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Tube coding the easy way

Merckle ratiopharm increases productivity with laser technology
Tube coding the easy way

In recent years, the Ulm generic drug manufacturer ratiopharm has made a name for itself with new pharmaceutical products and innovative technologies. In addition, it has also pioneered new methods of marking products. The most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical brand in Germany has opted for the Domino laser system to code its ointment tubes to meet the challenges of future markets.

The mandatory standard for the quality for all ratiopharm products has always been the original product. Adherence to this principle guarantees the safety and effect of the generic drug. The German company pursues a forward-looking product policy that contributes significantly towards lowering the costs of the health service, whilst complying with the highest quality standards.

The most modern, high-performance production equipment is in operation to meet these rigorous demands and ensure conformance with the overall concept. One of the links in this chain is the process of product marking, which, due to legal requirements, has become an integral part of production.
The German pharmaceutical specialist had already opted for Domino marking systems as early as the 1990s; Domino’s marking solutions are used for different applications at each of the two German production locations. The most interesting of these is tube coding, which is currently achieved using a CO2 laser system integrated into the state-of-the-art Oystar IWK TFS 80-2 tube filling and sealing machine.
In this process, ointment is filled mainly into white-painted aluminium tubes. The main problem associated with this application is that tubes of different sizes (2 to 150 g) need to be filled and marked. In order to ensure absolute traceability of the tubes, once they are filled, the tube crimps are then stamped with both the batch number and the use-by date. Prior to changing over to laser technology, the product marking was done using both a stamping machine (stationary marking) and an inkjet printer. As the stamps had to be of a certain size, they were invariably too big to mark the tiny tube crimps of the smallest ointment tubes. The method was also unsuitable for printing “For hospital use only” onto the tubes. An additional, ultra-small character inkjet system from Domino was therefore brought into play and the tubes were then printed in feed motion. As a result, two different versions of coding were used in one filling machine.
Increasing plant effectiveness
The corporate philosophy of the Ulm company is said to introduce healthy competition and therefore market economy into the German health system. In order to apply the company slogan to the product marking concept, existing processes needed to be optimised by introducing advanced technologies. The DSL plus scribing laser system, which is flexible enough to print an unlimited number of lines of text in any direction on all aluminium tubes, was chosen as an alternative to the two existing coding methods. Based on earlier experience with lasers, the initial reaction of Merckle GmbH’s decision-makers to laser technology was one of scepticism. They feared that due to restricted laser power control too much paint could be burnt off and result in oxidation of the exposed aluminium. They were eventually convinced of the reliability of the DSL plus laser system following a series of successful tests, in which all their doubts were removed.
The easy-to-operate CO2 laser marks two tubes per cycle in stationary mode, with a maximum cycle time of 412 ms (three 15-character lines of print). The single print line containing the batch number and use-by date is made by removing coating from the tube. The Domino laser ensures top-quality codes both at high production rates and when printing ultra-small characters. Along with better availability and the creation of a first-class print image, the laser also guarantees a higher degree of flexibility due to the low maintenance and cleaning requirements. The highly versatile DSL plus laser additionally allows markings to be made on all tube sizes using the Oystar tube filling and sealing machine, without having to carry out extensive readjustments. The increased availability of the system helps minimise downtime while maximising performance, so that the laser also effectively reduces production wastage. The result is greater efficiency throughout the plant, leading to more streamlined production. Merckle ratiopharm has moreover installed a powerful DPX extraction system from Domino to remove the dust and any fumes or particles generated during the marking process. Despite initial reservations, Merckle is now unconditionally committed to this custom-made, reliable marking solution.
Marking secondary packaging
In order to guarantee the absolute traceability of the packaging of generic pharmaceuticals, continuous inkjet printers in the Domino A series are employed both at the main headquarters in Ulm and at the Blaubeuren-Weiler location. Coding the outer packaging with the required information, such as the use-by date and batch number, is usually carried out immediately after check-weighing the packaging or at the manual assembly workplaces. The automatic self-cleaning function and the unique nozzle seal system incorporated in the A series ensure that the equipment is clean and ready for immediate operation, even following longer periods of non-use.
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