When using automatic capsule filling machines, weight instability can occur due to excessively oily materials. This issue can be resolved through material handling, equipment adjustments, and process optimization. Here are specific methods:
Material Handling
Adding Adsorbents: Add appropriate adsorbents such as silicon dioxide or magnesium aluminum silicate to reduce the oiliness of the materials. These adsorbents can absorb oily components in the materials, increasing their fluidity and ensuring more uniform filling. The typical addition amount is 0.5%-2% of the total material, with the exact amount determined through experimentation.
Drying Materials: If excessive moisture interacts with oily components in the materials, it can exacerbate weight instability. Suitable drying methods such as low-temperature drying or vacuum drying can be used to remove some moisture. For example, drying at 50-60°C for 2-3 hours can enhance the material's dispersibility.
Adjusting Material Particle Size: By crushing and sieving, the particle size distribution of the materials can be made more uniform. Smaller and more uniform particle sizes increase the specific surface area of the materials, allowing oily components to be better distributed on the particle surface and reducing filling issues caused by oil aggregation. Typically, materials can be sieved through an 80-100 mesh screen.
Replacing Auxiliary Materials
Using Lubricants: Try replacing or adding suitable lubricants such as magnesium stearate or talcum powder. These can form a lubricating film on the surface of the material particles, reducing friction between particles and between particles and equipment, thereby allowing the materials to flow more smoothly during filling and improving weight stability. The typical addition amount of magnesium stearate is 0.3%-1% of the total material.
Adding Diluents: When the proportion of oily materials is too high, appropriate diluents such as starch or dextrin can be added to reduce the relative content of oily materials, improve the overall properties of the materials, and enhance their fluidity and fillability. The addition amount can be adjusted within the range of 10%-30% based on the specific conditions of the materials.
Granulation Processing
Adopting Suitable Granulation Methods: Granulation can be used to form particles with a certain shape and size from oily materials, reducing the impact of oiliness on filling. For example, wet granulation can be adopted, with appropriate binders such as water, ethanol, or other moderately viscous solutions selected to form particles from the materials, which are then dried and sieved to make the particle size uniform.
Controlling Granulation Parameters: During granulation, parameters such as stirring speed, time, and binder amount must be strictly controlled. Excessive stirring speed or time may result in particles being too tight or large, affecting filling. Too much binder will make the particles too sticky, while too little will make it difficult for the particles to form.
Equipment Adjustments
Inspecting Filling Devices: Check components such as the filling rods and metering disks of the capsule filling machine for wear or clogging. If there is wear, replace them promptly; if there is clogging, clean them thoroughly to ensure the filling devices work normally and the material quantity per filling is accurate.
Adjusting Filling Parameters: Appropriately reduce the filling speed to give the materials enough time to enter the capsule shell, reducing uneven material accumulation caused by excessive speed. At the same time, adjust the filling pressure to make the materials enter the capsule more tightly and uniformly during filling. Generally, the filling pressure can be increased by 10%-20%, with specific adjustments made based on actual conditions.
Environmental Control
Controlling Temperature: Excessively high temperatures can make the oily components in the materials more mobile, increasing material viscosity and affecting filling weight stability. Controlling the production environment temperature at 18-25°C helps maintain the stable physical properties of the materials.
Adjusting Humidity: Excessively high environmental humidity can cause the materials to absorb moisture, interacting with oily components and making the materials stickier. Controlling the relative humidity at 40%-60% can reduce the impact of moisture on the materials and improve the stability of filling weights.
