Viscometer used in gelatine capsule production
A
Hydramotion product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Nov 7, 2008
A supplier of gelatine capsules, billions of which are used in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries worldwide every year, has used Hydramotion XL7 inline viscometers to maintain quality.
During production, gelatine (a colourless or slightly yellowish water-soluble protein obtained from animal hides or bones) is dissolved in hot demineralised water, mixed with colouring agents and fed into the dipping machine.
Capsules are formed by dipping stainless steel pin bars into the solution and allowing the adhering gelatine solution to dry in a controlled way before being stripped from the pins, trimmed, filled and joined to give the finished product.
The viscosity of the gelatine solution is a crucial factor in determining the quality of the capsules - if it is not exactly right the capsules will be either too thin or too thick, which will make them unusable.
Careful monitoring of viscosity is therefore essential throughout the production process.
Recognising the need for a robust and reliable instrument, the company turned to the Hydramotion XL7 inline viscometer, which provides a continuous real-time readout on a dedicated signal processor as well as four 20mA analogue and RS232 serial data outputs.
With the viscometers in place, production staff were immediately able to use the output to control the addition of water to the gelatine solution, ensuring that its viscosity would be exactly right for the dipping process.
As the analogue viscosity signal is fed directly to the PLC, instant corrective action can be taken automatically as soon as the viscosity begins to wander off specification, leading to a significant improvement in the efficiency of the process and a corresponding increase in productivity.
Since the XL7s were installed, the reject rate has been substantially reduced while consistent product quality is assured.
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