling higher machine throughput because each is mounted in fixed positions, and does forming tool can carry more cavities. With not require any tools to change it. The ma- a couple of stability tests underway, the chine’s only major adjustment is the index film should be introduced commercially length, which is accomplished digitally. by mid-2004 (Pentapharm Aclar G03, The system handles virtually any blister ma- Klöckner Pentaplast of America, Inc., terial, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Gordonsville, VA). Figure 2: A one-piece polypropylene flip- Figure 3: A precision powder dosing Figure 4: (top) A servo-driven traversing top closure offers easy dispensing (PS-382 system relies on a rotating drum concept hardware moves thermal-transfer or laser Polycam Dispensing Closure from Polytop to dispense very small volumes (Omnidose coders across multi-lane packaging lines Corp.). Powder Filler from Harro Höfliger (Smartmove 1 Traversing System from Packaging Systems, Inc.). Markem Corp). Figure 5: (bottom) An OEM-supplied PVC–polyvinylidene chloride, PVC–Aclar, validation package helps speed the foil, and polypropylene, and produces 40 Adhesive and lidding innovations and Figure 1: A pull-out drawer process that ensures that a coder will ϫ 90 mm blisters at a rate of 240/min improvements in heat sealability are mak- makes it easy to change tooling consistently perform according to preset (MAC S 200 F blister packager, Mario A. ing it possible to move Aclar from its tra- for different tray sizes (T 200 specifications and quality levels Cricca SA, Buenos Aires, Argentina). ditional position as the outer layer to the Traysealer from Multivac, Inc.). (Pharmaceutical Validation Package from An even smaller blister packaging inner layer of multilayer blister structures. Markem Corp). machine designed for clinical packaging, The result is a 15% improvement in bar- prototyping, and short runs occupies rier properties and better chemical Ͻ12 ft2 of floor space and can switch resistance. The material also exhibits im- through non-CR structures. The CR ma- between cold forming and thermoform- proved forming characteristics because it terial is currently undergoing stability test- ing. The servo-driven machine features a lies flatter and curls less (Heat-sealable ing with one customer (Aclar-In Foil, 3.25 ϫ 4.5 in. forming area, performs a Aclar, Honeywell Specialty Materials, Hueck Foils LLC, Wall, NJ). Hallie Forcinio complete changeover in 5 min, and in- Morristown, NJ). CR foil in both peelable and peel–push is Pharmaceutical Technology’s dexes р 30 times/min (PHRV-5 Series A companion 25-␮m foil lidstock with structures can be printed on both sides to Packaging Forum editor, 4708 Morningside Drive, Cleveland, OH Thermoformer, Key International, Inc., a heat-seal coating engineered to adhere provide space for marketing messages, 44109, tel. 216.351.5824, Englishtown, NJ). to Aclar also has been developed and is safety information, warnings, and open- fax. 216.351.5684, On the material side, a three-layer Aclar available in both peelable child- ing and dosage instructions. Multicolor [email protected]. laminate includes ethylene vinyl alcohol resistant (CR) and unsupported, push- printing is possible, making the foil ideal 18 Pharmaceutical Technology August 2003 www.pharmtech.com PACKAGING FORUM for over-the-counter products and physi- or paper. Basic tooling dimensions are 380 Closures lined or linerless. A 45-mm prototype also cian samples (CR Foil, Hueck Foils LLC, ϫ 300 mm, which can be divided into A one-piece polypropylene flip-top clo- was shown and a 53-mm size may be Wall, NJ). smaller tray sizes if necessary. Options in- sure offers a 1.125-in. orifice for easy dis- added to the line. For low-volume tray-sealing, a com- clude a vacuum–gas flush operation be- pensing of tablets, capsules, and other dry pact, semiautomatic unit combines low fore sealing to create modified-atmosphere products (PS-382 Polycam Dispensing Quality control cost and ease of operation with portabil- packs and a validation documentation Closure, Polytop Corp., Slatersville, RI) Quality control continues to be a major ity. The versatile, microprocessor- package. Output is rated р 12 trays/min (see Figure 2). Already in use by Neways concern for pharmaceutical manufactur- controlled unit handles preformed trays (T 200 Traysealer, Multivac, Inc., Kansas