Lubricating tablet presses application

How can the lifetime of punches (pressing tools) be improved?

One of Europe’s leading providers of Contract Manufacturing to the Pharmaceutical and Health & Beauty industry, manufacture, pack and ship over 770 million packs per annum. Their business objective is to reduce wear on the punches of presses.

The right oil viscosity is the key! High surface pressure in the punch head/thrust roller friction points would normally require a high oil viscosity. As the oil is also in the punch fit, wear in the fit may increase after the pressing procedure. Hence, medium oil viscosity should therefore be preferred. The solution provided by Klüber Lubrication for medium viscosities oil was Klüberpharma UH1 4-220 and Klüberpharma UH1 4-460 which have been shown to achieve the best results in most applications.

The outcome after switching to Klüberpharma UH1 4-220 and Klüberpharma UH1 4-460, was less wear on the punch head can be observed. These lubricating oils offer good wear protection, thus extending the service life of components, as confirmed by oscillation friction wear tests according to DIN E 51834. 

Overall benefits and values:

• Less wear on the punch heads compared to a relatively lower viscosity oil such as ISO VG 68, therefore the longer lifetime of the punches
• Reduction of the number of lubricants (one oil for punch lubrication)
• Higher product safety due to NSF H1 registration and NSF ISO certification
• Countered black spot issue on steel punch-bronze guide setup of tablet presses

One of the top 10 largest Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers in Saint Petersburg finds the sustainable solution for open linear bearing of blistering machine with BARRIERTA L 55/2.

Challenges:
The pharmaceutical company faced contamination in the form of metal foil particles, colour and consistency changes. This forced them to do multiple relubrications and take up regular maintenance every month. The main reason for the metal foil particles and change in colour and consistency was that there was tremendous wear in the machine due to improper lubrication.

Hence, their objective was to reduce the risk of final product contamination and reduce maintenance intervals.

Sustainable solution:
Klüber Lubrication was able to provide an optimum solution for the customer in the form of BARRIERTA L55/2. Since switching to BARRIERTA L55/2, there was no need for any maintenance activity during the entire year. The risk of final product contamination both by lubricants and maintenance personal was absolutely excluded. BARRIERTA L55/2 has been the right solution for lubrication points exposed to metal (or other nature) dust due to the low surface tension of this lubricant. With reduced contamination, consumption and lesser man-machine interaction the customer was finally able to meet their sustainability goals. 

Overall benefits and values:

• Avoid contamination due to machine wear and tear
• No cleaning needed for one year period
• Extended relubrication intervals
• Being ISO 21469 certified product, no risk of contamination