More Than Cleaning – Cleaning of the punches and dies in process of Tool Maintance Program

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Many tablet manufacturers struggle with problems related to picking, sticking and capping. Did you know that by following the proper tooling maintenance procedures, you can reduce most risks of tablet production?

Taking appropriate action early can minimalize the potential amount of damage and the risk of production downtime. One of the essential steps in the tool maintenance process is cleaning. The compression tooling should be cleaned to remove any production residues and remains resulting from other operations, such as repairs or polishing.

Cleaning and the Tool Maintenance Program

According to experts from Adamus S.A. cleaning process of the punches and dies should be performed twice. The Tool Maintenance Program requires that the compression tooling should be cleaned at stage 2, and after polishing.
The punches and dies should be cleaned and dried initially so as to remove all production residues. Then after repair and polishing, at stage 6 of the Program, the cleaning should be repeated to remove any residues of the polishing agents.

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Benefits of ultrasonic cleaning

The recommended method of cleaning punches and dies is the one, which cleans compression tooling perfectly in a short time. It should be able to deal with most types of dirt, even in hard-to-reach places. Cleaning should not cause any damage to the surface of delicate punch tools. All these criteria are met by ultrasonic cleaning.

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Ultrasonic cleaning effectively removes post-production contaminants and residues left by grinding and polishing agents, greases, chips and filings. The cavitation generated by ultrasound works intensively and ensures very good results. Ultrasonic cleaners do not cause any damage to the surface of cleaned items. 

Advantages of ultrasonic cleaning:

Longer life of the cleaned elements, owing to the gentle and accurate operation of the ultrasonic cleaners.

Fast cleaning process time. 

Ecconomical use of water, chemicals and electricity.

It is not possible to damage the cleaned components and their surfaces.

Excellent cleaning quality, even in hard-to-reach places.

How does an ultrasonic cleaner work?

The generator, installed in an ultrasonic cleaners, emits ultrasonic waves. The waves move in the tank, causing low and high pressure zones. Invisible to the human eye, waves move through the water to which the cleaning agent has been added.

Further, during the low pressure phase, pulsating microbubbles are formed, which first grow and then implode.

Collapsing bubbles lead to the formation of a shock wave that reaches every place.

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Rapid pressure changes separate dirt particles from the surface of the cleaned element. Ultrasonic cleaning breaks the bond between the dirt and the surface.

Some of the ultrasonic cleaners have a function that allows the ultrasound to operate at different frequencies. This results in an even distribution of waves, and thus faster removal of dirt from the surface of the compression tooling. This technology (SweepTec) was used in ultrasonic cleaners of the Ultrasonic Cleaner series.

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The recommended method of cleaning punches and dies is the one, which cleans compression tooling perfectly in a short time.

Ultrasonic Cleaning – Not Only Pharmacy!

Ultrasound cleaning was first used in the USA during the 1930s. This accidental discovery was made by the American Radio Corporation in New Jersey. A 20 years later, the first ultrasonic cleaner was sold

Today, ultrasonic cleaners are widely available and used in various industries. They can effectively clean delicate and heavily soiled items.

Sonic cleaners are the recommended solution for cleaning punches, dies and also other pharmaceutical industry tools. Such cleaners are also utilised outside the pharmaceutical field. They can be used in laboratories and hospitals for cleaning medical and laboratory tools, such as cuvettes, pipettes or bioanalysers (Ultrasonic Cleaner USC-156BH). They can also be used to degas liquids, clean dental and surgical instruments or to clean dentures.

In addition to the health care points, ultrasonic cleaners can also prove useful prior to powder coating. They are also good for washing after pressing, washing of transport containers or even for cleaning engine components.

Because of their accuracy and no risk of damage to the cleaned items, ultrasonic cleaners have also been used in the jewellery industry, watchmaking and numismatics.

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Laboratories, hospitals, dentistry, prosthetics

Jewellery, watchmaking, numismatics

Regeneration

Cleaning of the compression tooling

The compression tooling should be properly maintained so that they do not cause problems during tablets production. Based on many years of experience, the Adamus experts have created a suitable maintenance program for punches and dies.

Each program stage has an impact of the condition of punches, as well on the rate of their wear. Proper care is a solution for optimization of the production process and reducing the risk of production downtime.

The regular and proper cleaning is one of the key steps in maintance of compression tooling.

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It allows the removal of production residues on the surface of punches and dies. It is recommended to re-clean tooling after visual inspection, repairs or polishing.

The quality and condition of compression tooling is also the quality of the entire production system and its final products - tablets. Take care of them now!

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