International (Salt Lake City, UT) for its ers. Although interest in product inspec- р 110-mm deep and lidding consisting City, MO) (see Figure 1). nutritional products, the 38/400 size joins tion remains at its usual high level, drug of printed or unprinted film, Tyvek, foil, a 33-mm version and may be ordered makers also are exploring ways to comply with FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11 electronic records and signature requirements and address proposed requirements for coding unit-of-use packaging to prevent medica- tion errors. A software-based machine vision sys- tem, capable of providing 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, can be hardwired as usual or connected to the labeler using an Ether- net cable. The standard processor can be specified in color or black and white. One version with a keyboard operator inter- face supports as many as eight cameras (TIPS Sentri MX, Systech International, Cranbury, NJ). For less-complex applica- tions, a two-camera system is available (TIPS Sentri CX). Possible tasks include verifying lot, date, and component codes, checking label or cap presence and align- ment, and reading and verifying linear and two-dimensional bar codes including the Reduced Space Symbology (RSS) and Data Matrix codes viewed as the likely candi- dates for encoding lot, dosage, and manu- facturer data on unit-of-use packages. Other capabilities include verifying color, counting product contents or objects, gauging parts, and checking dimensions. A camera-based blister pack inspector configured for 21 CFR Part 11 compliance performs multiple high-resolution, full- color inspections per pill to identify dam- aged, contaminated, and missing products. The unit can inspect as many as 16 blisters at a time and is compatible with hot- and cold-forming systems and a wide range of products, including coated and uncoated tablets and regular and soft-gelatin cap- sules. A fail-safe design allows the unit to switch to automatic ejection if the system ceases to inspect. In addition, failure to con- firm ejection, multiple consecutive rejects, or other system faults prompt a line stop and an alarm. The machine also can be in- tegrated with a bar code reader (OP385 Blister Pack Inspector, Optel Vision, Que- bec, QC, Canada). A combination of optics, illumination and software make it possible to inspect RSS codes on blisters at 640 feet/min, an equivalent of ϳ2000 cards/min (iQ170 scanner, Metrologic Instruments, Inc., Blackwood, NJ). The camera-based, linear-array system decodes a variety of one- and two-dimensional symbologies. In action, the camera decodes and cap- tures the image. If decoding is not possi- ble, an image of the no-read is captured so that the cause of the problem can be determined. The system also can grade code quality. Equipment is easily retro- fitted on existing lines because the Circle/eINFO 19 20 Pharmaceutical Technology August 2003 www.pharmtech.com PACKAGING FORUM machine requires no depth of field and ity simplifies on-line installation. The sen- by researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer In- only a 0.5-in. gap to perform the scan. sors also can recognize standard linear bar stitute and is compatible with any slat filler. RSS code reading also has been added codes as well as two-dimensional Data The enclosed no-touch camera and light- to another vision system (In-Sight Vision Matrix and PDF417 codes. ing never require adjustment. In addition, Sensors Cognex Corp., Natick, MA). The A high-resolution color vision system Figure 6: A motor-driven rotary turret a programmable logic controller tracks and tool is now standard on new vision sen- for slat fillers detects foreign, broken, and height adjustment, visual message rejects faulty containers (Slat Vision, Calia sors and can be added to existing units by missing tablets and is sensitive enough to beacons, and quick-change hubs reduce Technical Inc., Staten Island, NY). downloading firmware from the Internet. distinguish between #1 and #0 capsules. changeover time (Model 337II Commander On display for the first time in the A vision spreadsheet interface speeds Operating at a rate of 50,000 pills/min, the Rotary Labeler from NJM/CLI Packaging United States, a container–closure in- setup, while built-in Ethernet connectiv- line-scan imaging system was codeveloped Systems International).