TurboFil Packaging Machines has introduced a glass vial filling & assembly system that pairs multifunctionality with high degrees of reconfigurability.
TurboFil Packaging Machines
The company’s Monoblock Glass Vial Filling & Assembly Unit combines precision liquid filling, closure placement, tightening, labelling and inspection in a compact monoblock platform custom designed to suit the varying needs of pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents and other regulated liquid products.
TurboFil’s new system embodies two increasingly sought-after attributes in pharma processing equipment: multifaceted flexibility and exacting precision. Engineered around an application’s specific components and manufacturing parameters – rather than a fixed machine configuration requiring process adaptation – the Monoblock Glass Vial Filling & Assembly Unit nonetheless allows multiple vial and closure formats to be accommodated through change parts and recipe selection. This makes the system ideal for everything from straightforward fill-and-cap applications to those incorporating inspection, reject handling, labelling and production data collection.
The unit’s filling station can be outfitted with a pumping technology best suited to the respective product and application, with options including peristaltic, ceramic piston or other bespoke systems with single or multiple filling heads; for peristaltic setups, disposable fluid paths are available. The system’s 316L stainless steel filling needles can conduct direct draw from various product vessels, and no-container/no-fill control ensures minimal wastage. Diving nozzles also can be incorporated.
Vials are transferred along the machine using an intermittent-motion indexing starwheel for positive, repeatable positioning at each processing station. Depending on production requirements, vial infeed can be configured for manual loading from trays or sleeves, accumulation and automated vial feeding, multiple vial formats through interchangeable change parts, and controlled discharge to accumulation stations or downstream equipment
The unit also can be configured to utilise a wide array of closures, which are automatically oriented and delivered using a stainless steel vibratory feeding system. Possibilities include screw caps, tamp-on closures, and pumps and dispensing components, among others. For most setups, servo-controlled tightening provides precise capping process control, with adjustable torque settings and available feedback for each processed vial.
For integrated process control, sensors and inspection systems can be incorporated throughout the machine to verify critical process steps, such as those for vial presence, fill verification, closure presence, and cap height inspection, as well as checkweighing, applied torque monitoring and automatic reject handling. An Allen Bradley PLC with a touchscreen HMI offers intuitive setup and operation, with recipe-driven production helping to streamline changeovers. The system also offers a variety of safeguards, including password-controlled operator access, comprehensive fault reporting and production run logs. Features like process data collection and remote diagnostic capability support perpetual production improvements and minimise unnecessary downtime.
“With vial filling and assembly requirements continuing to diversify – and with smaller batch sizes necessitating more frequent changeovers – both pharma companies and contract manufacturers are seeking solutions that display both product customisation and longer-term versatility,” said Deborah Smook, VP of marketing & business development for TurboFil Packaging Machines LLC. “The Monoblock Glass Vial Filling & Assembly Unit represents our ability to purpose-build machines to suit specific applications, even while leaving ample flexibility to meet variations in processing needs.”