At interpack, Romaco will be celebrating the world premiere of its Tecpharm 400 tablet coater. This highly automated technology offers special advantages for a coating with pharmaceutical ingredients that often add a lot of weight to the tablets. The one stop solutions supplier for processing and packaging will also exhibit its VENTILUS® Lab fluid bed processor for laboratory applications.
Tecpharm 400 tablet coater
Romaco’s highly automated Tecpharm 400 tablet coater specializes in the coating of pharmaceutical ingredients that cause the product to gain considerable weight. This is often the case with combinations of ingredients containing Metformin, which cannot be formulated as bi-layer tablets due to their size. Therefore, the second layer of the formulation is sprayed on, to enable these medicines to be swallowed easily.In conventional systems, this process can take well over 20 hours, during which time the tablets keep on increasing in weight and size. As this happens, the movement of the tablet bed and the spray conditions inside the drum change continuously. The Tecpharm 400 has been equipped with special features to handle the demands of this highly variable process environment. It is the first ever tablet coater to automatically adapt the geometry and position of the baffles in line with the tablet bed’s increasing volume during the process. Its baffles make sure the tablets move in the drum in such a way that uniform spraying is achieved. The position and angle of the baffles in the tablet bed must be adjusted regularly as the volume changes, to create the ideal conditions for tablet coating. As its baffles are controlled automatically, there is no need to stop the Tecpharm 400 in order to adjust or replace components manually. This saves a great deal of time, as the machine does not need emptying during operation. What’s more, the fully automated system ensures safer working for operating personnel, because at no time do they come into contact with potentially high-potency products. Thanks to its flexibly adjusting baffles, the Tecpharm tablet coater can tackle batch sizes ranging from 5 to 100%, all with the same drum.
The optimum balance between quality, yield and processing time
The Tecpharm 400 boasts a fully automated air distribution system that steers the process air with precision through the tablet bed using exhaust flaps that open steplessly. It also features Tecpharm’s innovative PCA spray arm. The smart technology continuously measures the distance from the tablet bed using radar, and constantly adjusts both the distance and the spray angle. Mechanically, this is achieved by the three-pivot-point design of the spray arm. For enhanced process reliability, the machine also includes a system that detects blocked spray nozzles by accurately identifying the affected nozzles, and even has a self-cleaning function. The advanced level of automation results in an ideal balance between product quality, yield and duration of the coating process.
User-friendly and sustainable
The Tecpharm 400 also significantly improves ease of use, thanks to its spray arm that automatically extends from the machine. This brings major benefits in terms of ergonomics, particularly with large machines on which the spray arm is above chest height for the operator. Furthermore, sampling is a closed process, which protects operating personnel from toxic medicines, because the drum coater does not have to be opened manually to remove samples during production.
To considerably reduce the carbon footprint of energy-intensive coating processes, the Tecpharm 400 can optionally be fitted with an energy recovery system (ERS). This system allows energy consumption to be cut by up to 50%. To achieve this, a cross-flow heat exchanger is installed in the air handling unit (AHU), which feeds the energy from the process outlet air directly into the ongoing coating process. The technology is ideal for production processes that take several hours to complete and entail high power consumption. The new Tecpharm 400 therefore excels on all fronts – with its outstanding product quality and process efficiency, but also its ease of use and excellent environmental credentials.
VENTILUS® Lab fluid bed processor by Romaco Innojet
To showcase its broad and varied portfolio of laboratory machines, Romaco will be presenting the VENTILUS® Lab fluid bed processor from Innojet at interpack. This exceptionally versatile all-rounder is used for granulating, drying and coating particles of any size from 10 µm to 2 mm. This multipurpose lab unit is intended for batch sizes from 0.7 to 7.0 liters. With its innovative process air distribution system inside the cylindrical product container, the required energy can be used far more efficiently, enabling the VENTILUS® Lab to cut batch processing times by up to 25%. The process air is introduced through the circular ORBITER® booster, ensuring homogeneous flow conditions and gentle intermixing of the batch. In combination with a bottom spray nozzle located in the center, the booster plate forms a unique functional unit enabling much simpler scale-up processes. When it comes to nozzle technology, users can choose between the tried-and-tested ROTOJET® and the new FLEXIJET®, which was specifically developed for granulation processes and is both very easy to handle and quick to clean. The patented fluid bed components invented by Dr. h. c. Herbert Hüttlin are behind the remarkably accurate application of the spray liquid, with a precisely defined droplet size. With controlled release formulations, for instance, the modified release profiles are achieved using 10 to 15% less material. This targeted reduction in the amount of spray liquid used also means less power consumption, so that the VENTILUS® Lab substantially reduces CO2 emissions from fluid bed processes. Moreover, the rotating SEPAJET® filter system minimizes general product loss by returning particles retained by the filter to the process rather than discharging them.
On show at interpack in Dusseldorf (Germany) from May 7 to 13, 2026 (Hall 16, Booth D22).
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